Keeping your inventory management system up to date is crucial for avoiding stockouts, overstocking, and inaccurate data. But how do you regularly update your inventory management system without wasting time and resources? Here are some tips to help you streamline your inventory update process and improve your inventory accuracy and efficiency.
The first step to updating your inventory management system is to choose the right one for your business. There are different types of inventory management systems, such as periodic, perpetual, barcode, RFID, and cloud-based. Depending on your inventory size, complexity, and frequency of updates, you may need a different system that suits your needs and budget. For example, if you have a large and diverse inventory that changes frequently, you may benefit from a perpetual, cloud-based system that tracks your inventory in real time and syncs with your other platforms. On the other hand, if you have a small and simple inventory that does not change often, you may opt for a periodic, barcode system that requires manual updates at regular intervals.
I agree, however most of the time unless the company is undergoing digital transformation; it is not always the case to have investments for a new inventory system as the costs are too high. Most of the time, employees have to exercise their excel skills and create usable reports from scratch, based on the already available resources. Hence, apart from choosing the right inventory system, it is all about using the right methodology for measurements.
The next step to updating your inventory management system is to establish a clear update schedule and procedure. Depending on your inventory management system, you may need to update your inventory daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. You should also decide who is responsible for updating the inventory, what tools and methods they use, and how they report and verify the results. For example, you may assign a team of inventory clerks to scan your inventory using barcode scanners every week and upload the data to your inventory management system. You may also require them to check for discrepancies, errors, and damages and report them to the inventory manager.
Some insightful: - Rely on automatic discovery tool to automatically scan the environment beside the manual update to figure out any any discrepancy - Audit on Asset owners to ensure that they update their inventory - Ensure change management process is in place and tool used is linked to Asset management tool, as any change should be recorded for any existing asset
The third step to updating your inventory management system is to automate and integrate your inventory update process as much as possible. Automation and integration can help you save time, reduce errors, and increase accuracy and efficiency. For example, you can use software or apps that automatically update your inventory based on sales, purchases, transfers, or adjustments. You can also integrate your inventory management system with your other systems, such as accounting, sales, purchasing, and shipping, to ensure data consistency and synchronization. Automation and integration can also help you generate reports and insights that can help you optimize your inventory performance and make better decisions.
The fourth step to updating your inventory management system is to train and motivate your staff. Your staff are the ones who execute the inventory update process and ensure its quality and reliability. Therefore, you should provide them with adequate training and guidance on how to use your inventory management system and how to follow your update schedule and procedure. You should also motivate them to perform their tasks well and reward them for their achievements and improvements. For example, you can offer incentives, recognition, or feedback to your staff who update the inventory accurately, quickly, and consistently.
The final step to updating your inventory management system is to monitor and evaluate your inventory update process. You should regularly check and measure your inventory update process to see if it is working effectively and efficiently. You should also identify and address any issues or challenges that may arise, such as data discrepancies, system errors, staff errors, or inventory problems. For example, you can use key performance indicators (KPIs), such as inventory accuracy, turnover, cycle time, or fill rate, to assess your inventory update process. You can also conduct audits, surveys, or feedback sessions to gather input from your staff, customers, or suppliers on how to improve your inventory update process.
We are on CDK and are large enough to have a dedicated field rep for Fixed Ops . Updates are as available and constant as is training.
Inventory is based off the warehouse properly loading the correct items to start. Then on receiving end they should have a way to scan every item that comes off truck to guarantee it is all delivered, but this is not utilized only I would guess 37% of the time. And that is only because of distributors on smaller sizes. Most inventory is not probably rotated, items are damaged due to carelessness and lack of reading labels, definitely no proper training, lack of work ethic, and many factors of low wages and poor mental health among most people.