3 Ways a Poorly Managed Inventory Can Ruin a Business

How hard is it to find stuff you put away? If your warehouse operations include paper tickets, spreadsheets, and manual ERP entries, we can answer that for you: too hard.

The Old Way

Many manufacturers are using outdated inventory tracking methods that make tracking and visibility impossible. More than half of manufacturers use five or fewer checkpoints primarily at the start (in-bound raw materials) and endpoints (finished goods leaving assembly), leaving “blind spots” in between.

What the Old Way is Costing You

Manual data entry makes room for errors and data gaps. Lack of inventory oversight is not just frustrating but has a significant impact on your company’s ROI.

Money budgeted for strategy and business development must be reallocated to correct errors and rectify supplier quality issues. According to Modern Materials Handling’s 2024 annual Industry Outlook survey, 45% of supply chain industry decision-makers want to automate within two years.

The growth of your enterprise is dependent on the health of your inventory management. Ignore that and risk your reputation, reliability, and profitability in the supply chain.

To avoid this risk, take a look at the three ways your poor inventory management system is scheming to ruin your business, and let the data speak for itself.

Cash Flow Crunch

Inefficiency is not just frustrating, it is costly. Businesses that fail to modernize their inventory management risk losing thousands or millions of dollars each year due to inefficiency.

Here are the costs of poor inventory management:

• Inventory bloat that accrues unnecessary storage costs.
• Rushed orders due to inaccurate inventory records.
• Stockouts resulting from poor inventory management.
• High operating costs because of inefficient processes.

The Effect on Profitability

These overhead costs chip away at your profitability and hinder your ability to allocate resources strategically. Allocating workers to find missing inventory or engage in manual processes increases costs. Meanwhile, money spent on correcting inventory errors could be reinvested into other business development efforts.

How Modern Mobility Solves This

Why settle for gaps in your inventory visibility when there is a solution that yields 99.9% inventory accuracy? Modern mobile barcoding allows data to be exchanged with your ERP system using a mobile device. This cuts costs and cuts time, optimizing warehouse operations.

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Your inventory may not be the only thing that’s hiding. Download this insight brief to learn how to detect—and solve—the hidden cost leaks of insufficient automation, paper processes, and data entry.