What Is Inventory Control software?

Inventory control software is the central hub for any inventory-centric business. This type of software keeps track of all information about the items your company builds, buys or sells. Inventory control software also makes the management of pricing and maintaining stock levels much easier and more organized.

Why Do You Need Inventory Control Software?

No matter what size your company is, you need to accurately track inventory and sales to maximize your profitability. Maintaining profitable and competitive stock levels used to be an art, but with inventory control software it becomes an exact science.

Effective inventory management allows you to have the strong selling products on hand when customers demand them. It also helps identify slow moving products so you can reduce the cost associated with being “stuck�with products no one wants.

Inventory and the costs associated with storing inventory are major expenses. With careful control the quantity of inventory can be reduced saving funds. This allows for a reduction in warehousing costs associated with housing products.

Inventory control software will help you take charge of your stock levels and prevent inventory costs from consuming too much of your budget. Reductions in inventory levels—whether raw material, work-in-process, finished goods or supplies—can have a remarkable effect on your bottom line.

Inventory control software can:

• Link product item numbers with descriptions, prices, costs, and other important data
• Track historical inventory purchase costs
• Control reductions in inventory investment and in associated warehousing costs
• Track vendor pricing and historical delivery time for purchased goods
• Trace customer backorders and vendor purchases yet to be delivered
• Convert different units of measure purchased verse sold
• Associate internal item numbers with vendor product numbers
• Provide detailed descriptions of inventory items
• Record prices and complete break down of related production costs
• Manage stock effectively and efficiently
• Help eliminate loss from theft and inaccurate record keeping
• Analyze trends in the movement of product to adjust your purchasing and sales

Industry-specific inventory control software may:

• Track sales of items that don’t reduce inventory (such as rentals and service)
• Track dimensional inventory such as lumber or scaleable inventory that is sold by weight
• Utilize multiple units of measure for items that may be purchased in bulk quantities but sold in various ways such as by the box, crate or individually.
• Track purchases and sales of serialized inventory

Specialized Inventory Needs

Many industries have unique inventory needs. Not all inventory control software provides these features therefore careful consideration must be given to assure that the software meets the needs of your firm. A few examples of specialized requirements from inventory control software are below.

Serial Number Control. Firms may assign a serial number to various inventory items. That serial number provides a mechanism to allow for proper tracking of warranty work on the specific product. Serialized products typically are identified to the product owner thus simplifying contact with owners when product recalls are needed. If your organization uses serial numbers, be sure to ask about the inventory control software’s ability to track them before purchasing.

Lot Control. Those in the food and pharmaceutical industry assign lot numbers to segments of their product runs. These lot numbers are then associated with customer invoices. Lot control helps these industries determine where products are located in order to act quickly in the case of a health related hazard with the products. If you work for a pharmaceutical company (or similar firm) you’ll want to question your inventory control software representative to be sure lot control is a feature that comes standard or can be added.

Kits or Assemblies. A kit or assembly function acts a quasi bill of material. This inventory feature is used when a firm aggregates various individual products into a “kit�which is then sold. Typically the components in a kit can be sold individually or as part of the saleable kit. Does your business sell kits or assemblies in addition to individual parts? Make sure your inventory control software is capable of handling this specialized need.

With inventory control software you can:

• Minimize inventory investment, through smaller shelf quantities
• Implement just-in-time ordering to ensure items are rarely out of stock or overstocked
• Reduce warehousing cost as a result of reducing inventory stock levels
• Reduce administration time through automatic reordering based on movement
• Improve profits by assuring strong selling items are in stock
• Improve profits by identifying slow moving items and reducing on-hand quantities of those
• Spend less time counting and tracking with real-time data â€?items sold are instantly subtracted from inventory upon completion of a transaction
• Reduce purchasing costs with up-to-date supplier lead times and vendor price comparisons
• Increase sales by providing alternate products that sales people can recommend if the initial item requested is not in stock
• Increase sales by providing flexible customer pricing based on the customer, order size, frequency of orders, etc.

Inventory control software often integrates with:

• Order Entry
• General Ledger
• Purchase Order
• POS
• E-commerce
• MRP
• Bill of Materials
• Work Order

Which Inventory Control Software Should I Buy?

As mentioned above, inventory control software varies dramatically from vendor to vendor more than any other accounting application. Making a selection can be complicated. That’s where FindAccountingSoftware.com comes in. By completing one, simple form you’ll be able to locate only those inventory control software manufacturers who offer products that meet your specific needs and industry.

By focusing your search according to your given criteria, you control the types and the number of firms that contact you. Only the most qualified will be considered a match. Plus you’re never under any obligation to buy. That alleviates the frustration and waste of time that often occurs when you begin your buying process.