Is Software for Inventory Management Necessary?
Any business that has any form of inventory can profit from an inventory management software system, to put it briefly. Maintaining client and partner relationships, accounting books, sales commissions, and manual tracking of purchases and sales may become a daunting task for expanding organisations. Software is used to assist in the management of these internal processes.
When a small firm is ready to expand, it often needs to switch to more advanced software, like an ERPNext system, since other ERPs may not be having the same extensive inventory features. The functionality you need and how fluid you want your data to be will determine which applications you truly need and which ones you can live without.
Some key features of ERPNext Inventory Management or Stock
- Item wise stock visibility: You can select your desired item by its names to check the remaining stock instead of collective items present in your inventory.
- Item variants and attributes: With ERPNext you have the ability to create item variants and its attributes be it sizes, colors, shapes etc. For example you have 1000 T-Shirts in your inventory, you can specify how many of those are of specific colors and different sizes.
- Batched Items and Serial numbers tracking: Adding to more tracking features you can also track your grouped items or batched items based on production dates or location. For more detailed tracking you can also track specific items based on their unique identification numbers or serial numbers that way you have detailed information.
- Material management through purchase receipts, delivery note and stock entry: When a company gets products from a vendor or supplier, a buy receipt is the document that is created. It contains information about the things received, quantities, prices, dates, and any other pertinent details and acts as documentation of the transaction. Purchase receipts are crucial for accounting reasons as they enable companies to maintain inventory records, track purchases, and settle supplier invoices. When products are delivered to a buyer, a seller will issue a delivery note. Usually sent with the cargo, it includes information about the things sent, their amounts, descriptions, and any special instructions. Delivery notes are frequently used to certify the contents of shipments and act as a certification of the products received by the customer against the shipping order. The practice of documenting the transfer of items into or out of inventory is known as stock entry. This can involve moving products between warehouses, receiving goods from suppliers (based on purchase receipts), modifying inventory levels in response to returns or damage, or any other change in the quantity of stock.
- ERPNext has some of the following Advantages for Inventory Management
- Perpetual Inventory
- Multiware house management
- Data Security
- Better Ability to Make Decisions
Perpetual Inventory:
When managing inventory with perpetual inventory, each time a transaction takes place, real-time updates are made to the inventory data. This implies that the inventory records are updated instantly to reflect changes in the quantity and value of the inventory whenever a product is purchased, sold, or returned. Businesses usually employ point-of-sale (POS) systems, barcode scanners, or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags to automatically track inventory movements in perpetual inventory systems. This eliminates the need for manual stock taking by giving firms a current, accurate picture of their inventory levels at all times.
Multi-Ware house management:
Using an Enterprise Resource Planning system like ERPNext to manage several warehouses entails making the most of the software’s capabilities to optimize and streamline warehouse operations at different locations. ERP systems can be applied to multi-warehouse management in the following way:
ERPNext system with unlimited perpetual warehouse listings offers a centralized platform for the storage and management of data pertaining to orders, suppliers, customers, inventory, and other facets of warehouse operations. This centralised database makes sure that authorised individuals at various warehouse locations may easily access all pertinent information. With Inventory Control, ERPNext makes it possible to track inventory levels in real time across several warehouses. To maintain ideal stock levels and avoid stockouts or overstock situations, users may effortlessly track inventory movements, check stock levels, and transfer product between warehouses.
Data Security
Your Inventory data can be very crucial. There are two types of ERPNext software deployment to consider when researching: On-Premises and Cloud. Since cloud-based software is more affordable and offers data security, it has become the industry standard in more recent years. Software like Excel saved locally on a computer can be used for inventory management manually, but this approach lacks the security and adaptability that an ERPNext system with a cloud backup can give. Continue reading: Features of a Data Centre to Consider While Looking for ERPNext Software.
Better Ability to Make Decisions
You can determine forecasting metrics with the aid of precise historical data, such as the number of footballs sold last summer. Purchasing merchandise too soon can really complicate inventory management since it takes up space in your warehouse that could be used for in-season goods. With the help of ERPNext software, you can manage your inventory flow of items more effectively by having access to the information you need. The Inventory “Hits” Report, which shows how frequently a product appeared on an invoice within the designated reporting period, is an example of a helpful report.
