INVENTORY CONTROL
Where Periodic Inventory is counting your entire stock once a month, Cycle Counting iscounting a portion of the inventory every day so that over the course of the month theentire inventory has been counted. Creating a daily habit of Cycle Counting is core tomaintaining Perpetual Inventory accuracy.
INVENTORY CONTROL
After building the best practice of Cycle Counting, we will start to notice a wasted cost incounting the same item every month. Perpetual Inventory is the goal and the next step is tobring more data into the inventory calendar. By bringing item cost, the velocity of sales, andother metrics into the schedule we can make use of the Pareto Principle.
This is one way to manage the calendar. The percentages and calculations can be adjustedby business and need. If you have a good grasp of the most valuable items in your business,and how critical is it to have an accurate inventory of them, the ABC Counting method ofinventory control may be a good fit for your business.
Where Perpetual Inventory is the nirvana of inventory accuracy, Just-In-Time Inventory isthe Holy Grail of the supply chain. When all parties along the supply chain are in sync,inventory levels in each of the distribution points feed as the customer places an order.This requires lower stocking levels at each stage, reducing the cash tied up in inventory foreach business.
The risk is the case study of Toys R Us who became proficient at Just In Time Inventory.Their shelves were so bare that customers became concerned the business was closing.While they saved cash on inventory, they lost the trust of their customers who thought theywere going out of business.
The most straightforward way to track inventory is through a Stock Locator. This gives thecompany a clear view of where on the shelves a product was put away when received andremoves the inventory when picked. The Stock Locator will often have a way to digitallyrepresent the warehouse and define an efficient pick path. This simple function can savemassive amounts of time for the business.
The core component of any true inventory management system is the stock locatorfunction. Definitely ensure any inventory management system you're considering can tellyou not just how much inventory is in the warehouse, but exactly where it is in thebuilding.
Beyond inventory counts, tracking specific items becomes critical to business. Examplescan be lot tracking for food safety or serial tracking on electronics for warranties. Beingable to see the entire transaction history for each item may be required.
In the connected world we live in, it is expected to have data across devices and platforms.Inventory quantities aren't only valuable to the warehouse. Does the CRM need to beupdated for the sales team? Does the website need to give low inventory alerts? Financedefinitely needs to calculate the stock into costs on the balance sheet.
Inventory tracking systems usually default to barcodes for inventory control because theyare easy to use, inexpensive to print, and fast to scan. Tracking more information with lotor serial numbers is easy with QR Codes and Radio Frequency Identifiers (RFID). They canstore more information in a single scan. QR Codes are popular with mobile devices likeiPhones and Androids. RFID was instrumental in Walmart's cost reduction by allowinglarge quantities of product to scan in a single pass.
It is amazing to see the efficiencies watching a company move from periodic to perpetualinventory. Each business will have their own needs, but every business can benefit fromincreased visibility of their inventory.
When your inventory is properly organized, the rest of your supply chain will fall into place. Without it, you risk a litany of mistakes like mis-shipments, shortages, out-of-stocks, spoilage (when dealing with perishable stock items), overstocks, mis-picks and so on.
Economic order quantity (EOQ) is a formula for how much inventory a company should purchase with a set of variables like total costs of production, demand rate and other factors. The formula identifies the greatest number of units in order to minimize buying, holding and other costs.
Minimum order quantity (MOQ) is the smallest amount of inventory a retail business will purchase in order to keep costs low. However, keep in mind that inventory items that cost more to produce typically have a smaller MOQ, as opposed to cheaper items that are easier and more cost effective to make.
Just-in-time (JIT) inventory management is a technique in which companies receive inventory on an as-needed basis instead of ordering too much and risking dead stock (inventory that was never sold or used by customers before being removed from sale status).
Consignment inventory is when a consigner (vendor or wholesaler) agrees to give a consignee (retailer) their goods without the consignee paying for the inventory upfront. The consigner offering the inventory still owns the goods, and the consignee pays for them only when they sell.
Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method in which the supplier ships products directly to the customer. When a store makes a sale, instead of picking the item from their own inventory, they purchase the item from a third party and have it shipped to the consumer.
Bulk shipments is a cost efficient method of shipping in which a business palletizes inventory to ship more at once.To see some examples of effective inventory management in action, check out our BigCommerce Case Studies page, where you can find success stories from both B2C and B2B merchants.
A growing business likely means increasing demand and higher overhead costs. Inventory can be costly, especially when you account for warehousing, damaged items and replacements, spoilage and quality control.
After you have implemented new inventory management techniques, compare data and KPIs from before and after. Some seasonality and inventory metrics include stockouts, mis-stocks, inventory turnover ratio, dead stock and order cycle time.
Order management is the process of tracking customer orders, whereas inventory management is the process of tracking stock levels and the movement of goods, whether it be delivering raw materials to manufacturers or fulfilling orders for finished products.
Thus, inventory management is an important aspect of order management, since order fulfillment requires the right amount of inventory to be available. Luckily, inventory management systems can work to integrate the two, making it easier for business owners to keep products in stock and fulfill orders in a timely manner.
They streamline and optimize inventory levels and maintain product availability across all sales channels, giving you a centralized view of your inventory and purchase orders. With the help of inventory management software, ecommerce businesses can free up and reallocate capital, minimize inventory costs and enhance customer satisfaction.
Inventory control is a key element of an inventory management system. Warehouse managers and production planners should adhere to the following activities and procedures in controlling their inventory:
Although these two concepts go hand in hand, there are slight differences between inventory control and inventory management. Inventory control handles existing stock in a warehouse, while inventory management involves the overall movement of goods across supply chains.
The perpetual inventory control system provides an accurate count of inventory levels in real-time. It utilizes technology, such as barcodes and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, for tracking products. The information is then logged in a centralized database that warehouse managers can easily access.
Pros: This method removes the need for manual counting. It gives warehouse managers a snapshot of their inventory counts over a specific period of time. Doing so drives data-driven decision-making for sales, ordering, and inventory management.
Inventory control involves various techniques for monitoring how stocks move in a warehouse. Four popular inventory control methods include ABC analysis; Last In, First Out (LIFO) and First In, First Out (FIFO); batch tracking; and safety stock. This section explains how each of these methods functions and how they can support your business.
Both inventory control techniques organize how inventory items move in and out of the warehouse based on their arrival date. Priority will depend on the type of products available in the storage facility.
As an inventory control software, SafetyCulture assists warehouse managers in improving their inventory control system. It allows them to conduct warehouse audits to check if any product is lost, stolen, or in bad conditions. This platform also reduces human error through digitized inventory tracking systems.
Inventory tracking can help you avoid selling products that have run out of stock, or let you know when you need to order or make more of your product. You can set up inventory tracking, view your inventory, and adjust your inventory levels in the Inventory area of Shopify. You can also view the history of inventory adjustments for products and variants whose inventory is being tracked by Shopify.
The Economic Order Quantity inventory management method is one of the oldest and most popular. EOQ lets you know the number of inventory units you should order to reduce costs based on your company holding costs, ordering costs, and rate of demand.
Also known as Economic Production Quantity, or EPQ, this inventory control model tells you the number of products your business should order in a single batch, in hopes of reducing holding costs and setup costs. It assumes that each order is delivered by your supplier in parts to your business, rather than in one full product.
The more money specific inventory brings you, the more important it is to you. ABC analysis categorizes your inventory based on levels of importance. By knowing which inventory is the most important, you know where to focus your attention. To be most effective, ABC Analysis is frequently used with other inventory management strategies, such as the Just in Time method. 041b061a72