Did you know that 43% of small businesses don’t even track their inventory on hand?
Not taking inventory regularly can cause a lot of money to disappear within the business and oftentimes it is difficult to find the cause without tracking your stock. In these cases, an ERP food and beverage service will help you cover such aspects of the production process and much more.
Instead of letting products go to waste, disappear, or run out, you can use a cloud based inventory management program to help save you time and money.
Continue reading to learn how to choose the best inventory management software for your business.
What Is Inventory Management and How Do I Choose the Right Software?
Selecting the best inventory software can be a challenging task if you don’t have an understanding of how to properly track items within your company, or know why it is so important to do so.
According to Investopedia, inventory management is the process of ordering, storing, and using the company’s stock. It involves keeping track of raw materials, finished products, orders, and inventory parts.
Tracking inventory is extremely important when trying to run a successful business. Not only does it allow you to track where your stock is going, but it also helps you follow trends so that you can never run out of products or waste them.
Below are a few of the best tips to follow when you are looking to find the best inventory management software.
1. Pay Attention to Costs
There are many different inventory software programs that you will come across when searching for the right fit for your business.
When selecting your software, be sure to pay attention to costs. Although it may be tempting to go with the more expensive versions because they come with many features, you may not use them all.
Having an understanding of your business’s inventory needs will help you get a program that gives you only the information you want so that you aren’t overpaying for other amenities.
2. Take a Look at the Data and Analytics the Company Creates
Most inventory management software creates data and reports with the information from your company. They can help track inventory on hand, projected needs, customer habits, and much more.
Inventory management programs typically give you a lot of useful information within an easy-to-read graph or chart, making patterns clear to the owner. This helps you run your business smoothly and spend less time charting everything yourself.
Some programs can even track your inventory and make lists of what needs to be ordered and how much.
3. Know Your Needs
Knowing your company’s needs is the most important information to have when choosing the best food inventory software.
Some companies may need to go with larger inventory software programs if they have a lot of employees, vendors, or stock on hand. It is also important to know if you are wanting a company that works with the inventory program.
Some vendors even work with inventory management software companies and automatically place your orders, you can get more information on new innovations for direct store delivery.
4. Inform Your Staff
Informing your staff on the importance of inventory and why it is necessary to track for a successful business, is an important part of managing your food products.
If your employees don’t understand the importance, they may not properly track items that go to waste or are just simply not rung into the system.
Be sure to give them as much information as they need to know so that they can see how having proper stock benefits them and keeps them with a job and happy customers.
A staff that is well informed may run a lower risk of over and under-ordering, letting items go to waste, and running out of stock to serve guests.
5. Select and Train a Team
Inventory involves a lot of factors that can run a high risk of human error.
Selecting a specific group of people to run inventory is a good way to keep things consistent and have fewer errors. Properly training your staff will help give you more accurate numbers and make data more precise.
Besides your inventory team, your staff should still be trained on how to keep track of waste and inventory used if it is not recorded.
Inventory requires a team effort and cannot be done by just one person.
6. Be Aware of How You Want to Track Items
Not all businesses run the same, let alone track inventory in the same way.
Before selecting your software program, it is important to take a look at how your items can be tracked. The most common tracking methods are barcodes, item numbers, vendors, name of the product, and recipe batches.
Understanding how you want to track items will give you insight into the capabilities that your inventory management company has. Some people may require scanners when tracking products, so it is important to see if they are compatible together.
Tracking Products and Saving Money
Using inventory management software can tremendously help your business. It can save you money and time, and no longer will you have to wonder where all of your inventory is going.
There are many different types of programs, such as food inventory software and warehouse inventory management, that can be tailored for your company. For example, whether you are a produce distributor, food manufacturer, or meat processor, there is software for you; learn more at https://www.inecta.com/meat-
Utilizing the tips above can help you find the best software program out there to track your inventory needs and keep service flowing.
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