What is Inventory Control? Definition, Challenges and Best Practices
What Is Inventory Control?
Inventory control is the process of managing and tracking a business’s inventory to ensure that the right products are in stock at the right time. It involves ordering, storing, and tracking inventory levels to prevent shortage, overstocking, and other inventory-related issues. Effective inventory control can help businesses save time and money, reduce waste, and improve customer satisfaction. In this article, we will explore some of the challenges businesses face during implementation, and discuss best practices for improving inventory management.
Challenges In Inventory Control
Implementing effective inventory control can be challenging for many businesses. Some of the common challenges include:
1. Limited Visibility
Without real-time visibility into inventory levels, businesses may struggle to make informed decisions about when to order products and how much inventory to keep on hand.
2. Forecasting Demand
Accurately forecasting demand is essential for effective inventory control. However, businesses may struggle to forecast demand accurately, leading to overstocking or shortage.
3. Choosing the right inventory management software
With so many inventory management software options available, choosing the right one can be challenging. Businesses need to consider their unique needs, budget, and scalability when selecting an inventory management solution.
Axacute is one of the options that you can choose to solve your inventory management challenges. With Axacute’s Inventory module. you can effortlessly handle receiving, put-away, stock locating, inventory management, cycle counting, wave planning, order allocation, order picking, replenishment and shipping.
No credit card required
4. Manage stocks across multiple locations
If a business has multiple locations, managing inventory across all locations can be complex and time-consuming.
Best Practices For Inventory Control
To overcome these challenges, businesses can implement the following best practices for effective inventory control:
1. Implement real-time inventory tracking
Using real-time inventory tracking can help businesses to be well-informed of the inventory levels. How much stocks do we currently have? How much do we have to reorder to ensure we have enough and avoid shortages? With real-time inventory tracking, it can help you answer these questions.
Did you know? Axacute enables you to obtain real time inventory balances as your transactions are recorded instantaneously through your mobile application.
2. Forecast demand accurately
Using historical sales data and other metrics, businesses can forecast demand more accurately and adjust inventory levels accordingly.
3. Choose a suitable inventory management software
Every business needs are unique and different. Budget and scalability options should be considered when choosing inventory management software.
4. Optimize inventory levels
By tracking inventory levels and adjusting stock levels, businesses can optimize inventory levels to reduce waste and improve customer satisfaction.
5. Standardize inventory management processes
Standardizing inventory management processes can help businesses improve efficiency and reduce errors.
6. Implement safety stock levels
Safety stock levels can help businesses prepare for unexpected fluctuations in demand and prevent shortages that may result in unfulfilled requests.
Conclusion
Inventory control is an essential part of inventory management that can help businesses cost in terms of time and money, reduce waste, and improve customer satisfaction. Start implementing real-time inventory tracking to forecasting demand accurately, standardize inventory management processes and optimize inventory levels. Do not forget, choosing the right inventory management software can lead to great results and overcome the challenges of effective inventory control.
Try our FREE plan, NO credit card required.
Talk to us. Would you like to learn more about Axacute?
Fill in your details and we will get back to you shortly.