Inventory Management

So your looking for software for inventory management? Well there are a few guidelines you should think about before buying anything. Of course, the main thing is to look, a lot. Check out every piece of inventory management software you possibly can. Talk to every sales representative of every inventory management company you possibly can. Get all the facts, download every possible management demo, and find out what it will do for your business. That said there are a few things to think about:

1) Talk to the people on the floor. I can't stress this enough! The best possible inventory management software will do you no good if it conflicts with your production workers. They are the bread and butter of your business. It doesn't matter if your a warehouse, a manufacturing plant, or anything in between you need to find a management solution with the least impact on your workers and the highest possible benefit to them. Too many companies have installed the latest thing just to find out their workers are taking twice as long to do their jobs. Don't be one of them.

2) Costs are important. Do you need all the bells and whistles that come with many inventory control packages? Many times the lower cost version will handle all of your inventory needs.

3) How big are you likely to get? While #2 is important it cannot be the all deciding factor. Are you planning on being where you are forever? Are you planning on being the next GM or Amazon? While we all have high hopes this is something that needs a lot of thought. Should you spend additional thousands of dollars for expansion room that will never be used? Should you cut costs that will force huge additional costs later on?

4) What are you trying to achieve? It sounds easy but it's not always clear. Somebody comes to you as a purchaser and tells you what they want. Do they know what they really want? Do they know what they really need?

The fact is everyone has a different need in terms of Inventory Management. If all else fails find yourselves a professional consultant that specializes in just inventory management and ask them for help. It may cost a little in the short run but in the long run it can be a huge savings. Don't invest in an inventory management system just to find out your costs are excessive and your inventory is just as lost as it ever was.

An inventory management package that meets the needs of your company can save you money and make you more competitive. A great inventory control system that doesn't meet the needs of your company isn't worth the CD it's written on no matter how many features it has.

Well, I guess it's time to start looking at software. Searching here will give you a few million to evaluate...