Is Your Inventory Managment System Effective?
Unless your company is strictly service based, someone in the business is managing some kind of inventory. Or are they? Do you really know the answers to the following questions:
- Do we have accurate accounts of all products, materials, or parts?
- What is the physical location of each inventory item?
- Are we ordering appropriate quantities of inventory to accommodate future production and sales?
- Do we have any inventory that has been sitting on the shelves for years - "It was a really good buy!"
- How are returned items handled within inventory?
- What inventory items generate the most profit?
Many small to medium sized companies struggle with their inventory tracking software. Some businesses maintain procedures for tracking inventory that are labor intensive. Usually that "labor" is diverted from other revenue-producing activities such as manufacturing, retail sales, and service calls.
What inventory questions do you have? Knowing what information your business needs about its inventory is the first step in inventory management.
Take time to determine your needs; you will drive money to your bottom line with proper inventory management!