For any manufacturing company, inventory, be it of raw materials, semi-finished or finished goods is like the proverbial “oil” which alternatively either brings in its income or results in its expenses. Either ways, keeping track of inventory is one of the most effective ways of being in business in the long run. Incidentally, inventory may also affect traders and those who use some or the critical physical items in bulk. Bulk here is again subjective. For an e-commerce company like Amazon, running an inventory of laptops or gadgets couldn’t be much of a bother when compared to the level of stress it brings to a small road-side shop-keeper.
With so much going in the maintenance of inventories, material management software in India makes for a neat piece of investment, especially when inventories play a vital part in costing of the product.
What then are the basic functions of any inventory management software?
In reality, quite a few including:
1. Giving accurate information forthwith on the levels of stocks, be it of raw materials or finished goods
This is the material management software’s basic activity. It informs at any time the amount of inventory lying at different places, the condition it’s in, what it consist of, and time it may take to bring it to the place of use. The best inventory management software in reality has a rather small field to cover in its entirety but which isn’t without its own set of complexities which increase with the number of items, locations, complexity of production and consumption, and general conditions existing in the industry.
2. Forecast likely position of stocks
The first thing the best inventory management software does is to provide an accurate or near accurate position of stocks, be it of raw materials, finished goods or those in the process. Of equal importance is to know what item of the existing stock would be required and when. Forecast is thus an important function that if done the right way and can bring about profits in the form of smart decisions to either sell or stock, produce or pile-up. For the best inventory management software in India, this could take but a few minutes at most. But for the company owning such a software, the advantage could be for ever!
3. Identify gaps in stock positioning so that the right amount of stock is placed at the disposal so as to increase profitability and serviceability
It’s practically impossible to always be at the right place at the right time. Slips invariably happen sometimes with disastrous results. The same can be the case with stocks of raw materials, works-in-progress as also finished goods. Manufacturing organizations with diverse activities or those whose products need to go thru a diverse range of actions before completion are the kinds where even the most insignificant of gaps could potentially bring operations to a grinding halt. Getting a production line up and running from scratch is an expensive affair and could affect profitability. The best way is to identify the likelihood of gaps across the entire production process on a minute-by-minute basis and take relevant actions in real-time. One of the best way to get the job done is to invest in a material management software. In India, thankfully, the trends is catching up fast, given the level of competition and type of losses likely to be faced if things go wrong.
4. Understand likely client needs in future
Forecasting requirements in terms of standard products is one thing. It’s quite another to predict with accuracy and likely changes in clients’ tastes and preferences. This is especially true in the FMCG, clothing industry and food industry. A good material management software coupled to the best AI system could be an entity’s best bet when it comes to accurate reading of client needs in the near and farther future. And it makes sense to do that with urgency given that competition in every industry is growing by leaps and bounds.
5. In case of multiple vendors for same product, it helps map out the best supplier in terms of product quality and service deliveries
Material management software these days also have details of suppliers. That being the case, the most efficient such software can produce a list of suppliers for any given product- something that is of critical need where existing supplier(s) can’t or won’t supply as per need. Better the software, more could be the likelihood of having this kind of information in the right order and quantities.
6. Reporting
No system how-so-ever good works on its own. It’s at best a support for managements to look into issues raised and take the right decision(s). To that extent the best material management software these days have inbuilt reporting systems which can generate highly customized reports of both input and output inventories with all the required details and that too within a very short time.
7. In case of a large number of products and/ or raw materials including varied suppliers for single product, it helps design and derive the best stocking and warehousing plans. There can’t be inventory without logistics and warehousing. They are more than linked. They are almost like the two sides of the same coin. And that being the case, the best bet is to go for the Wyserp.in which is the best material management software which informs, suggests and keeps track of materials lying at different locations. In this way, the system itself can give the best scenarios of where to procure materials from.