Every manufacturing business needs to manage its inventory for better productivity and maintain the supply chain. There are many inventory management software available in the market, but small businesses need to start with simpler solutions that fit their needs and budget. In this blog post, we will learn about simple inventory management software and the factors to consider when choosing the right one.
What Is Simple Inventory Management Software?
A simple inventory management software is designed to help small manufacturing businesses. This software helps SMEs manage their inventory with ease and very little training. Unlike complex inventory management systems used by large-scale businesses, this software offers you basic yet highly useful features.
A simple inventory management software offers you a cost-effective solution for your needs. It provides basic inventory tracking that includes tracking your stock levels, product descriptions, and SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). With this software, small business owners can easily monitor their inventory movements like stock additions, sales, and returns.
Why Is Inventory Software Important For Small Businesses?
The purpose of inventory management software is simple. It is to make sure your business runs smoothly and profitably. Here are some common reasons that make it beneficial to use inventory software for small manufacturing businesses.
- Human Errors: There is a high chance of errors in manual inventory management. Those errors can be data entry mistakes, miscounts, or even misplaced items. A simple inventory management software automates these tasks and reduces the risks of manual errors.
- Managing Inventory: This software helps a small business keep track of locations, stock levels, and movement of those products.
- Cost Savings: A small business can reduce its holding inventory costs like storage, insurance, and depreciation expenses with effective inventory management. This software optimizes all these expenses and increases profitability.
- Customer Relationship: This software helps your business fulfill customer orders on time by making sure that products are available when needed. This leads to faster order processing and reduced delivery times.
- Shortages And Overstocking: An effective software can help you track your inventory and forecast what you need. This reduces the risk of overstocking as well as shortages.
What Are The Different Types Of Inventory Software?
Inventory management software is designed according to your business needs and industry requirements. Here is a list of different types of inventory management software.
1. Basic Inventory Management
This type of software has features like inventory tracking and stock-level monitoring and provides basic reports. A basic inventory management software is effective for SMEs and mostly small businesses.
2. Advanced Inventory Management
This software has more features and capabilities than that of basic softwares. It also has demand forecasting, order management, and barcode scanning features. These are suitable for large-scale businesses.
3. Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
This type of software system mainly focuses on easing warehouse operations. It includes features like inventory management, order fulfillment, picking, packing, and shipping of your products.
4. Supply Chain Management (SCM)
This software helps you manage all your supply chain processes. It is a complete package that manages the sourcing of raw materials and the delivery of finished products to customers.
5. Point-On-Sales (POS)
This type of system has the function of inventory management, but it is just a small part of its features. A POS system has main features for processing sales transactions, customer data, and tracking inventory financing.
Consider Factors To Look For in Simple Inventory Software For Small Business
When selecting a simple inventory tracking software for your small-scale business, your purpose is to increase your productivity. Here are some key factors you should consider while looking for simple inventory management software.
- Core Features: When you're getting simple inventory software for small businesses, make sure it has core features like inventory tracking, stock level management, item management, and basic reporting abilities.
- Business Requirements: You can determine and plan out your business requirements that are suitable to your needs and business operations. After that, you can get effective Small business inventory software that is suited to your needs.
- Cost-Effectiveness: When getting Inventory software for small businesses, make sure it is cost-effective. You can also check it doesn’t include any hidden fees or long-term contracts.
- Mobile Accessibility: You can check if the software provides mobile apps or mobile-friendly interfaces. This can help you access your inventory data from anywhere in the world with just an internet connection.
- Security And Data Protection: You can check if the software provides high security and data protection. It will help you protect your inventory data and reduce the risks of theft, loss, or unauthorized access.
Features To Look For in Simple Inventory Management Software
A simple inventory management system must meet your specific business requirements. Here are the best features of simple inventory management software that you should consider before investing.
- User Permissions: Software with user permissions allows you to control your inventory data. It allows you to restrict certain actions to unauthorized users and improve your security.
- Barcode Scanning: This feature makes it easier for you to easily add, update, or remove items from your inventory. Barcode scanning allows you to simplify your inventory allocation processes.
- Inventory Management: An inventory management tool helps you keep track of your records. You should also be able to manage item records with details like descriptions, SKUs, and prices.
- Compatibility With Systems:** A simple inventory management software can easily be integrated with other business systems. It should be able to connect with POS, accounting softwares, e-commerce platforms, and more based on your business needs.
- Easy-To-Use Interface: The software that is easy to use allows you to do all the tasks without any training. Make sure that the software has a user-friendly interface.
How To Choose The Right Inventory Management Software For Your Business?
Choosing the right inventory management software depends on manuy factors. Here is a quick guide to choosing an effective software for your manufacturing.
- Identify your inventory management requirements.
- Make a list of certain features and functions that you need in your software.
- Research for all the available options
- List out a software that is user-friendly
- Check if the software is compatible with other systems
- Choose software that requires no hard training to operate
- Review your budget and software pricing
- Test the software before making a final decision
Inventory Management for Small Business with TranZact
Manual inventory management practices can increase your efforts and production costs and decrease profitability. Adding simple inventory software for small businesses operations can improve productivity. Choosing the right software according to your requirements is also necessary.
TranZact provides you with an easy-to-use interface, better tracking options, mobile accessibility, and much more. Get TranZact to improve your overall business efficiency and join the top Indian SME Manufacturers.
FAQs
1. What is a simple inventory management system?
A simple inventory management system is basic software that helps you with easy inventory management, tracking, and useful features. This type of software is mostly effective for SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises).
2. What is the best inventory management system for small businesses?
Best inventory management software for small business must include features like integration capabilities, an easy-to-use interface, and cost-effectiveness. It must provide mobile accessibility and data security as well.
3. What is the simplest way to track inventory?
The simplest way to track inventory is to manage your inventory using software, sell products in sequence, and perform inventory counts regularly.
4. How do you create an inventory system for small businesses?
To create your simple inventory system for small businesses, you can follow these steps:
- Outline Your Requirements
- Choose A Suitable Software
- Regularly Update Your Records
- Check Your Inventory Levels
- Check Your Data Security.
- Take Regular Data Backup
5. What is the best inventory method for a small business?
The best inventory method for a small business is the JIT (Just In Time). However, it may vary depending on the type of businesses and products you are selling.
