Inventory management software enables you to keep track of the quantity, status, and location of stock inventory. The software is also referred to as warehouse management software when used for larger, multi-location operations.

What are the advantages of Inventory Management software?
Inventory management is important for business and warehouse operations. It keeps track of orders and ensures timely fulfillment to maximize profits and minimizes the inventory cost. It allows you to accomplish the following tasks with utmost accuracy and precision:

• Identify goods for correct fulfillment of sales orders
• Reduce the likelihood of shipping the wrong product to the customer
• Allow your customers to track the progress of their shipment’s arrival
• Input the location of goods for a computerized organization of the warehouse
• Maintain an up-to-date record of the inventory currently in stock.

All the above tasks ultimately improve customer satisfaction and lift profitability of your business.

Buying Considerations
Software and Hardware features of Inventory management software.

• Real Time Inventory control is responsible for keeping track of the locations and shelf or bin numbers for inventory items. It also records the incoming and expiry dates of the items.
• The software’s shipping features generate packing slips, pick lists and other shipping details from sales orders, in different formats like FIFO (First in first out) or LIFE (Last in First out). Sales orders can either be imported by the software or created by it. Receive features of Inventory management software are used to generate put lists and assist in managing the placement of incoming items. Software should also simplify processing of replacements and returns.
• Serial number assignment and tracking eases returning defective items to vendors or process returns from customers.
• If you deal in perishable goods, inventory management software should track expiration date of your stock items.
• Define re-order points and regularly create reorder reports.
• Inventory management software should define unique barcodes and come with the hardware to support barcode printing
• Inventory management software also supports multiple measurement units. Outgoing goods are measured individually whereas incoming are measured as pallets.
• Includes handheld wireless scanners to track individual inventory items. Scanners should preferably be light, comfortable to hold, protected against harsh environment, and support high density as well as linear bar codes.

Compatibility with other software: For ease of operation, select Inventory management software packages that are compatible with modern methods used by businesses for inventory control like barcodes and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags.

Ease of use: The software should be easy to learn and operate. The software should meet all your requirements; provide easy-to-understand features and screens, and easy customization. Get online demonstrations and trial copies of the software before making a decision. You should also compare the user interfaces provided by different vendors to access their usability and convenience.

ASP or hosted software:  Internally-hosted software stores all inventory management details on your office servers and gives your employees full-time access to the data. Installation and maintenance requires technical skill and expertise. Internally-hosted software may also provide more features than ASP- based solutions. Application Service Provider (ASP) software stores information on the vendor’s servers. The vendor’s team ensures security, reliability, and 24-hour availability. Information is accessed via the internet and quality of service may depend upon network failure and congestion. It needs lower initial investment. However, the primary advantage of ASP solutions is that inventory information is accessible from multiple locations without a huge investment in infrastructure and networking of your warehouse locations.

How to choose an Inventory Management Software Company

Select a vendor who takes the time to understand your needs and offers you the right software solution. A commitment to maintain and update the software over time is also a must. Find a vendor who is committed to customer service and can effectively handle bugs, feature requests, regular updates and upgrades to new releases. Call the references to find out about the vendor’s reputation before finalizing your inventory management software provider.

Price Considerations
Price of inventory management software depends on the number of users, locations and inventory items to track and additional features. It varies from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Compare Inventory Management price quotes from multiple Inventory Management companies before making your decision. A general user license is the common method of pricing. However, some vendors license their software on a per-unit basis. Custom integration incurs an additional cost. Scanner prices usually vary from $500 to $2500.

Carefully analyze your needs, evaluate features and capabilities of the software, total costs involved and the track record of dealers before making a decision.