Best Inventory Management Software

What Is Inventory Management Software?

Inventory management software is a management tool for effectively improving inventory management. When used correctly, this type of software system will ensure that you can easily and accurately keep track of inventory levels and identify the essential products needed by your business.

In simple terms, this is a stock-keeping program that will make sure that you never run out of essential items in your business while at the same time preventing you from buying a lot of unnecessary items that are not urgently required.

It can be seen as an effective way to save a lot of money by buying only the stuff that is needed right now. The best inventory management software, when used correctly, should yield significant results, which will be evident by the reduction in clutter and wastage in your stock rooms, as well as the availability of extra funds that can be allocated elsewhere.

What Does Inventory Management Software Do?

A good inventory management solution will take over and smooth the day-to-day stock management tasks. Most of the work that is required to maintain the right inventory levels is rather repetitive, and as a result, employees quickly get bored doing it, and this leads to some important tasks not being done as regularly as needed.

What inventory management software will do is take over those boring tasks and leave your team free to handle other things. By keeping you updated on how your inventory is looking, this tool will allow you to confidently go about your day-to-day life, knowing that your stock management is in good hands.

The inventory management software will only be as effective as the various business protocols it is aligned with. In other words, how well it works depends on how well you use it. The tool will require that you first input accurate data regarding what inventory you already have on-site, as well as how fast it usually runs out. You can go a step further by highlighting the relative importance of each item.

With this basic information, an inventory management solution will be able to formulate a schedule for you, showing what to buy and when to buy it, with particular emphasis on the items that you would have highlighted as being essential to your business.

How We Rank the Best Inventory Management Software

At SaasGenius, our ranking methodology for inventory management software is rigorous and thorough. We meticulously evaluate factors such as pricing, ease of use, features, and support to create an unbiased score. We use the Genius Score, a rating system that ranges from 0 to 100, to determine the overall quality and value of each software solution. Rely on our proven methodology to find the best inventory management software that perfectly fits your business needs.

Main Features of Inventory Management Software

Despite the many differences between the types of software systems that are available, certain features are common among them, which are:

• Real-Time Inventory Tracking

The feedback from the system is only effective if it is delivered and acted upon quickly, before any negative impact on the business.

• Real-Time Inventory Value

Different items have different levels of importance depending on what the business needs at that particular time. A properly calibrated system will know how to categorize each inventory item.

• Reorder Points and Low Stock Alerts

Good inventory management will alert the management team about any stock items that are running low, thus giving you time to act upon this information.

• Purchase Management and Supplier Management

Just as important as it is to keep the business well-stocked, it is also important to buy from the right suppliers. A good system will be able to help with this by suggesting where to buy from

• Proper Inventory Reporting

An effective inventory check is only as good as how it is reported to the people handling it. A good inventory management solution will give easy-to-understand feedback to the team.

Benefits of Using Inventory Management Software

Successful implementation of the best inventory management system in your business should yield results fairly quickly, and you should start seeing quantifiable benefits within a short period. Some of the benefits include: 

Automated Inventory Management

There is no need to have dedicated personnel doing regular stock counts as long as you have a good inventory management system in place. By being an automated process, it will immediately update any use or purchase of stock, meaning that at any given time of day you can take a look at the stock count and have an accurate picture of what is needed. 

Prevent Stock Outs

Stock-outs can be a result of a slow rate of purchasing of essential items, or inversely, overselling at a rate that is unsustainable under the current stocking schedule. By implementing an inventory management solution, you can balance these two operations and find a way to keep optimum levels of inventory that are in line with the growth of the business.

Reduce Business Costs

A lot of money can be wasted on buying too many certain items that will end up lying in a warehouse for months or even years before they are needed simply because of poor inventory management. The loss can be compounded if some of those items expire before use.

These costs to the business can be reduced by investing in a proper inventory management solution. It will also save you from running out to buy emergency items that have run out suddenly, which is another situation that can be both inconvenient and costly. 

Improved Inventory Planning And Forecasting

By keeping you updated with current and accurate reports of inventory levels, the best inventory management system will give you enough time to carefully plan how and when you will restock. This will also give you enough time to schedule meetings with suppliers that may be needed as you create a detailed inventory restocking forecast.

Add New Selling Channels

When keeping a constant eye on the inventory levels, a good system will show you which items are selling fast and which ones are not. This will give you the option of either not stocking the poorly performing items or, at the very least, finding a way to move them faster by implementing, for example, targeted promotions that will boost sales of those items.

Who Should Use Inventory Management Software

Any business that wishes to survive needs to have some sort of inventory management system. The bigger companies can set aside a budget specifically for inventory management, so it is the smaller companies that need to seriously consider investing in the best inventory management system that will improve the way they manage their business.

How Small Businesses Can Use Inventory Management Software

When you are running a small business, cutting costs and saving money whenever possible can be the difference in either becoming a successful enterprise or watching your business go broke. Great care needs to be taken when managing inventory because one of the most expensive parts of a business is its inventory.

Although some small businesses might argue that they cannot afford to set aside money for an inventory management solution, what they do not realize is how much money they can end up losing simply because there was a lapse in inventory management. 

Considering that situation, the money needed to implement and maintain a good software system is an obviously worthwhile investment.

How Much Does Inventory Management Software Cost?

The features that are offered by different inventory management systems are wide-ranging, and this is reflected in their varied costs. On average, you can expect a good software system to cost you around $100 per month, which is the industry average. 

Businesses operating on a tight budget can probably get by with much cheaper options, while some very expensive systems can cost upwards of $3,000 per month.