Welcome back to Part 2 of this blog series on what you should know about purchasing asset and inventory management systems. Prior to investing in one of these systems, it is important to determine exactly which type you need. Keep in mind that assets are owned items of value, while inventory is the amount of consumable materials on hand.
In Part 1, we used the example of Asset Tracking in a Manufacturer’s Shipping Department.
Today, we’ll explore what an Inventory Tracking system might look like within the same department.
Inventory Tracking in a Manufacturer’s Shipping Department
Examples of inventory in a shipping department might include:
- Labels for the printer
- Fuel for the fork trucks
- Rolls of tape for the tape machine
These materials aren’t considered assets, but are just as important the everyday operation of the business.
Inventory Management can:
- Avoid overstocking materials that you don’t have storage space for, yet prevent you from running out of the materials you need.
- Link to other systems, such as your Purchasing System, to automatically create orders.
- Meet regulatory requirements by tracking the genealogy of materials used in the production of a product, and then record any tests that were performed on this material.
Benefits of Inventory Management:
- Strengthen relationships: Improve customer-vendor interaction and designate additional time for improving your products. You may also create more transparency by letting your clients and/or partners access your inventory management system. Another option is to empower your customers with the freedom to initiate their own orders. With improved customer service, you can preserve current customers while attracting new ones.
- Centralize your operations: Your employees can accomplish tasks more quickly and efficiently when all of the information they need is accessible in one place. You can also boost inventory turnover, decrease inventory lead times, and forecast more precisely.
- Reduce costs: Prevent overstocking your inventory to decrease labor costs, price markdowns, disposal costs, and storage fees. You can also enhance your inventory workflow to keep sales that were lost previously, and to identify and get rid of preventable costs.
Next Steps
Feel free to contact us at (800) 830-9523 or info@L-Tron.com, and we’ll be happy to help you figure out which system would be best for you.
About the Author:
Amanda DeRoo is one of our ‘Edu-Techies’ and specializes in digital content creation. Her passions include SEO and her pets (any animals for that matter). She can be reached at: