A Comprehensive Guide about Stock Management: Everything You Need to Know

Are you running a business and want to enhance your productivity? If yes, then a stock management system is what you need. It will help you streamline your business operations through automation and improve your productivity. In this article, you will get to know everything about inventory management and inventory management system and how they can help your business.

However, before getting to know about inventory systems, let’s just get to know what inventory management is.

What is Stock Management?

Inventory management refers to managing, tracking, and controlling the inventory of the business. It involves managing sales, purchases, and production. Furthermore, it keeps track of moving the stock in, out, or across the business premises. Inventory management also helps in keeping the count of stock and ensuring that the right quantity is maintained.

People often confuse inventory and stock and consider them two different things. Although they are different, in business, they are interchangeably used.

Type of Stock Management

When it comes to Inventory management, there are three basic ways of doing it. Enlisted below are the types of inventory management;

• Periodic inventory management
• Perpetual inventory management
• Barcode inventory system

Periodic Inventory Management

Periodic inventory management involves tracking inventory after a certain period of time. The time period can be a week, month, or year. Periodic inventory management does not require any kind of system or software. You can do it manually by physically counting the stock. Furthermore, this type of inventory management is only useful for small businesses. If you are running a small store, selling a single or just a few products, you can opt for this type.

Perpetual Inventory Management

Perpetual inventory management includes tracking stock continuously. It involves automatically tracking and updating stock after every sale or purchase. Not only that, but it also includes tracking the stock through warehouses and the production process. In order to perpetually manage and track your inventory, you need an inventory system. The inventory system will help you automatically track the stock with each sale and purchase.

Barcode Inventory Management

Barcode inventory management is associated with perpetual inventory management. It also involves tracking and managing the stock round the clock. With each item sold, bought, produced, or even returned, it will record the transaction and update the inventory. Furthermore, it involves barcodes printed on items and a barcode reader. Using a stock management system, you just need to scan the barcode, and it will update the inventory.

Inventory Management Systems

The inventory management system includes the software and hardware involved in managing the inventory. It helps you track and control the movement of your stock and its count. Whether you have a single store or various branches, you can use a single inventory management system to manage stock at all your branches. Not only that, but the inventory management system also helps manage stock at warehouses.

Features of a Reliable Inventory Management System

When it comes to the inventory system, it is used to improve the productivity of a business. Hence, the features of a reliable inventory system include everything that is required for a business to streamline its operations.

• Real-time Visibility of Inventory: A reliable inventory management system offers real-time visibility of inventory. Such a system is cloud-based and keeps the data updated with each transaction.
• Monitoring levels of Inventory: A reliable inventory management system keeps monitoring the inventory. It notifies when the quantity of a certain item drops lower than a certain level.
• Advanced Reporting: An inventory management system also provides advanced reports. Whether you need a comprehensive report or individual reports, it provides everything.
• Tracking Transaction History: Using an inventory management system, you can track every transaction.
• Management of Multiple Warehouses: A reliable inventory management system allows you to manage multiple warehouses. It allows you to track the exact location of your stock.
• Management of Multiple Branches: With the help of an inventory management system, you can manage multiple branches. It also ensures every branch has an adequate quantity of an item.
• Grouping of Inventory: Grouping is one of the most vital features of an inventory system. It allows you to make groups of your stock and further divide it into different categories.
• Secure and Safe: A reliable inventory management system ensures the security as well as safety of your data. It ensures that you never lose your data, and only authorized personnel can access it.
• Accessible anytime and anywhere: Another important feature is of an inventory management system is accessibility. It allows you to access your data at any time and from anywhere.
• Import/Export of Data: Last but not least, an efficient inventory management system allows you to import previous data and export the data to your local drive.

Get an Inventory System Today

If you want to streamline your business management through efficient stock management and reporting, then it is wise tin invest in a reliable inventory management system. SMACC is one of the most trusted and reliable financial accounting systems. It comes with integrated inventory software. This inventory management software does not only offer the features mentioned above but also offers various other features. So, get your SMACC account today and start your free trial.