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The Definitive Guide to Inventory Management Software for Small Businesses

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The Definitive Guide to Inventory Management Software for Small Businesses

Reliable, Robust 3PL Solutions; Now at your service.

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Inventory management is important for all businesses – however, for a small business, its significance is notably monumental. 

For the most part, this is because as a small business, you don’t get enough space for mistakes. It’s truly a do or die situation; you either provide your customers with exactly what they need, when they need it, or you watch your business go to a better-performing business. 

In order to avoid that from happening, you have to be on your best game constantly. And the only way to ensure this is by equipping your business with seamless inventory management processes that not only impress your customers, but also help push your business forward in the right direction. 

However, inventory management is not as easy as it sounds, especially when you are a small business. There are many aspects to it that must be taken into regard when it comes to refining your inventory management processes, and most of them can be quite difficult to wrap your head around as a small business. After all, staying up to date with your inventory activity 

So, inventory management for a small business is hard – but it is not impossible. In fact, if you integrate a specialised inventory management software for small business in your operations, inventory management can become a simplified, easy process that brings in a heap of benefits for your business. 

In this guide, we will cover what inventory management is, why it is important for small businesses, best inventory management practices, and of course, the role of an inventory management software!

Contents: 

What is Inventory Management?

Why is Inventory Management Critical for a Small Business?

Best Inventory Management Practices as a Small Business

The Role of an Inventory Management Software

What is Inventory Management?

In order to understand why inventory management is such a big deal for your business, you must understand what inventory management is. At its most basic level, inventory management comprises all those processes that help you streamline your stock handling and product fulfilment. As such, it is a fundamental part of the whole supply chain, and must be paid attention to if you are looking to ensure that not only do you have the right quantity of products available at hand, but are also providing your customers with the right kind of products. 

However, as mentioned, this is inventory management at a very basic level. In actuality, there is a lot to inventory management. For example, did you know that good inventory management is always linked to equally good warehouse management, because the better organised your warehouse is, the more productive your inventory is likely to be? Also, shrinkage, which is one of the major causes of loss for businesses, can be monumentally increased by inventory management? 

What is Inventory Management_

The point is, inventory management may only be one facet of the supply chain, but it extends into many of the other branches that you need to take care of as a small business. 

We talk more about what inventory management is in The Definitive Guide to Inventory Management, which will also enable you to get a better glance at what inventory management stands for in general. 

Types of Inventory Management

As a small business, it is quite important for you to understand what the different types of inventory management are. This is because different types of inventory management are suited for different types of businesses. To see which one is the best for you, you should have at least some knowledge of the different types. 

The most prominent ones include: 

  1. Raw Materials Inventory
  2. Work-in-Progress (WIP) Inventory
  3. Finished Goods Inventory
  4. Decoupling Inventory
  5. Safety Stock Inventory
  6. Packing Materials Inventory
  7. Cycle Inventory
  8. Service Inventory 
  9. Transit Inventory
  10. Theoretical Inventory
  11. Excess and Maintenance Inventory
  12. Repair and Operations (MRO) Inventory

Depending on the nature of your business, you will have to focus on one, or even a few of these types. For example, if you have a manufacturing business, you will typically be focusing on raw materials, WIP, and finished goods inventory simultaneously. Similarly, any business would want to have a maintenance and repair inventory, so that they can readily address any problems that they may encounter. 

The trick is to see which type of inventory is critical to your overall operations, and pay attention to it above all. However, to maintain a balance in your business, you must try and achieve efficiency in all inventories within your warehouse, and only an inventory management for small business can help you with that – but more of that later. 

Inventory Management Techniques

Inventory Management Techniques

Just like the types of inventory management, there are also many inventory management techniques that can be used to accelerate the success of your inventory management business. 

The most popular types of inventory management techniques are: 

Each one is the right fit for a different type of business, and you must understand the nature of operations in-depth before you commit to an inventory management technique. For example, the JIT inventory technique is a little risky, so if your business is not in the position to try things out and take any risks, this inventory method is not for you. 

Again, you can find out more about inventory management here.

Why is Inventory Management Critical for a Small Business?

There are many reasons why establishing a proper system of inventory management can help a small business. 

Let’s look at why inventory management is critical in general. To begin with, it makes things super easy. Imagine having to take care of your shipments and orders without an established system of inventory to refer to. To be frank – this could make anyone go crazy! Inventory management, especially good inventory management streamlines stock handling to the point that it becomes the easiest part of your operations. 

Thanks to top-notch technology and advancements in warehouse control, inventory management has become ever easier to implement. This means that even if you give it a little bit of your attention every now and then, it can be quite easy for you to reap the benefits of inventory management. 

When it comes to small business, inventory management is even more critical. This is because in order for any small business to succeed, there needs to be considerable understanding of business operations on behalf of the business-owner. In that regard, you need to have the trajectory of your sales, shipments, and production on your fingertips. This can only happen through the help of inventory management, especially through the help of an inventory management software for small business. 

In fact, inventory management can be so beneficial for small businesses that it can help you predict your supply and demand curve, refine the delivery experience, and make even the production a breeze. 

But in our opinion, the best part is that investment in inventory management leads to you reducing your expenses elsewhere! It goes without saying that this is extremely beneficial for a small business, considering how most start-ups and small-scale setups aim to save money in any area that they can. 

Luckily, the benefits of inventory management do not end there. In fact, it can help you with: 

Customer service

It is an unquestionable fact that for a small business, the key to success lies in customer satisfaction. If you manage to impress your customers and provide them with a shopping experience that resonates with them from start to finish, you’re basically sorted for good!

That’s exactly where inventory management comes into play. When you have an apt system of inventory management in place, it becomes more convenient for you to impress your customers. For example, you can make their purchase journey ten times better by ensuring that you are only selling the products you have in stock (there is nothing customers hate more than an out of stock excuse that comes at the wrong time) with the help of inventory management. 

Not only that, inventory management can also help you track backorders and inform customers in advance for any new products that they may be interested in. This way, you can also adequately gauge the demand for certain products, which makes it all the more easier for you to plan production by focusing on high-demand items. 

Inventory Management Software for Small Business-Better customer service
Inventory Management Software for Small Business-Theft Control

Theft Control

Theft and other forms of shrinkage are one of the biggest challenges businesses face when you have a physical shop. So, even if you are an online, small-scale business, this challenge is relevant since it almost always comes with the question of business expansion. 

This too, can be readily fixed with the help of good inventory management. Since inventory management for small businesses means more warehouse and inventory visibility, it is easier for you to constantly be in touch with your inventory activity, know how much stock you have, and be aware of your estimated revenue. 

In short, inventory management means a safer, more secure outlook of your inventory operations. 

Financial Management

Inventory management is also a great way to improve your financial management. This is a great benefit for small businesses since they are most likely to struggle with managing their finances and understanding them in a way that can help you improve your overall operations. 

Inventory management can help you improve your bookkeeping because it is heavily focused on tracking each and every item you sell. Good inventory management means that you are logging sales value every time you sell a product, as well as additional information such as the costs of acquiring your stock, shipments, gas, restocking, and even the costs of repairs and safety stock. 

Having a 360 degrees look at the way your finances are operating helps you understand them better, and ultimately use them to improve your financial management as a whole. It can also help you save money in the longer run, and as mentioned earlier, this is (and should be)the ultimate goal of any small business. 

Inventory Management Software for Small Business-Financial Management
Inventory Management Software for Small Business-Supply and Demand

Supply and Demand

We have touched upon these in a few other sections above, but knowing your supply and demand is of essence when you are a small business. This is because unlike large corporations, a small business doesn’t necessarily have the leeway to shoot in the dark. For a small business, it is important to plan each and every detail of their operations, and ideally produce only as much as is needed by their customers. 

And fortunately enough, good inventory management definitely steps up in this regard. It provides you with beneficial long term supply and demand data. With a good inventory management software for small business, it is likely that this data will be presented to you in the form of insightful, in-depth reports that are not only easy to understand but will help you figure out which products sell the most and which don’t. Based on this knowledge, you can meet customer demands a lot better and save your time, effort, and other resources for products that actually bring in business.

Scalability

No matter what the size of your business is, the ultimate dream for a business-owner is to grow their company and make their operations as scalable as possible. Especially if you are starting a business on a small-scale, it is more than likely that your eventual goal is to expand it. 

In fact, even if you don’t have scalability in mind for your small business yet, you must realise that as your business grows gradually, it becomes more complex anyway. Which means that its success requires extra attention and definitely much better organisation. In a way, this is yet another amplifier for the importance of inventory management, since inventory management is what ultimately enables you to keep things in control when your business starts growing! 

Especially when you have a good inventory management software for small business in place, you will see that good inventory management is all about adaptation. Your inventory management processes adapt with you, and you see them evolve just as your business does. 

Inventory Management Software for Small Business-Scalability

The truth is, inventory management is important for a business of any size. It helps you run your operations as smoothly as possible, as well as making things super easy for you in every other regard. 

However, it is not enough to set up a system of inventory management and call it a day. To be honest, that is something that any and every business does, in its own way at least. Even something as simply as a bunch of spreadsheets and thin data is technically inventory management. 

In order to actually realise the benefits mentioned above, it is of utmost importance that you have a good inventory management system in place. The most important part of that is inventory management software for small businesses, as there is nothing better than specialised technology and automation when it comes to combating the needs of a small business. 

However, the integration of such a software is only one way to improve and optimise your inventory management experience as a small business. Before we get to that, let’s have a look at some other, very effective ways to refine inventory management as a small business.

Best Practices for Inventory Management as a Small Business

Thanks to great advancement in the inventory, warehouse, and labour management areas of the supply chain, it is not very hard for small businesses to take an initiative and improve their inventory management processes to a great extent. In fact, with just a few tweaks here and there, you can easily create an inventory management experience that helps you make a mark on your particular industry, despite being a small business. 

In this section, we will take an in-depth look at what these best practices are, and how they can be easily implemented and tied up with your overall inventory management software for the best of results. 

Inventory Management Software for Small Business-Pick the right inventory management method

Pick the right inventory management method.

This might sound like a very basic, textbook tip – but it works, so it’s important to look at. In the beginning of this guide, we briefly mentioned that picking the right inventory management method is essential for your business, so now look at how exactly you can do that. 

The first step is to understand that no matter what the nature of your business is, you will always be able to find an inventory method that works the best for you. You can refer to the inventory management methods we have listed above. In addition to that list, an inventory management method that works particularly well for small businesses is the FIFO (first-in-first-out) strategy. This method means that the products you get into your stock first, and the products that you must sell first. This means that the older products in your stock will deplete first. 

For many small businesses, the FIFO method is actually the most desirable method. Some benefits of the FIFO method include: 

1. Increased warehouse space

Since FIFO means that you are opting for an organised way to deal with your stock, it means that you are optimising your warehouse space to the best extent. Using the FIFO method, goods can be packed in a much more compact manner, which means that you will ultimately be getting more space to work with in the warehouse. 

2. Streamlined inventory and warehouse operations

Luckily, FIFO means that you only need two free aisles on the loading and unloading sides. This is a simplification that leads to streamlined, fast, and considerably more efficient warehouse operations which is another big plus point for small businesses that don’t want to indulge in high-maintenance, extremely complicated ways to carry out their warehousing procedures. 

3. Better quality control

This is one of the most prominent aspects of the FIFO method. Using this method, you can ensure that the quality of your products is upto the level. This is because it involves choosing the oldest products, you are providing your customers with a refined, considerably more consistent experience. This gives your customers even more reason to believe in your brand! Not only that, but the FIFO method means that the number of  mishaps will likewise be decreased, as the products clients get won’t be out of date items that weren’t properly circulated within the inventory. 

4. Better warranty control

Nobody wants to sell stuff that is out of warranty. Why? Well, primarily because no customers want to buy that stuff! By implementing the FIFO method, you are essentially selling the products that still have valid warranty according to manufacturer data. The fact that customers will have more time with these products, again, contributes towards customer experience and basically ensures that you are not selling obsolete items. It means happy customers, and that is ultimately what every business, big or small, wants! 

So, the FIFO method is great – especially for small businesses. However, we are tempted to remind you yet again that just because it works for others doesn;t mean it is the right fit for you! Do your research, look at the pros and cons of different inventory methods for small businesses, and then decide which one is the best fit for you.

Pay attention to forecasting.

As mentioned earlier, it is important for small businesses to plan everything about their business – and that too in detail. This is something that can only be aptly achieved by the right tools, and is known as demand forecasting. 

Essentially, what forecasting means is that you use accurate data collected over a certain period of time, and shape your inventory management methods based on that. So, forecasting is associated with the decisions you make based on the record of your sales, seasonality, market trends, and other pertinent metrics. In fact, accurate forecasting may even involve inventory managers taking a look at the overall economy, weather, consumer behaviour in particular industries, etc. 

Inventory Management Software for Business-Forecast

Data-backed decisions mean that you are significantly minimising the area of doubts in your inventory management, but maximising your sales opportunities. It also essentially means that you are cutting your losses since you are only deciding to focus on things that you know will definitely matter. Since it is important for you as a small business to avoid risks and make sure that your efforts and money isn’t going to waste, forecasting is truly a great thing to concentrate on. 

Also, remember that forecasting is extremely beneficial when it comes to determining your long-term vision. By extensively analysing, evaluating, and judging the progress of your business in the present day, you are making it easier for yourself to understand where it is that you want to be in the future. It can help you set adequate long-term goals, and even develop the right pathway to get to them as fast as possible. What’s even better is that forecasting allows you to set attainable, specific goals – which means that there is very less chance of failure involved. 

Inventory Management Software for Small Business-Regularly track stock levels.

Regularly track stock levels

As a small business, it is important for you to track your stock levels almost religiously. Keeping track of exactly how much stock you have at hand is a crucial aspect when it comes to inventory management. This is true for all sections of the inventory: whether it is the raw materials, the WIP products, or the finished goods, you must know exactly how much you have so that you can offer the right amounts to your customer. 

In this regard, the accuracy of the inventory management system for small business is also a significant factor. For the most part, this aspect is dependent on the software you choose. However, it also somewhat depends on your physical counts. Yes – that’s right! Even in the age of automation and AI, it is important for you to get out there and do some of the work yourself. This is because the stock levels shown on your software solutions may not always be accurately reflective of what you actually have on board. 

One way you can do this is by regular cycle counting. As long as you are documenting this correctly and consistently, it can work amazingly in terms of reducing errors that may adversely affect the access and availability of your stock for customers. You can amalgamate your physical count with the data you have available in your inventory management system, which will allow you to have a more accurate insight into your stock.

Tracking your stock regularly also means that you are creating processes where you instantly get low stock alerts and other stock-related notifications. This will allow you to quickly order any items that you need which ensures that your customers don’t have to wait too long to get their hands on the products they want. 

And lastly, regular tracking of stock levels can also help you manage product demand, which brings us back to the point of product demand being a great guideline for you to decide your inventory management procedures in accordance with. 

Remember that quality comes first.

All this time, we have been talking about customers and a refined customer experience has been your ticket to success as a small business. But what’s the key to customer experience? What is the one thing that customers are fond of and rely on when it comes to deciding what business to engage in? Quality!

The quality of your products should be your first priority. If you send low-quality products to your customers, you are doing your business the greatest disservice. Yet, product quality is not the only kind of quality you should be concerned about. Even the quality of the overall shopping experience you offer your customers greatly matters. 

Inventory Management Software for Small Business-Remember that quality comes first.

This is exactly why your inventory management process as a whole should be indubitably focused on quality control. It is your ultimate responsibility to consistently impose quality restrictions, carry out inspections, and stay vigilant through the product cycle. By doing this, you can identify missteps early on and fix them before they manifest in the actual product and cause you detriment. 

Every single product of yours should meet specific standards, and hence quality control becomes an inherent part of inventory management. It should involve working with precise documentation, following the right instructions, paying attention to invoice matching, and making sure that the orders align with what you are sending out. 

You must also remember that quality control is not a one person job. It isn’t not enough for you, i.e. the business owner, to be concerned about the quality control when everyone else onboard is least concerned. Quality control is an inventory management practice that can only be properly implemented across the supply chain if every single member of the team; from the inventory manager to the various warehouse operatives, follows the rules set for inventory management and quality control. 

As such, the best way to ensure that you are maintaining a good quality overall, both in terms of products and in terms of services, is to create a culture that recognises quality as the ultimate goal for your business. Every single step of the fulfilment procedure; starting from when an order is placed right down to when it is received as a shipment on the doorstep of the customer, should be focused on maintaining quality. 

We understand that this is easier said than done – however, it is not impossible to achieve. The best place to start with this is to survey your employees, and see what they think you value the most. If they realise the importance of quality, well and good. In case they don’t, it is your sign to equip them with resources that not only indicate to them that quality is the ultimate focus of your business, but also make it easier for them to achieve quality in whatever they do. 

A super simple way to do this is to find an inventory management software for small business that also takes into account other aspects of warehouse management, especially labour/workforce handling. Merging the two will really help you create the best experience – both for your customers and for your employees!

Inventory Management Software for Small Business-Formalise all your work processes.

Formalise all your work processes.

The fact that a small business needs a work culture that specifically prioritises efficiency cannot be understated. Although all businesses need their work organisation to be top-notch, a small business even needs it more so since it is essentially what determines the overall progress of their operations. 

Now, when we talk about the formalisation of work processes, we refer to the end-to-end automation that can be implemented with the help of an inventory management software for small business. This kind of automation ultimately improves not only inventory management processes, but also helps you gain the right sort of data and use it to refine other aspects of your business. Automated work processes are great in terms of speeding up your work and ensuring that the customer experience you provide is seamless and wholly resonated with your audience, whatever it may be.   

Yet, that’s not all what formalising your work processes mean. In fact, the greater aspect to this sort of formalisation and automation is the “human” side. As you might already appreciate, it is important for any business to leverage manual labour to the best of their abilities if they want to succeed in the longer run. No matter how advanced your automation techniques are or how much it makes everything easier, there is no other more important asset to your business than your human labour. Hence, in refining your human labour and their employment journey, formalised work processes play the best part. 

When you formalise your processes; i..e create a standard procedure that must be understood and followed by everyone from you to your staff, you are creating a culture of cohesion and consistency. It enables you to set a particular standard against which the performance of your workers as well as your work processes can be measured against, and that gives everyone a better chance of contributing properly towards the success of your business. 

Moreover, formalised work processes can help you minimise human error. If you take this one aspect into account, it will be quite beneficial for your business as human error can unfortunately, at times, turn out to be a great detriment to your operations – both in terms of efficiency and in terms of finance. 

But, how does formalisation of processes and creating a standard procedure actually help? Like we discussed earlier, it creates a certain consistency. Let’s take receiving stock as an example. When there is a proper procedure set as to how your receive stock, what the different steps you have to take before you finalise your purchase, and what you do with it afterwards etc., it becomes a lot easier to implement that same level of consistency across the rest of your work processes as well. This is because formalisation of this process means that everyone knows what it is, and can follow out. In case your usual warehouse operatives that deal with this sort of a thing aren’t available, anyone else can step up and do the job. This means that you are ultimately reducing the chance of unnecessary variation in your processes so that the same, proven procedure can be quickly mimicked and the task completed in the same amount of time. 

Remember, receiving stock is only one process out of many that can be formalised for better fulfilment overall. There are many others that can be, and should be standardised so that not only you reap the benefits of a seamless fulfilment journey, but also that your labour force doesn’t have to cross oceans for tasks that can be achieved with simplicity.  

Organise your stockroom.

Your stockroom is another very important asset for your business, and hence its organisation becomes vital for your overall success. In fact, how well you organise your stockroom has a direct impact on the efficiency of your supply chain – if the situation in your room can be best described as chaotic, there is no doubt that your supply chain will suffer on every level. 

This is mainly because lack of organisation within the stockroom can lead to a waste of time, and in the market where time is money, this is a big no. If you can’t navigate the stockroom with ease or find the products you are looking for quickly, take it as an indication that you need better organisation before this problem manifests into a bigger one! 

Inventory Management Software for Small Business-Organise stockroom

Ideally, the organisation of your stockroom and inventory should take into account the various challenges you are likely to face as a business. For example, if you are a retailer dealing with highly perishable items such as food and beverages, your inventory management and stock handling techniques should take into account the storage of such items because if it doesn’t, you won’t be able to put your space to good use. 

Ultimate, the organisation of your stockroom has a lot to do with space as well! Your end goal should be to optimise your space in a way that there is enough for all your stock. For this reason, stockroom and overall warehouse organisation is very important, as it can turn out to be the most important factor in terms of deciding how well your business is running. 

Although there are many other tips that we can look into, we believe that the 5 we have discussed above should suffice to get you started with inventory management as a small business. Small ventures are keen on avoiding as much complexity as they can (rightfully so), and hence it is always better to start with the basic, more important tips as compared to the complicated, advanced ones. 

The greatest news, however, is that all the things we have mentioned in this section are very easy to achieve. In fact, most of these will only require just a few clicks from your end, thanks to the advent of inventory management software for small businesses. 

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The Role of Inventory Management Software for Small Business

In the 21st century, you will find many setups in the seemingly never-ending pursuit of a free inventory management software for small businesses. 

Why is this the case? Why do all businesses feel the need to get their hands on inventory management software? 

Well, for the most part, this is because of the many benefits of inventory management you can access, just with the help of a simple software solution. 

In this section, we will discuss the most important aspects of an inventory management system for small business: from its benefits to the questions you should ask yourself before you invest in one, ending with the best possible pick of an inventory management software. 

Benefits of Inventory Management Software for Small Business

In this guide, we have taken quite an in-depth look at the perks of inventory management, and how it can be leveraged to accelerate the success of a business. The truth is, inventory management can only become a core component of your success if it is done properly. In today’s time and age, as we continue to exist during an ongoing technological revolution, this can only be done if automation is not only implemented, but prioritised by your business. It is true that using technology should not only come into question for inventory management and in fact, should be a core value for your overall business. However, for inventory management, it is more or less necessary. 

Against this backdrop, understanding the importance of inventory management software for small business is more convenient and graspable. An inventory management software helps you bring automation to the very centre of your inventory management processes, and single-handedly elevates your business to the next level of success – which is why it is a more or a less a requirement for your operation as a small business. 

Want to outshine your competitors? An inventory management software will help. 

Want to impress your customers? An inventory management software is the answer.

Want to improve your sales? Turn to inventory management software!

It is not an exaggeration when we say that many problems that you face as a small business can be fixed when you look at the roots of your set: your inventory and warehouse. By improving your processes at this level, you can easily transform the trajectory of your business overall. 

Some benefits that an inventory management software for a small business can provide you with include: 

Reduced costs

As we mentioned in the discussion of the importance of inventory management for a small business, one of the biggest aims for any business is to spend as little money as possible. This is because the less money you spend means the more you can expect your return-on-investment to be. Luckily, this is one of the biggest advantages of an inventory management software for small business! 

Since the software is aimed towards improving the order and accuracy of your inventory processes, you don’t get to make a lot of mistakes. When there are only a few errors in your processes, it means that you don’t have to spend a lot of money fixing them. In fact, with an inventory management software, you can more or less say goodbye to damage control as a whole. 

An inventory management software also proves to be useful in terms of optimising your storage space. The better optimised your storage space is, the less money you have to spend on the storage of unnecessary items that are adding no value to your business. Thanks to the cutting-edge technology used in a good inventory management software, it is quite easy for you to know what the right quantity of stock is, and therefore you will only be investing in as much as you need – nothing more, nothing less. 

And lastly – speed. We have stressed on the importance of speedy inventory management processes quite a few times in this guide, and that is mainly because saving time also means that you are saving money. End-to-end automation means that you are completing all the necessary procedures quite quickly (and also that you are not engaging your labour as much), which means you are doing a favour to your pockets. Who wouldn’t want that? 

More accuracy

At this point, you probably already know just how important it is to maintain an accurate record of your inventory – an accurate inventory is the best inventory! Sadly, many businesses, especially retailers, neglect this aspect and don’t have an accurate inventory. The problems in inventory accuracy can be quite damaging. 

This is why inventory tracking is such a big deal. It allows you to keep a better check on your inventory activity and see that things are going the right way. And this can only be done with the help of inventory management software. 

An inventory management software not only decreases the amount of inventory a company has to keep on hand, but it also improves order accuracy. This allows a small business to save a lot of money, effort, and other resources! With all the data it gathers, an inventory management software can help you understand exactly how much you need to increase your sales, which means that you can finally eliminate the guesswork. This is why many businesses that rely on inventory accuracy and efficiency can even close down a warehouse or two, because they simply don’t need all that extra space anymore!

Improve data visibility and planning

Making data-based decisions is important for any business operating in the 21st century. Thanks to inventory management software for small businesses, this is not hard. They work with a considerable amount of business intelligence, which means that there are many benefits that you can get for your business with a simple software solution. 

Using features like barcode scanning and batch tracking, you can easily build data assets that can late be used to improve other areas within your business. If you use the right inventory management software and configure your processes just the right way, you can easily answer important questions like which products are your most popular products and which customers are the ones you need to focus on the most. It can also help you gauge customer demand a lot better, which helps with forecasting, so it is a win-win situation overall. 

Remember that if you are trying to take over your competitors and establish yourself as the go-to option for your customers, it is necessary for you to introduce business intelligence to your core processes like inventory management. In fact, the data you get from inventory management and other similar processes like warehouse and order management, can ultimately also be of use to, say, the marketing team. Therefore, it is important!

Better customer service

Your customer is your key to success. The more your customer trusts your business, the more chance you have to stay in the game for a longer run. However, the customer of today is not easy to impress. They are used to top-notch technology, fast customer service, customisation, and convenience of all sorts. This means that even a small discrepancy in your processes that is reflected in the customer experience you provide can lead to you losing that person’s business forever. 

Yet, this can be avoided with the help of inventory management software. As discussed, inventory management software brings seamlessness, consistency, and efficiency to your work processes. It means that no longer do you have to worry about the fulfilment procedure going the right way; since everything is automated in a holistic manner, you can rely on cutting edge technological solutions to do all the work. 

Fortunately, relying on automation and AI for these aspects means a speedier, optimum fulfilment procedure that your customers can simply not refuse!

With these benefits (and many more), an inventory management software becomes a necessity for any small business. When picking the inventory management software of your choice, you have to check whether or not it provides these benefits (the best inventory management software for small businesses always will!)

Best Inventory Management Software for Small Business

All businesses need inventory management software, but for small businesses, it is a necessity. This is because if you want to compete against your bigger, more successful counterparts, you have to achieve operational efficiency in the area of inventory management – and you can only do that if you have the support of an advanced inventory management software for small business. 

When it comes to the best inventory management system for small businesses, there are quite a few options you can turn to. However, there is none better than Canary7. 

Canary7 is the latest and the best inventory management software for small businesses. It has been planned and designed to support the unique needs of small businesses: it improves efficiency, reduces costs, and helps you increase your profits without putting in a lot of effort. 

The best thing about Canary7 is that it is not just an inventory management solution. It is also the best software option for warehouse management, warehouse control, order management, and labour management. As such, you can merge all these important aspects of your supply chain together and create an experience that is easy for you to create, but hard for your customers to forget! 

With Canary7, you can finally turn your inventory management from a nightmare into a seamless, optimised process that solidifies the success of your business. It is easy to understand and implement, and can be used by everyone: you, your managers, and your warehouse operatives. 

If you are looking to stay in touch with your inventory activity, identify gaps of improvement within the inventory management processes, and transform the entirety of inventory and warehouse handling: Canary7 is the best option. 

So, what are you waiting for? Book a demo for our inventory management software for small businesses completely free of cost, and see what we are talking out!