Inventory Management
/ By Karan Mudliar / Blog • Uncategorized/ • • • • • / 0 Comments

How SME’s can improve their Inventory Management Process ?

Majority of small and medium sized businesses dealing with warehousing, retail, manufacturing and distribution often come across inventory specific challenges. Be it issues related to dead stock or struggles with wastage’s and stock losses— lack of a functional inventory management process can seriously impair productivity and restrict growth. Moreover with massive levels of investments manipulating the inventory, it becomes essential for the businesses to treat stocks with respect.

In the subsequent sections, we shall look at some of the most functional inventory management strategies, adopted by the SMEs.

Making Use of Optimization Tools

SMEs are best served by inventory optimization tools that focus on specifics and help them gain a competitive advantage over the competitors. These tools help marketers and warehouse managers evaluate the concerned networks for the best policies and even the existing inadequacies. Each supply chain node is closely analyzed by the standalone tools which extract data from ERP and WMS systems. In a nutshell, these optimization tools analyze supply variability, demand variability, and certain replenishment parameters for staying ahead of the market and industry loopholes. SMEs are increasingly investing in these tools for carving out a pretty intuitive inventory management process.

Employing Real-Time Analytics and Business Solutions

Majority of SMEs are increasingly focusing on real-time analytics for managing the inventory in a better way. With technological innovations at the fore, it is quite easier for them to create a unified information model that comprises of financial data, supply chain insights and other granular information sets. Having a cohesive platform for employing varied business solutions is a great strategy that SMEs are increasingly focusing on.

Treating Stock like Finances

Companies that treat stock like finances never have to compromise on productivity and growth. Moreover, it is only appropriate to render similar levels of importance to the stocks as they are the organizational assets, precisely in the form of inventory. SMEs must keep a detailed track of the commodities by analyzing the inflow, outflow, stock movement and the price points. Businesses that have good understanding of the stock often fare better as compared to others as they usually avoid making additional orders and swear by smarter inventory-specific decisions.

Adopting Automation

Automation is probably the only solution that can easily streamline the existing inventory management requirements. Moreover, SMEs opting for this strategy need not depend on manual interventions. Be it placing replenishing orders for stocking or even following up the deliveries, automation allows businesses to stay ahead in terms of innovation. With automation on-board, it becomes easier for companies to detect excess and dead stock while addressing issues related to supply and demand.

Improving Functionality

Small and medium sized businesses should look to improve the functionality of the concerned warehouse for addressing the inventory specific requirements. The most probable solutions include staff access and updated inventory. Moreover, businesses must also look to integrate the existing inventory systems with a POS system; precisely for staying updated and minimizing the lag time. That said, improved functionality also leads to advanced reporting where SMEs can easily gather new insights, depending on performance and inventory management. Some of the other benefits associated with improved functionality include customizable workflows.

Monitoring Slow or Dead Stock

While we did talk previously about the dead stock, it’s high time we address the elephant in the room. Firstly, a dead stock takes up quite a lot of space and hinders functional additions. SMEs should be able to tabulate the stocks based on the dynamism and must try to get rid of the stagnant ones, at first. Slow moving stocks limit profitability by restricting cash flow. Lastly, businesses must segregate the stocks and commodities within the warehouses based on their shelf life. Once the stagnated stocks are liquidated, it becomes easier for the companies to control the deadstock levels, make new additions and improve productivity.

Inference

These are some of the most functional strategies which can be deployed by small and medium sized businesses for improving the existing inventory management framework. Apart from the mentioned ones, companies should also be able to added newer technologies into the mix for improving the entire process of inventory management. Last but not the least; SMEs should emphasize on amplifying the workforce efficiency within the warehouse for handing the inventory in the best possible manner.

Fulfillment
/ By Karan Mudliar / Blog • Uncategorized/ • • • • • • • • • / 0 Comments

Benefits of Recruiting an Efficient Fulfillment Partner

When it comes to optimizing an existing supply chain framework, organizations must clearly emphasize on the fulfillment services. Moreover, fulfillment service providers also play a vital role when it comes to handling and improving the shipping logistics. While certain organizations opt for in-house fulfillment services, some prefer outsourcing majority of their work to experienced service providers which can also handle the basics of distribution.

While having a strategically situated fulfillment center comes in handy, fulfillment partners must also look to streamline and simplify the supply chain process. Moreover, an efficient service provider must also aim at improving the customer experience, across multiple channels. In the subsequent sections, we shall look at the topmost traits pertaining to a highly efficient fulfillment service provider while enlisting the most prior ones for improving productivity.

Better Order Management Framework

Organizations must have high expectations from their fulfillment partners and the ability to address order management should be at the top of the pecking order. The e-commerce fulfillment service provider should be able to pair all of its attributes with innovative technologies. That said, efficient order management must cater to multiple channels while being able to handle the nooks and crannies of product demand and order placements.

Inventory Management Capabilities

Every organization needs to be careful about the product inventory, spread across diverse marketing channels. Therefore, an efficient fulfillment partner must offer considerable levels of visibility for tracking real-time and continuous inventory-specific developments. This trait helps companies manage the supply chain in a better way.

Reporting in Real-Time

A functional fulfillment service provider must be able to report about e-commerce whereabouts in real-time. This, in turn, offers an expansive and detailed view of the inventory; thereby helping customers complete orders in a quick and seamless manner. Real-time reporting feature is probably the most underrated aspect of supply chain management and an efficient fulfillment service provider should bring the same to the fore.

 

Hassle-free Fulfillment Completion

A fulfillment service provider should at least be able to complete the tasks associated with fulfillment in a precise and seamless manner. A service provider that can cope up with the promotional sales and seasonal demands can be easily considered as bankable. However, it’s all about pairing services with advanced technologies, in order to achieve fulfillment perfection. Needless to say, an efficient fulfillment partner can improve the visibility of the concerned brand by rendering back-end expertise and other intuitive ideas.

Ability to Fix Warehouses

A fulfillment partner with considerable levels of expertise can help a warehouse with the designing elements. There are times when a non-scalable warehouse starts busting out at the seams courtesy lack of spaces and necessary adjustments. Fulfillment service providers handle the internal affairs by making the warehouses more conducive to work.

Handling Customer Relationships

Customer relationships are important, especially when e-commerce services are concerned. Fulfillment partners allow company owners to track the buyer journeys; therefore allowing them enough time and resources to personalize the service sets. This minimizes the number of complaints and helps improve productivity, almost immediately.

Can we do without Outsourcing Fulfillment Services?

Every fulfillment-specific requirement is usually handled by the 3PL service providers, as a part of an expansive package. However, small businesses usually do not have the financial backbone to invest in a third-party service provider and they usually resort to in-house options for addressing the requirements. If an unbiased consideration is taken into account, a fulfillment service provider with the above mentioned traits is necessary as the absence of the same can cause the sales volume to fluctuate and that too, regularly. Apart from that, companies without innovative fulfillment technologies are bound to experience order errors. In addition to that, an efficient fulfillment partner also eliminates the shipping, processing and product-specific errors.

Companies without reliable 3PL services also lack scalability i.e. the ability to adapt and innovate according to the market sentiments. An efficient fulfillment partner renders scalability to the organizations by streamlining the processes related to packaging, inventory control and shipping.