Inventory control, or stock management, is the area responsible for controlling the flow of items a company sells or uses. In the case of a manufacturer, the main types of inventory are raw material, work in progress, finished goods, and maintenance parts.
The main goal of inventory control is to ensure the plant has enough inputs to manufacture its products. But this management is also important to prevent unexpected costs, minimize losses and, of course, deliver quality.
If a manufacturer does not have good control, it can suffer a series of problems such as lost goods, drops in productivity, rework, and even customer dissatisfaction.
Performing inventory control can be a complicated process, but it is not necessarily difficult — not if the professional has access to a modern solution that helps minimize the challenges of the job.
Knowing how complex it is to choose a good tool, we decided to write this post with one purpose: to show how Useall, a company specialized in developing management software, can help your plant with product traceability and inventory control.
We hope you enjoy it and that the content answers all your questions. Happy reading!
But first, do you know the challenges of stock management?
When we talk about stock management, people usually think the only challenge is keeping products organized inside the warehouse. But the truth is the difficulties go well beyond that.
Lack of skilled labor
The professionals who work in the warehouse are responsible for several tasks, including: controlling the quantity of stored products, creating new purchase orders, keeping the inventory records up to date, and setting minimum stock levels.
The responsibility is therefore substantial, and the professionals involved need technical knowledge and skills to do a good job.
Unfortunately, the shortage of qualified labor is a problem that affects most companies. It is up to the manager to look for alternatives to fill this gap.
Manual processes
Fully automating a warehouse requires a large investment, and not every manufacturer has enough financial resources to transform its facilities.
Because of that, many companies still depend on manual processes, including small and mid-sized manufacturers. That is not necessarily a problem; however, manual tasks such as product traceability tend to take longer and are more error-prone.
Item counting mistakes, slow order picking, late deliveries, and missing materials for production are some examples.
Decentralized information
How does the material purchasing process work inside a company? Usually, the team responsible for the warehouse checks the inventory data, then sends a purchase order to the purchasing department stating the type of material and the quantity to be acquired.
The big challenge of not having all the information centralized is that both purchasing and warehouse teams become prone to mistakes.
For example, if a document is filed incorrectly or the inventory records are confusing, the warehouse team may take too long to place an order or request the wrong quantity of items. The purchasing side, in turn, will make bad buys — and the business can be seriously harmed.
An up-to-date inventory
Keeping the inventory up to date demands constant attention from workers. You need to control the inflow and outflow of raw material, identify defective materials, count products, monitor the minimum quantities for production, and even record misplaced items.
Even with the help of technology, keeping inventory records current is challenging. Now imagine if the team had to perform all these tasks manually.
Even if the plant has qualified labor, it is not free from human error. And when it comes to inventory, any kind of damage, defect, loss or misplacement can result in unexpected costs.
How Useall helps minimize errors and optimize inventory control
There is no doubt that inventory control comes with many challenges. But, as mentioned above, every difficulty can be overcome with the support of a good tool.
Useall is a company that develops practical management systems to streamline tasks and expand business intelligence. And its tools help the production department too.
The software includes features that support the production function, as well as raw material traceability and purchasing, through the scheduling of resources, operations and processes.
Useall's production system is also integrated, which helps simplify the registration of items, products, raw materials and inputs in the administrative system and in warehouse movements.
Among the main benefits of Useall's ERP, we highlight:
- Easier management of production planning and control (PCP);
- Product routing;
- A faster production process;
- Coordinated information and simple processes;
- Effective control over inventory and manufacturing costs.
And it doesn't stop there…
Beyond dedicated production system modules, Useall also offers software for Administration, a Sales Rep Portal, Indicators, Corporate, Mobile Sales, Payroll, Management Accounting, and CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
In other words, Useall is a company that delivers complete solutions that help minimize errors, optimize inventory control, and simplify all of your company's operations.
If you want to enjoy the benefits above and ensure error-free stock management, don't waste any more time — request a demo of the Useall software now!
Originally published in Portuguese at useall.com.br.