Every part of your business is affected by your inventory management processes. They shape your interactions with suppliers and other businesses in your supply chain. Critically, they affect your customer service – your ability to meet demand, deliver in a timely manner, and the quality of your post-sales support. Your inventory management systems also affect the efficiency of your warehouse operations, which can have a major impact on profitability and cash flow.
Inventory management software plays a major role by working as a central database and control system that, in conjunction with your POS system, coordinates the ordering, flow and audit of stock levels across all areas of the business.
In a marketplace where one-click ordering and fast delivery are the standard, your stock control system must be:
- Scalable
- Able to process large volumes of data
- Capable of providing fast, accurate data to all retail outlets in real time
- Easy to learn for everyone, including your point of sale staff.
An effective inventory management system can deliver a number of benefits for your business, including:
Better decision-making
Fast, real-time data collection in all areas of your business, including point of sale, drives better decisions. Advanced reporting features will help you keep close tabs on the products customers are buying, and how they are making their purchases. Better internal business intelligence – within your inventory management, POS system and other retail processes – allow you to proactively (and pre-emptively) solve business issues. Seamless integration with in-store and online point of sale systems gives your store staff instant access to stock levels along with sophisticated bar-coding features, and the ability to suggest alternative or add-on purchases. The result is that you need never miss an opportunity to make a sale.
Improved profitability and cash flow
If you have a large business with multiple warehouses and retail outlets, your choice of stock control system is just as crucial as your point of sale software. You will be able to purchase the right amount of inventory to meet demand, whilst also reducing the amount of slow-moving, obsolete stock in your warehouse. Along with your POS software, your inventory management software must be able to provide big-business capabilities even to small, single store retailers. In the past, this required heavy investment in equipment, retail software packages and on-site maintenance. A centralised, secure data centre architecture gives smaller stores advanced inventory management capabilities at a fraction of the cost of previous point of sale solutions.
Higher customer satisfaction
Real-time inventory control allows you to stock what your customers want, when they want it, at the best available price. When they shop online, a real-time stock level display can increase buyer confidence and help drive purchases. Advanced customer care features must be integral to your inventory management systems and point of sale solutions; these can help you create personalised marketing campaigns that bring buyers back to your store. Your staff should also be able to access the features of your POS systems and stock control system any time, any place. An easy to use, web-connected interface makes this possible. Coupled with the right POS solution and inventory management software that is both powerful and easy to use will also result in happier, more productive staff, improving your bottom line even further.
Looking to fast track your growth with a smarter Retail POS System? Contact the Retail Express team today on 1300 732 618.