Why is inventory management so important to an organisation?

1. Why is inventory management so important to an organisation? Abounding sales is the primary goal of any organisation, and this requires frequent dispatch of products and services. This can only be seamlessly achieved if there is a proper inventory management in place. What then is Inventory management? It is a component of the supply chain which supervises the flow of goods and services from the manufacturer to the warehouse, for adequate dispatch to customers. It is a system that helps to manage logistics, supply chain, and stock control policies of an organisation. Inventory management is very crucial to the progress of an organisation. For ease of management, inventory can be categorised depending on the type of business. If you are in the manufacturing and production business, then you deploy inventory to convert it into another form. Retail businesses on their own don’t stock up raw materials or unfinished goods; their main focus is to deliver completed products to their customers. Retails include departmental stores that stock grocery items or shops that house various brands under one roof. Medical inventory on the other hand specialize in providing certain services to their customers. They still, however, require an inventory in order to assist these services. Such as medical staff in diagnosing and treating various ailments. So, you see, inventory is applicable in whatever business you are into.

2. Poor stock control policies have an adverse impact on business performance and causes some of the following challenges; Inaccurate projections Most organisations tend to predict future demands and use that to develop strategies. However, if they are inaccurate, the business is bound to face inventory and customer satisfaction issues. Poor data accessibility There is a need for continuous inventory information flow but, if there is a lag in information data accessibility, there is going to be misalignment of stock procurement. While the administration is responsible for taking orders and making purchases, the whole team should be updated on the current condition of the inventory with adequate information accessibility. Product availability and prompt delivery Poor inventory tracking can put a business in jeopardy, if there is lack of knowledge about where products are between the vendor and the store, it can lead to late deliveries. With an accurate inventory management system, you can track inventory at every step. Vendor change and re-ordering Using manual Word docs to copy purchase orders can lead to inaccuracies regarding item numbers, currency exchanges, item spec descriptions or vendor to be patronised. Good inventory management will enable you to copy recent purchase orders and choose specific item numbers and specifications from a simple dropdown menu to help avoid errors. It can also help in replacing vendors if necessary, and easy re-ordering of services. Trivial mishaps in this sequence can cause a lot of damage to in a business, and the consequences may be too large to bear for a company. In order to avoid such troubles, business strategies should be continually reassessed. To make this possible, it is important to thoroughly understand the kind of inventory at hand, the challenges attached, and the need for better inventory management practices. Amazingly, Zoho CRM extends beyond the traditional CRM functions and supports complete sales cycle management by integrating inventory management features. Theses incudes price books, vendors, sales order, quotes, products, and invoices. It also manages sales related modules, such as leads, accounts and contacts and opportunities. Zoho inventory helps achieve seamless integration between pre-sales and post-sales accounting activities in a single application. More so, you can procure goods or services from selected list of vendors. Zoho is an on-demand customer relationship management software for managing your customer support, and inventory management functions. It is well integrated with Zoho apps and the third-party app (Amazon, eBay, etc). Hence, integrating your

3. Zoho inventory with your CRM account indirectly opens up more avenues of expansion for your business and organisation at large. When a sale is made in an integrated online marketplace, a sales order and the new customer who made that purchase are automatically generated inside Zoho inventory. Using the integration between Zoho inventory and Zoho CRM, these customers are also added to your Zoho CRM database automatically. Then you will be able to access the sales orders and invoices generated for it in Zoho inventory. Also, online orders for a customer will be visible inside Zoho CRM. Zoho Inventory can helps run a more efficient business. Some of its other advantages are Increase sales Expands your business online with a multi-channelled inventory management system. Set up and integrate your amazon, eBay or Shopify and start selling merchandise with ease. Manage orders Manages your offline and online orders with an efficient order management system. Also, you can purchase orders, backorders and drop shipments, all in a single inventory management application. End-to-end tracking Tracks every item or batch in your inventory with serial number and batch tracking feature. This way, you can either always keep a track on the movement of the items or have better control over the expiry of each batch. Multiple shipping integration Get real-time shipping rates and in-transit details of major shipping carriers and choose a shipping partner for your business, wisely. Accounting and CRM integration This is achievable with a seamless integration of your inventory with Zoho CRM and books. Automatically syncs all your contacts, orders and help you manage financial data without breaking a sweat. Warehouse management Check stock level, manage inter-warehouse transfer, and generate reports for specific warehouses within second. Warehouse inventory management, at your fingertips.

4. Now you see the possibilities of a very good inventory management system and how it can move your business to the next level. Increase your sales and keep track of every service going on in your organisation today. Do it with Zoho Inventory. Interface Sense Interface sense puts the Tech in your Idea. Our 6 C's will help you automate and digitize operations by capitalizing your idea into real-world solutions. With 8+ years in IT, Interface Sense offers IT consulting, no code App development, Custom Web, App and Software Development, ERP implementation, Creative UI/UX services and Pre- configured applications that can be deployed instantly. Read more about Zoho CRM here. Reach out to Interface Sense to learn more about Zoho.