For any business buying and selling products, especially in an age of multi-channel retailing, having an efficient inventory management system is an important component to ensure the smooth running of a business. The right system assists with making the right decisions with regards to purchasing and replenishment and ultimately influences and improves an organization’s inventory performance. Inventory management systems are a vital part of running a profitable business and highly advantageous when it comes to providing more accurate data to assist with using up less warehouse space, or making sure that not too much cash is tied up in inventory.
NCR Counterpoint provides software for inventory control that will meet the needs of organizations, regardless of size, that suits the type and scale of its business. The key advantage is a system that provides an integrated solution; one that pulls together information into an organized structure.
The standard level of functionality when it comes to inventory control starts off with core functions like merchandise tracking, distribution, costing and real-time data that provides helpful information to business owners. Software that is specialized will allow you to track the merchandise going out, how much is in left and give a clearer picture of when and how the merchandise is moving.
When your merchandise is recorded into an inventory system in full detail, you are able to assign barcodes, serial numbers and SKUs, group them into categories and subcategories as well as assign them to one or multiple vendors. Items can also be bundled if they are to be sold as a kit or group as well as being tracked as loose items or combinations of items. If a business sells items that are manufactured from components, the software allows the creation of bills of materials to define and assemble an item from all the various parts.
One of the key part of managing inventory is the pricing of goods. NCR Counterpoint’s inventory management system looks after the pricing of merchandise, where an item can be assigned up to six prices, be it by color or size, or by store. For more complex promotional prices like special seasonal offers, mix-and-match pricing and bulk purchase offers, custom price rules can be set up, even prices driven by margin so that you can control them to meet your profitability goals.
Any competent inventory management software will allow a business to oversee the flow of, and track the movement of merchandise. Efficiently control the number of units so you can prevent the inventory from becoming too high, or dwindling down to a level that is too low. Transferring items between locations is easier with software that expertly suggests items and quantities to move, so that your merchandise is distributed effectively.
Whether your business is a start-up, one looking to further its growth, or an established business that is expanding to new markets, an inventory management system is flexible enough to keep pace with the various phases of a business’ growth level, as well as helping to meet a retailer’s goal of making as much profit whilst maintaining less stock quantities.