Inventory Management is an ever-changing and adapting industry. In today’s agile environment it can be hard to manage the changes in customer demands as well as keeping on top of industry news and trends. There are many recent trends that you may have already heard about and it’s definitely a good idea to keep an eye on them as they develop. Let’s look into a few of the inventory management trends that could help transform your warehousing and logistics operations.

Advanced sales forecasting

There are many reasons as to why customers are unlikely to use your services again. This doesn’t solely come down to your products or customer services, its one step back from that. It’s the availability of your inventory. Have you ever considered, at what point long delivery times or the sold-out stock becomes a deal-breaker for you and your organisation? With the rise in online giants such as Amazon, offering next day delivery, customers are increasingly becoming more demanding for immediate availability of stock and will not tolerate waiting for items that are currently out of stock.

Advanced sales forecasting ensures that you have the right products on your shelves or in your warehouse when your customers need them and reduces the risk of having out of stock items. This means higher customer satisfaction levels and in turn, means higher sales numbers. However, the advanced sales forecasting can become almost impossible if you do not have an accurate demand forecast to work from. By integrating Bit Inventory 50 or Bit Inventory 200 into your Sage Accounts you can know your stock levels and trends at any given time to assist you with advance sales forecasting.

 

Digital twin technology

A digital twin is a trend that is becoming increasingly more popular. A digital twin is a technology that replicates a product, process or service in a digital format. It is a bridge between the digital world and physical reality, using sophisticated technologies to gather data such as working conditions, real-time status or position. We have already explored the importance of how Sage stock control can help to shape your warehousing data, but how can digital twin technology help to improve your inventory management even further?

Let’s take the example of your car for a moment. If you have a modern car, chances are you have a real-life example of digital twin technology right before your eyes. In the past, you would know if there was a problem with your car if your car broke down. However, in today’s world, we are well aware of an issue with our cars from warning lights, errors and signals. These messages provide indicators to what is wrong with your vehicle or inform you that action needs to be taken, sometimes even before an issue has even occurred. Pretty handy right? So, imagine the same process but in relation to your warehouse. Digital twin technology can provide a glimpse of your existing and predicted inventory, as well as show you where to locate your stock. This can reduce the cost of stockouts, delivery and manual labour. For successful inventory management, pair this concept with our Bit Inventory software and you will be able to optimise your stock levels and reduce lead times as you will already be aware of low stock levels, and inventory movements before any issues occur.

 

 

User Interfaces

Warehouse Managers seldom have time to wade through reams of data to find the answers they are looking for. Therefore it is important to have an inventory management system with a simple and intuitive user interface that presents data in a logical format. By using an inventory management solution such as Bit Inventory 50 or Bit Inventory 200, warehouse managers and employees can focus on the job in hand, as the simple and engaging interface, that involves little training, presents the data that you need at the touch of a button.

An inventory management solution with a well thought through user-interface can also have additional benefits to your business, such as reducing the cost of training new employees. For example, many warehouses have seasonal peaks, where temporary workers need to be brought in to help cover the spike in activity. With our Bit Inventory solution, there will no longer be a need for long training sessions and you can have your temporary staff up and running in next to no time.

 

 

Expanded functionality

In order to manage their warehouse more effectively, Warehouse Managers are increasingly looking for inventory management solutions that do more than just record stock movements and inventory levels.

For example, if you stock products that are perishable and you need to track expiry dates for stock rotations, or if your items have serial numbers that you need to track for product warranties or rebates.

Choosing an inventory management solution that reduces administration time and tracks expiry date or serial numbers just by scanning a barcode, can help to improve your warehouse efficiency and give your warehouse managers more time to develop new procedures, manage the warehouse better, and enable you to provide an even better service to your customers.

 

 

Are you ready for more information?

If you are, then feel free to get in touch. We have a lovely team on hand who have more details for you. Let us help you find the best ways to manage your inventory and use data to improve your business.