Today's supply chains span the globe, with products made in one country sold in another. Countless numbers of employees are needed to coordinate the movement of raw materials, components and finished products across international borders. The complexity of global trade means that even tiny changes can create monumental shifts in the value chain, exposing your business to risk.
You can combat this risk by closely monitoring your supply chain, including the inventory you hold at any one time, to ensure that everything is where it needs to be when it's needed. However, this visibility is not always easy to gain; even when you have it, keeping track of everything can be challenging. This is where business-specific software can play a crucial role by providing you with essential tools to keep your supply chain running smoothly and efficiently.
Why spend money on software when you can hire people to do the same thing?
One of the major drawbacks of physical inventory is the human element. When you have a physical item, like a piece of steel or an oil drum, you can easily see how much you have, but when you start adding in all the products that make up your inventory, the numbers can get pretty complicated. This can be a major pain point for your business in certain situations. For example, say your business sells steel and you're not sure how much steel you have at any given moment.Inventory is already a complicated subject when dealing with physical goods, so adding in the human element through poorly paid labor is simply a recipe for disaster. In the grand scheme, this is a fairly inexpensive aspect of the business to avoid. For every $10,000 you spend on labor, you can spend $20,000 on inventory control software to avoid these headaches. In the long term, avoiding these kinds of expenses means a much higher profit margin for your business.
What kind of inventory software do you need?
As we've established, avoiding unnecessary costs is a major key to running a successful business – and especially so in the world of logistic processes. When it comes to picking the right software to augment your supply chain, you have several options – from basic to advanced. Here's a short list to choose from:- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) -An integrated package of applications designed to streamline business operations across all aspects of your operations – including sales, purchasing, production, distribution and customer care.
- MRP (Material Requirement Planning) -The inhouse equivalent to ERP for your manufacturing business, focusing on material requirements planning (MRP) specifically for the manufacturing sector.
- Pricing -For those who want to keep things simple, this option gives you a complete database of prices for everything in your store, along with the ability to view pricing for individual products or groups of products in batch.
- Point of Sales (POS) -An application designed to run on your devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, which give you the ability to create purchase orders, track inventory and ensure proper billing and payment.
- WMS (Web-based Management Software) -A type of software that allows you to access and manage all your inventory from virtually anywhere.
- OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) -Companies that produce products for other companies, like Apple and Hewlett-Packard for example, use this type of software to create, track and update product specifications.
- CMMS (Customer Management and Marketing Software) -Allows you to take care of customer orders, monitor order status and invoices, and manage product recalls and cancellations.
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management) -The combination of customer data with marketing and sales strategies, and the analysis of that data to drive business growth.
What is Manufacturing Execution Management?
When it comes to choosing the right software for your business, you have several options for picking the best mix of functionality, price range and user interface. With so much choice, it can be difficult to know where to begin. That is why we have compiled a list of everything to consider before purchasing enterprise-level software for your business.Features you need to look out for
The following features are what you should consider before buying business-oriented software, in our opinion:In order to improve your transportation effectiveness and reduce transport costs, load optimization software is a versatile and powerful tool.There are different approaches to this aspect, but custom load optimization software may be your best option due to its flexibility and functionality. By optimizing details like improving the capacity of each truck and ensuring compliance you may significantly improve your general performance, which will affect your finances and lead you to more effective work in this difficult time for logistics, so you can rely on software for building up your success.
