Business Solutions - The Importance of Inventory Management

Posted by Maya E.
1
Feb 26, 2013
1426 Views
Inventory management is probably one of the least glamorous aspects of running a business however, it's also one of the most important. Inventory management is necessary in forming accurate data about storage supplies, logistics, production efficiency and sales. Inventory management is also essential in improving the efficiency of a company, prevent human error and promote a productive working environment.

The bottom line here is that if you do not have information about your inventory then you will not be able to control your inventory, and if you don't control your inventory then it follows that you won't be able to handle the needs of your customers. Inventory management is designed to influence a wide range of inventories and stocks, including raw inventory, which includes unprocessed materials and goods; work in progress inventory which covers goods that are still in the production process; and finished goods inventory which refers to those kinds of products which are ready to be sold to your customers. Each one of these processes is vital to the success of any business, which is why taking care of your storage supplies is very important.



Without inventory management, businesses will not be able to control their own products, and ultimately, it will endanger their day to day operations, particularly with regards to their ability to handle their customer's needs. This is because customers ultimately don't care how you count your inventory or manage your storage facilities. What they do care about is getting what they want as soon as they want it. In other words, they only care about efficiency.

Having said all that, it's important for you to know that there are two ways to carry out inventory management. You can either have company personnel manually count your inventory, or you can get the services of an automated system. Whichever of the two you choose, you'll get the same results. Your company will be able to exert greater control over its own inventory.

With that in mind, let's now proceed to understand the main benefits of inventory management on a broader context. The main benefits of inventory control can be summarized in the following way:

1. It protects a business from demand fluctuations.

2. It allows a company to improve its services to better serve its customers and clients.

3. It improves the efficiency of production operations.

4. It prevents the loss of materials due to theft, accidents or simple administrative error.

5. It helps reduce the workload of administrative personnel.

6. It protects a company from fluctuations in production output.

7. It helps improve working capital by preventing the risk of over stocking.

8. It helps improve accounting related activities.

9. It helps prevent duplications when ordering stocks.



As you can see, the importance of inventory management is very broad. Anything that goes into inventory is subject to this process, which is why the larger a company becomes the more resources and manpower it will need to in managing its inventory. In this sense, inventory management remains one of the most important cornerstones of modern business practices.

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