How IT Planning Can Help Inventory Management

All successful eCommerce businesses eventually learn why inventory planning and management are essential to making good profits at the end of the year. Selecting and ordering the right stock based on the previous year’s sales and this year’s targets requires good inventory management software. If you’re a new business planning your IT needs for the future, you’ll have to include inventory management software on your list. 

All companies plan their IT setups; if you haven’t yet, you should. By understanding what technology your business needs and investing your money in the right programs and apps, you’ll be able to streamline efficiency and gather accurate data that will influence your bottom line. 

The Importance of IT Planning

There are a few good times to stop and assess your technology and create a plan for the future. If you’re a new business just starting, you’ll need a road map of what technology you’ll need to keep your enterprise running. Established companies should stop once every year or two and appraise their successes and failures with technology. Large and small companies should pause once a year and see what requires updates. Why? Because some new apps and programs come out that can help you do business more accurately.

Accuracy is vital. So are communication and organization. Any business’s technology will range from computers full of apps and programs to help individuals do their jobs. Most business owners aren’t tech experts, though. This is why it’s essential to hire an expert to help ensure that your IT plan is within your budget and supports your profitability. 

If you plan to scale up, your technology should be able to handle that. Your programs should be ready to share files with new employees, inventory systems should be easily customizable, CRM methods should be able to take more calls, etc. 

Inventory Management

Technology is an incredible thing to happen for inventory managers everywhere. Think about it. Currently, most businesses have a POS system connected to programs that automatically send orders to the warehouse and deduct products from the inventory immediately. Just 40 years ago, every piece of this process was manual. The person making the sales at the register would turn over a sheet of products sold to the manager, who would give it to the owner. The owner would take it down to the warehouse or send it to their warehouse manager, who would subtract these items from a list of products in paper stack form. Now, it’s all done automatically – if you’re smart enough to have the right technology. We can see improvements in accuracy and communication thanks to technology. 

These improvements allow business owners to plan for the year ahead. Inventory management software will tell you how much of each product you sold and when. It can even help you calculate how many of each product you should order for next year. 

Proper inventory management increases customer service and client loyalty. If you fail to plan appropriately, you can have a shortage of products, or it’ll take weeks for a customer to get something they ordered, which is a big problem. Proper planning helps ensure you aren’t ordering too much of something that isn’t selling and can Improve your overall cash flow. Organizing and storing in your warehouse is essential, as you don’t want to run out of room or lose products. Checking your inventory management software is the best way to avoid that. 

Always plan your inventory management strategy with the best technology in mind. If you’re unsure what that is or how to improve your existing structures, call Internal Computer Services at 804-672-1057 or contact us online. We’ve been working with business owners for over 20 years, providing many services, from network support to IT asset management. Call us today and speak to an expert who can customize an IT plan to fit your business.