Inventory Management: The Accurate Way to Record Stock
Stock control is an important aspect of running any business involving goods. Whether it be a manufacturing, wholesale, or retail business, it is managed by a distribution network that will involve storing and transporting the goods.
Therefore, everyone along the supply chain must know what goods they have at any point in time. In the past, this would have meant counting goods in and out by hand, but thankfully, given the huge volumes of goods, technology has come to the rescue, and we now have the inventory scanning system to keep track of a business’s stock flows.
So, let us consider the importance of keeping such accurate stock records and the consequences for not.
Contents
The Importance of Accuracy
The number and type of goods must be recorded accurately when they are stored. Otherwise, a business cannot know instantly whether they can fulfill an order. Also, there will be less time to prepare for it if that information must be first obtained when it could already have been available through a more digitalized and instant stock control system.
In terms of maintaining accuracy, it is far better to have digits showing on a computer screen than to read ones recorded in a handwritten way. Although figures are less likely to be misinterpreted than words in handwriting, they can still be misinterpreted.
This is one reason why very often, a horizontal line will be used through a seven to distinguish it from a one, and a diagonal line through zero, so that nobody thinks that it is the letter “O” rather than a number. In addition, stock numbers can be alphanumeric, making it difficult to distinguish handwritten numbers from letters.
Consequences of Inaccuracy
The consequences of inaccuracy with stock control are numerous. If a business should order too much of a product because of miscalculation, they may well be stuck with it for some time. This can hamper cash flow for a business. Should a business not order enough of a product because they think they already have enough of it, when it turns out they don’t, an order may be lost to a competitor when it cannot be fulfilled on time.
To avoid these consequences, whatever way around they are, is to invest in an inventory scanner. Then, not only will the figures be legible and not misinterpreted, but all employees will also be able to see the correct stock levels instantly. In addition, it helps with fulfilling orders and ordering decisions.
Inventory Management: Inventory Scanner
So, having established the device’s accuracy, we should say something about how an inventory scanner works and think of how useful it is to a business in all areas of its operation.
Inventory scanners work by scanning the information encoded within a barcode so that inventory management software systems can read it. A central computer system will then track this information. The advantage of a wireless inventory scanner is that it can scan a product in whatever position it is stored within a warehouse or shop. This saves on moving stock unnecessarily until a business is required to do so.
The barcode reader has come a long way and has become invaluable to optimize stock levels, and is here to stay in many sectors involving the transportation of goods. There is no doubt that inventory scanners provide greater accuracy for a business wanting to control stock levels effectively and efficiently. It is important to maintain accuracy with stock control so that ordering blunders are eliminated. These can be embarrassing and have financial consequences. Wireless scanners that are portable devices must be the answer to getting around a large warehouse and always checking all its stock.
Food is concerned, the volume of items is great, and managing the sheer volumes lends itself to technology that allows for products to be digitally tracked. Barcodes have made this possible and are now being used to record information accurately and securely in all business sectors. To embrace this technology as a business, check out the link in the introduction of this article.
