We're frequently approached by small
and mid-sized businesses who find themselves facing an unusual but
positive challenge – trying to keep up with their own growth.
Several things tend to occur in a growing business: inventory levels
rise, shipping activity increases, increasingly complex transactions
involve more people, and the need for inventory management software
becomes obvious. The problem is, many shipping businesses think they
have to chose between good software and affordable software, since
they must be two different things.
I'm often surprised to find out how
long a company has held off acquiring inventory control software. By
the time they talk to me there is usually a noticeable weak point in
their operation because they have little or no inventory controls,
slowing them down greatly. That's hardly a good thing for a small
business whose main advantage is to be faster than their larger
competitors. It's easy to recognize a business stuck in this
stage....a receiving desk surrounded by file cabinets, sticky notes
everywhere, lots of double-checking, UPS drivers waiting around for
someone to hand log all the packages they just delivered. Frantic
rush orders are placed with a supplier because an employee went to
ship an item and discovered it was out of stock.
Can you imagine running your bank
account this way? You wouldn't know you were low on funds until
checks started bouncing! Yet, many companies manage their own
inventories in this haphazard fashion. More efficient inventory
control practices, such as JIT (just in time) ordering are out of the
question for these companies, since that requires precise, up to date
knowledge of your supply/demand chain. Without a system to monitor
inventory closely enough to do this, companies have to resort to the
opposite: what I call JIC – just in case - ordering. They have to
overstock and pay for inventory NOW, just in case an order comes
through tomorrow. If there's no order, they end up paying for stuff
they don't need, and may lose track of in a couple of weeks!
But until recently, adapting a
full-blown bar coded inventory system was a huge step, requiring a
lot of capital and several days of interrupted work flow to install.
In addition, companies hope and plan for growth, and they know their
needs will change. Companies at that exciting boom stage need a fast,
inexpensive, computerized inventory system - but they also need a
system that can expand as business grows. After all, it's hard to
justify paying for 10 years on software that will be obsolete in 4 or
5.
Cloud computing is the answer. Like
most technology, software tends to get better and cheaper with
time. That's why cloud computing offers such an advantage over PC
based software. Instead of purchasing the software, users typically
pay a monthly access fee. The software requires no installation,
eliminating work flow stoppages when implementing the system..
Keeping cloud based software updated is a natural process that
happens behind the scenes with no stoppage of work flow and no
additional expense. Web based software evolves; self hosted software
ages.
Zenventory is a prime example of the
advantages of a web based inventory management system. The safety,
affordability, and flexibility are what it was built on. More
information on our web based products are available at
www.ubiquia.com.
