Top 5 common inventory management problems

Inefficient inventory management can put an end to your business. Bear in mind that it is possible for anyone to make costly mistakes that can hurt the business big time if they are not well prepared enough. Thus being able to reduce inventory and its associated costs can bring exclusive advantages to the company. Take a look at the most 5 common mistakes in inventory management below and reflect on your own present business.

1. Forecast management without disciplination

The foremost possible problem of the forecasting process comes from the lack of accuracy. This can happen due to various circumstances such as errors in software used for manufaturing plan, no exact individual directly responsible for forecast management preciseness or lack of collaboration and input ( internal and external) on the process. Inaccurate forecast results in situation when the company does not have enough products their customers want and overproduces on items that are not sold. The answer is very simple: invest in an inventory tracking software that provides accurate data, like Magestore.

2. Improper training going with high-tech system

Modern inventory management systems are all computerized which requires specific high-level training to meet the standard. If warehouse managers, office clerks, and other employees without adequate training are making inventory-management decisions using sophisticated software, then the whole business is certainly being held back from the full capacity to operate smoothly and efficiently. This usually reflects a company with no clear goals or strategies for inventory planning.

“Training” is not only about specialization but also about internal interaction. Consolidation of professional peer interaction and workplace assocations is also a necessary skill that requires upfront and ongoing education.

Proper investment on people is always a must in any organizations as they are the workforce that control the overall process. When your team is able to utilize the full power of the technology at their fingertips, the effects on the ground and on the bottom line will be very noticeable.

3. Warehouse disorganization

Disorganization is the enemy of productivity and efficiency. There is a big difference between a warehouse that just functions, and one that performs optimally. Warehouse management  may seem to be a trivial problem at first – like poorly labeled storage areas – can actually lead to a huge amount of time wasted. Time matters a grear deal in the distribution business. The manual way of searching for poorly labeled and incorrectly stored items can result in a considerable amount of accured losses overtime.

Stick to a simple, clearly marked storage and labeling system. Dedicate areas closest to the loading bays to products that are most in demand, and that need to be picked most frequently. Foster effective communication between departments so that every process within your distribution channel are all operating from the same page, utilizing accurate, real-time data.

4. Poor communication with customers

This is the situation when companies just focus on the service for their key customers. They build their work plan based on the demand of these major clients.This can normally be seen in business that serve mass merchandisers, which ironically contaminates the overall customer satisfaction.

Also there are cases when unexpected purchase orders come, putting stress on the system. However,managers choose to deal with this by unplanned resources ( e.g., overtime, expediting) which may kill the profit margin of these unforeseen sales.

In order to fix this problem, supplier inventory planners should have regular meetings with customers to find out what is driving their contentment; and then create internal processes that satisfy this replenishment.

5. Lack of determination to try new automation

If you’re still tracking inventory with Excel, then you could be losing money. Manual tracking takes a lot of time and won’t get you results. You’re wasting resources and that keeps you from focusing your energy on other areas that can help grow your business. New initiatives to electronically link with customers or suppliers will help increase your competiveness.Try new things and automate your system right now !