It’s not uncommon for a small business owner to feel as if they don’t need a parts inventory system. It’s not the size of the company, however, that determines the need for a parts inventory system – it’s the complexity of the company.

Does your company rely on multiple spreadsheets, lists, and systems to function? Are you finding it harder and harder to keep them organized? If so, it’s time to consider getting a parts inventory system.

Here are some signs that you need to do it as soon as possible:

Sales Are Good but Profits Aren’t

Improperly managed inventory is expensive and no matter how much you’re selling, wasting the money on improperly managed inventory means that your profits will never get better, even if your sales get better.

Learn to manage your inventory properly, and your profits will rise in correlation with your sales.

You Backorder Items Too Often

If you don’t keep your inventory well balanced, your supply may not meet customer demand. This means that when customers make orders, you have to tell them that you don’t have that item in stock right now but you’ll get it to them as soon as possible.

People don’t like to wait for shipping anymore – Amazon.com has spoiled them. Learn to accurately balance your inventory with customer demand and you won’t have orders that can’t be fulfilled piling up.

You Are Using Disparate Software Systems

Having two or more software systems that aren’t integrated usually means that data must be transferred from one system to the other by people, which is an error prone and time consuming process.

If you get a parts inventory system that integrates with your other software, your inventory management will be both more accurate and more efficient.

You Manage Inventories in Several Locations

If your business sells tools and you have hammers in more than one location, maintaining a balanced inventory will be more difficult because you can’t see all of your items at once, making it harder to judge what you have and what you need to order. In addition, having hammers in more than one location will eventually require moving hammers from one location to the other, leaving you open to inaccurate counts and misplaced inventory.

Getting a parts inventory system and letting it combine your inventory locations makes your inventory items easier to track and harder to lose.

You Don’t Know How Much to Order

Your vendor gives a discount when you buy in bulk, but you aren’t sure if overstocking is worth the discount.

A parts inventory system with an accurate inventory count will give you the answer you need.

You’re Losing Customers

Do you lose customers because your items are often backordered? Or because you aren’t sure if the items are in stock when they call to place an order? This type of poor customer service is caused because you don’t know enough about your inventory.

A parts inventory system will help you improve your inventory skills, which will in turn keep your customers happy and keep your sales and profits going up.

Do you recognize these problems in your business? If these problems are happening to you, it’s because you need a parts inventory system. Contact Acumen to discuss finding the right one for you.

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