Cloud-based Online Inventory Management Systems Offer Small Businesses Confidence and Better Control
Small and mid-sized businesses are typically challenged when dealing with the issue of maintaining good and accurate records of their inventory. Whether working with raw materials, products being manufactured or stock of finished product awaiting sale, the inventory management process often eats up a great deal of valuable time and creates a lot of tedium. It's also a process where mistakes can be made and inaccuracies in product counts recorded. But with the development of online inventory management tools, business owners now have a relatively low cost and efficient new way to eliminate all of these headaches.
Some businesses do it the old-fashioned way - by writing it all down on paper and keeping ledgers. Others attempt to use what programs are available, but may not be able to justify the cost of a large enterprise system like those typically found in larger corporations. So they make do with what is available on a smaller scale, and actually wind up often trying what functions are available in something like Quick Books, or even Microsoft Excel or even Word. Either way, they still experience frustration as these methods are very limited.
But given the convenience and power of the internet, business owners should be relieved to discover that these arcane methods of logging and tracking inventory can be put in the past; with a few simple clicks within your web browser of choice, you can get access to some very versatile technology right from your office, your home or even on the road via mobile device. There is no software to upload or install, and no need to invest in additional hardware for the office.
Numerous programs have sprung up and are available for trial runs directly over the web. Much like the best online CRM (customer relationship management) cloud-based online packages that help companies manage the sales pipeline, record and display histories of interactions with your customer base and archive documentation and contracts, these inventory programs allow businesses to input and manage all of the critical data relevant to the flow of product inventory at one or even multiple sites.
But don't make the mistake of thinking that these are merely web-based spreadsheets that keep track of amounts of items in your warehouse. They do that, but they're also equipped with useful functions that let you create, print and send off the kinds of documents and forms that are most often associated with inventory-related issues, such as purchase orders and packing slips. It has also become more common to integrate inventory management with larger CRM systems, allowing you to also manage other major functions like accounting and the sales process from proposal to final sale.
Perhaps the best aspect of the programs is that the data you have taken the time and effort to enter into the system is constantly being built up, creating a growing database of information about your operation that can always be seen in real-time. All of that data can be manipulated and grouped in any number of ways to create a number of valuable reports that can show you snapshots of your inventory, or help you forecast and plan by reviewing your data by any criteria you choose.
Inventory data that has traditionally been logged into books or ledgers by hand, or kept on a solitary PC hard drive, cannot easily be accessed by more than one person. But by storing all of your data "in the cloud" anyone granted access privileges will be able to see the data instantly, at any time, from any place they can log into a computer or mobile device. Updates to the database made right now are available to view right now, by all authorized users. This creates an unprecedented level of convenience.
Finally, if you're concerned that all of the information you've taken the time and effort to input might disappear somehow because it does not physically reside in your hands, don't worry. Like other cloud-based applications that are gaining in popularity, online inventory management systems are also backed up to secure and safe storage devices and servers and are usually "redundant" meaning that the backup is also backed up, so there's always a copy of your database somewhere in the event of disaster.
Some businesses do it the old-fashioned way - by writing it all down on paper and keeping ledgers. Others attempt to use what programs are available, but may not be able to justify the cost of a large enterprise system like those typically found in larger corporations. So they make do with what is available on a smaller scale, and actually wind up often trying what functions are available in something like Quick Books, or even Microsoft Excel or even Word. Either way, they still experience frustration as these methods are very limited.
But given the convenience and power of the internet, business owners should be relieved to discover that these arcane methods of logging and tracking inventory can be put in the past; with a few simple clicks within your web browser of choice, you can get access to some very versatile technology right from your office, your home or even on the road via mobile device. There is no software to upload or install, and no need to invest in additional hardware for the office.
Numerous programs have sprung up and are available for trial runs directly over the web. Much like the best online CRM (customer relationship management) cloud-based online packages that help companies manage the sales pipeline, record and display histories of interactions with your customer base and archive documentation and contracts, these inventory programs allow businesses to input and manage all of the critical data relevant to the flow of product inventory at one or even multiple sites.
But don't make the mistake of thinking that these are merely web-based spreadsheets that keep track of amounts of items in your warehouse. They do that, but they're also equipped with useful functions that let you create, print and send off the kinds of documents and forms that are most often associated with inventory-related issues, such as purchase orders and packing slips. It has also become more common to integrate inventory management with larger CRM systems, allowing you to also manage other major functions like accounting and the sales process from proposal to final sale.
Perhaps the best aspect of the programs is that the data you have taken the time and effort to enter into the system is constantly being built up, creating a growing database of information about your operation that can always be seen in real-time. All of that data can be manipulated and grouped in any number of ways to create a number of valuable reports that can show you snapshots of your inventory, or help you forecast and plan by reviewing your data by any criteria you choose.
Inventory data that has traditionally been logged into books or ledgers by hand, or kept on a solitary PC hard drive, cannot easily be accessed by more than one person. But by storing all of your data "in the cloud" anyone granted access privileges will be able to see the data instantly, at any time, from any place they can log into a computer or mobile device. Updates to the database made right now are available to view right now, by all authorized users. This creates an unprecedented level of convenience.
Finally, if you're concerned that all of the information you've taken the time and effort to input might disappear somehow because it does not physically reside in your hands, don't worry. Like other cloud-based applications that are gaining in popularity, online inventory management systems are also backed up to secure and safe storage devices and servers and are usually "redundant" meaning that the backup is also backed up, so there's always a copy of your database somewhere in the event of disaster.
