26 位库存管理专家揭示了库存管理软件系统中最重要的功能

鲁本·卡茨

@falconwebsites
Reuben Kats 是 Falcon Marketing, LLC 和 GrabResults, LLC 的网页设计销售工程师/客户服务/客户经理。
“以下是一个真实的故事……”
过去几年，我曾在一家名为 GrabResults, LLC 和 Falcon Marketing, LLC 的公司工作。在过去的几年里，我的公司和同事一直在为我们的一个客户设计一个网站和应用程序。有一天，该网站上的某些商品说它们有货，但实际上它们已经缺货了。第二天，该产品的订单接踵而至，客户在发货前被困了几天。正确列出所有数量非常重要，否则任何企业都可能面临法律诉讼。 These cases are caused by carelessness. When a business does inventory it’s better to update on a drive such as Google Drive so it updates on all platforms, on all devices, and on the back-end as well.

Joe Oliaro

@joeoliaro
Joe Oliaro is the Managing Director of Global Corporate Services and a Logistics and eCommerce Specialist. He blogs at The Logistics Broker, covering logistics and ecommerce from a real estate perspective.
“One of the most important things to think about when selecting an inventory management software system is…”
Customization. Identify what level of customization will be required upfront. Too much customization can be costly and may also prohibit future upgrades. If that is the case, you may want to rethink what you actually need or explore other alternatives.
Before developing in-house, sign up for a trial of vendor software to get the basics of what a platform should provide. Many vendors will allow you to run a free trial which will save you time and effort “re-inventing the wheel.”

Rick Armstrong

@QBProConsulting
Rick Armstrong is the founder of QBpro Consulting and an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Rick’s out of the box approach and business experience help business owners with their accounting and IT issues, while allowing them to focus on business success. Rick has over a decade of experience in the accounting field working with SMBs and mid-sized organizations. He is a licensed CPA in the state of California and has all the Intuit ProAdvisor certifications, including QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Enterprise with Advanced Inventory and Advanced Reporting.
“The most important feature to look for is…”
The app’s ability to handle the entire product workflow from quote-sales order-invoice as well as purchase order-receiving-bill processing.
You want to work with an app that is proven in the marketplace.
Finally, the ability to accept orders from multiple sales channels is a big plus.

Brent Blackmon

Brent Blackmon is the Director of Business Development at United Warehouse Co. He received his MBA from The Wharton School.
“Most people are looking for ‘bells and whistles’…”
Tools that the inventory management system (IMS) uses to improve data handling, decision analysis, implementation flexibility, and the user interface.
But, most importantly, what you should be looking for are systems that are free from “bugs and weevils.” Generally speaking, the more features and tools and the more flexible the system is to be adapted to a variety of industry needs, the more problematic it becomes for the developer to support over the long term, and the more likely you are to be saddled with issues for your users.
Instead, look for systems that have excellent support from the software developer, and are built on platforms that are universally dominant and broadly supported in the software industry with other long-term development. Systems that are built on the right platform by a reputable developer are going to be more reliable and have fewer issues.
There are a lot of systems that look pretty cool and demo great, but might fumble and fail right when you need them most. System accuracy and performance uptime are more important than any other features. Beyond that, other important features for your IMS depend on how you will use the system:

• If you are using the system for control of your own inventory, the seamless integration with your ERP or accounting system will be paramount.
• Most modern ERP systems include inventory control, but some do not.
• After that, you need to differentiate between inventory management and warehouse management systems (WMS).
• WMS typically include IMS features, but add other warehouse productivity tools, like warehouse location control, labor management, etc.

There are many third-party logistics providers (3PLs), e.g., public warehouses like United Warehouse, that use IMS or WMS to manage the warehouse, not for their own inventory, but for the inventory of their clients. In the case of 3PLs, the ability to manage multiple clients’ inventory in a single warehouse is most critical.
Other important features of the IMS or WMS will also depend on the demands you make on the system, and how you will use it:

• Order management, and the ability to integrate with billing and accounts receivable.
• Web store integration if you are doing internet fulfillment, B2C.
• Inventory planning and visibility into inbound supplies and expected receipts.

Jon Leighton

@go_neatly
Founder of neatly.io and MD of iResources, Jon has over 10 years’ experience working with ecommerce businesses to build and manage their online business.
“This will depend on the nature of your business…”
However, as a rule, your inventory system should monitor your inventory levels in as close to real time as possible. It should also provide you with an estimation of how many days of inventory you have left, allowing you to manage your stock accordingly. These are the basics I’d expect.
An ideal system will also provide you with a re-order report so when stock levels are running low on certain products ranges your system will alert you, create a purchase order and send it off to your supplier so you never have to disappoint a customer again.

Bob Shirilla

@SimplyBags
Bob Shirilla is the Marketing Director for Simply Bags.
“Integration is key…”
When we investigated inventory management solutions, integration was key. All the inventory management functions are a subset of our Cloud Based Order Management system.
With seamless integration, we can distinguish between warehouse inventory, the number of units allocated to unfulfilled orders, units expected to arrive on pending purchase orders, and true product availability once pending orders are fulfilled.
Drop shippers’ inventory can also be managed together with our warehouse inventory, allowing our team to accurately see how many units are available.
eCommerce success requires a centralized order management and inventory system that integrates with many marketing channels such as Amazon, eBay, Sears, Etsy, and Yahoo Stores.
The cloud-based system has eliminated the need for us to focus on IT training and support. We can see and manage every aspect of our business remotely.

Curtis McCoy

@BestCellular
Curtis McCoy is the President of Best Cellular.
“There are a few features that are invaluable with a good inventory management software system, including…”
The ability to duplicate an existing product and make variations when creating a new product or service. For business owners who have (or ever plan to open) more than one location, a cloud based POS is great because of the ability to transfer inventory between locations, etc. A third feature that I’d recommend when looking for an inventory management system is the ability to bulk upload inventory via a spreadsheet.

Lauren Stafford

@ExploreWMS
Lauren Stafford is a WMS Specialist for Explore WMS.
“It’s very difficult to highlight one key feature to look for in an inventory management system…”
Because specific requirements are often interchangeable depending on varying factors, for example, the scale and size of a warehouse, or the type of goods involved. That being said, product traceability should be high on the list of considerations, particularly if there needs to more information beyond quantity and stock keeping unit (SKU) attached to an inventory record. It may be that a business requires lot tracking to monitor batches along the entire supply chain.
Lot tracking should be an integral component for an inventory management system if a company is handling perishable or potentially harmful materials. FDA compliance relies on a robust system in place in the event of a product recall. Investing in lot tracking demonstrates a good level of care over product safety and therefore over consumers.

Robert Ellis

@MassageTableNow
Robert Ellis is the Owner of Massage Tables Now, an e-commerce store that sells massage equipment and supplies for massage therapists.
“The key to an inventory management software system is one that…”
Makes backorders seamless. Ideally if someone orders an items that is out of stock, then you should receive an automatic alert letting you know which backorders you need to fill for that item.

Neil Mclaren

@vapingdotcom
Neil Mclaren is the Owner/Founder of Vaping.com.
“There are a ton of features to consider when choosing an inventory management software system…”
For a rapidly growing business, scalability may be one of the most critical factors. Some systems are perfect for businesses with a small inventory, but can no longer support the business once their inventory has expanded. It can be an extremely difficult and expensive process to switch services later, as staff will need to be retrained to the new system and the overall operation of the business may have to adapt to the new system’s needs. When choosing a system, make sure that it can scale easily to support your business and inventory growth over the long-term.

Saloni Doshi

@EcoEnclose
Saloni Doshi is the Owner of EcoEnclose, a sustainable packaging company based in Colorado.
“One of the most important features an inventory management software system can have is…”
Kitting or product bundling. Kitting is essentially the ability to easily connect products as parent and child or as related items. This means that if you sell your goods in different units or combinations, your inventory volumes track properly. This can get super tricky for companies that sell bundles that include multiple products, because the product bundle needs to tie to inventory levels for each specific good.

Valentina Ivan

@megaventory
Valentina Ivan is a Marketing Assistant at Megaventory, the online inventory management system that can help small businesses synchronize stock and manage purchases, sales, and manufacturing over multiple stores.
“Inventory management software packages…”
Help companies keep track of the inventory and supplies they use to deliver products to customers more effectively. One of the most important features for an inventory management software system is accessibility. Cloud inventory software is accessible from anywhere on the computer or mobile devices (tablets, smartphones). Authorized users can access all information in real time. The server is managed by the software provider, no need for the internal IT
staff or consultants. Also, employees can enter inventory and asset transactions, review stock availability and locations on the go, using their tablets and mobile phones.

Earl Choate

@concrete_decor
Earl Choate is the CEO of Concrete Camouflage, a manufacturer of artist grade concrete stains and supplies.
“It’s important to be able to easily see the history of how inventory levels have changed…”
This allows you to know the exact amount of stock levels when sales are made. This critical for making sure you have enough products in stock and are up to date with changes in customer demand.

Nabeel Khalid

@crozdesk
Based in London with over 6 years of experience in Digital Media and Marketing, Nabeel is a regular contributor to the Crozdesk Blog.
“In all the top-scoring inventory management software products listed on our site…”
There is one distinguishing feature that seems to set them apart from the rest – order management. My personal inclination would have been PO management as the most important feature, but perhaps that ties in with my own experiences handling POs in the past. The unique and innovative ways they conduct management of orders seems to have a huge impact on user experience.

Rachel Jia

@dynamsoft
Rachel Jia is the technical marketing manager at Dynamsoft, a provider of web and desktop document scanning and related SDKs. In addition to her marketing experience, she also has six years of customer service and technical support experience. This includes having worked on technical imaging and document management requirements of customers from different industries:finance and banking, healthcare, government, and more.
“The most important feature to look for in an inventory management software system is…”
Barcoding capabilities. Barcodes make assets more trackable and auditable. You can easily scan and update the status of an item in your inventory database. It’s efficient and also helps eliminates human errors.
An inventory management software system can benefit from the combination use of linear – or 1D – and 2D barcodes. For example, with a 1D barcode such as a UPC code, you can easily identify an item by an ID number. With a 2D barcode, you can associate more meaningful departmental information beyond device information. For example, you can assign accounting details to know what budget the item came from. You might ID the employee an item is assigned to. You can define a precise location for an item, and more. Simply put, barcodes add layers of convenience to leverage in any good inventory management system.

Rodrigo Montagner

Rodrigo Montagner is the Senior Information Technology Manager for Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health.
“The most important feature of an inventory management software system is…”
The asset tag and lifecycle feature. It should have a very solid built in technology to avoid maneuvering and unnecessary open security breaches.
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