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Originally Posted On: https://britecheck.com/blog/inventory-management-software-and-supply-chain.html
With factors like the pandemic, climate change, and trade disputes severely disrupting the flow of goods, companies need tools that maximize visibility and control. This article showcases inventory management software as a critical requirement for surviving supply chain shake-ups.
Supply chain operations have changed dramatically over the last two decades. Thanks to technological advancements and lower trade barriers, national boundaries have virtually collapsed, giving rise to a new wave of globalization that allows everyone to do business with everyone else.
However, this extensive interconnectivity has significantly increased the risk and potential impact of disruption. For instance, companies that source raw materials abroad have to accept that pandemic-related upheavals and tariff changes around the world could make products expensive or even impossible to manufacture.
Disruption is the new normal for global supply chains. As an enterprise, you need the right tools to maximize visibility and control in this environment. With a robust inventory management system, you can cover your bases and keep your supply chain afloat during tough times.
Supply Chain Disruption Explained
When external forces prevent a company from producing, distributing, or selling its items, it faces a supply chain disruption. Some of these obstacles are outside a company’s control, such as a pandemic, natural disaster, or significant administrative change. Others stem from business decisions, such as a trade war that renders an item too expensive for customers or potential suppliers.
Supply chain disruption is nothing new. Businesses have always dealt with disruptions from unpredictable events like earthquakes, tsunamis, oil spills, and fires. However, disruption has become more widespread today. Because of the interconnectedness of global markets, the effects of a disruptive event can be felt far beyond its epicenter.
Whatever its source, a disruption can create severe instability in your business. In extreme situations, a breakdown of your distribution network could cause your entire operation to crumble and your business to fail.
How Can Inventory Management Software Reinforce Supply Chain Operations?
most critical step companies can take to prevent disruption from affecting business continuity.
An effective inventory app provides real-time visibility and control over inventory availability and product flows. Below are five note-worthy ways the right inventory management solution can help your business stay afloat amid disruption.
1. Visibility in an unstable environment
The complexity of today’s interconnected world makes inventory visibility crucial for all companies that rely on a well-oiled supply chain. For example, if a supplier fails to deliver on time or ships defective goods, proper visibility allows you to act quickly and avoid losing sales and dissatisfying customers.
Inventory management software lets you keep track of everything on one continuously updated dashboard instead of blindly depending on manual, outdated stock reports. Consequently, you can make the best decisions to prevent supply chain obstacles from affecting your most valuable channels.
2. Faster response to supply and demand changes
Thanks to increasingly interdependent global markets, supply and demand changes caused by disruptions in distant locations can trigger cost and efficiency fluctuations throughout the supply chain. Using an inventory app to monitor and manage stock movements can help you identify market changes before they spiral out of control.
Stock management systems like Britecheck even generate alerts when inventory metrics like minimum and safety stock go above or below your control parameters. As a result, you can take immediate action to restore stability to your supply chain.
3. Enhanced inventory accuracy and traceability
Inventory accuracy and product traceability are crucial to a supply chain’s resilience. When you are struggling to get critical raw materials, the last thing you want to hear is the stock report you used to place orders was inaccurate.
Stock management software drastically reduces the need for manual inventory assessment and updates. Features like item location tracking and barcode scanning can help minimize errors in stocktaking, order processing, and product movements. An inventory app will also give you a detailed record of every inventory transaction, which you can use to quickly pinpoint and rectify costly mistakes.
4. Speedy recovery from disruptive events
Manual inventory management methods can be disastrous for your business if a crisis leaves you unable to access your data. Physical documents and files are the first to get lost, damaged, or destroyed in the chaos after a disruptive event.
A comprehensive inventory management solution can help you avoid these problems by giving you access to your data anywhere, anytime, using centralized cloud storage. Therefore, you can quickly get back on your feet and restore supply-chain operations, even if your on-premises systems are unavailable.
5. Effective partner management
Getting the right products to the right place at the right time can be a challenging balancing act, especially with today’s complex inventory requirements. Besides optimizing your operations, you may also need to expand your focus beyond internal procedures and factor in supplier and customer capabilities.
An inventory app provides a 360-degree view of stock dynamics across all channels, enabling you to identify struggling vendors and customers early and effectively adjust your ordering and delivery plans. Centralized inventory management can also help you keep a closer eye on customer stock levels based on recent dispatches and accurately predict future orders.
Complete Supply Chain Visibility and Control Starts with a Proper Inventory Management System
Surviving and thriving amid supply chain disruptions requires you to stay on top of your inventory levels and movements. So, if you’re still using spreadsheets and other manual processes to manage your stock, now is the time to switch to a robust, feature-packed inventory management system.
Britecheck can help you track your stock in real-time and get alerts when inventory fluctuates above or below critical norms. As a result, you can anticipate and respond effectively to supply chain shifts and keep your enterprise running.
Try Britecheck today and gain the supply chain visibility and control required to survive in a disrupted business landscape.
