Stock Control and Inventory Systems

Stock control, otherwise known as inventory, is about how much stock you have at any one time, and how you keep track of it. It applies to every item you use to produce a product or service, from raw materials to finished goods. It covers stock at every stage of the production process, from purchase and delivery to using the stock and re-ordering.

Efficient stock control will mean you have the right amount of stock in the right place at the right time. It ensures that capital is not tied up unnecessarily, and protects production when there are problems with the supply chain.

Computerised stock control systems run on similar principles to manual ones, but they are more flexible and information is easier to retrieve. You can quickly get a stock valuation or find out how well a particular item of stock is moving.

A computerised system is a good option for businesses dealing with many different types of stock. Other useful features include:

• Stock and pricing data working alongside accounting and invoicing systems. All the systems draw on the same set of data, so you only have to input the data once. Sales Order Processing (SOP) and Purchase Order Processing (POP) can be integrated in the system so that stock balances and statistics are automatically updated as orders are processed.
• Automatic stock monitoring, triggering orders when the re-order level is reached.
• Automatic batch control if you produce goods in batches.
• Identifying the cheapest and fastest suppliers.
• Bar coding systems which speed up processing and recording. The software will print and read bar codes from your computer.

The system will only be as good as the data put into it. Run a thorough stock take before it goes "live" to ensure accurate figures. It's a good idea to run the previous system alongside the new one for a while, giving you a back-up.

Designing a System

There are many software models available. Your needs might include:

• multiple prices for items
• prices in different currencies
• automatic updating, selecting groups of items to update, single-item updating
• using more than one warehouse
• ability to adapt to your changing needs
• quality control and batch tracking
• integration with other packages
• multiple users at the same time

Avoid adding functionality that's too complicated for your needs as it will be a waste of time and money.

All Ziontech Stock Management Systems are developed with our client's needs in mind - we will always deliver a tailor-made system designed around your specific requirements.