Is your inventory management system a mine field? Are you constantly battling:
- Data-entry errors?
- Limited user access?
- Yesterday’s info (or last week’s)?
- Minimal analysis and forecasting?
Then you’re probably using a spreadsheet.
Spreadsheets are certainly one of the most convenient tools, free to download and simple to use. And yes, you can make a lot happen in a spreadsheet.
But a growing business soon goes beyond the constraints of Excel. Paul Trujillo of Wasp pointed out some of the downsides to using Excel for inventory management back in 2013, and his insights still hold true today. It’s a question of priorities: With limited time and resources, is working the spreadsheet really the best investment?
The question is even easier to answer when you consider some of the benefits of upgrading your inventory tools. A process using barcodes and scanners helps you:
- Easily track large quantities of items
- Reduce data-entry errors and confusion
- Open the information to multiple team members
- Provide real-time data about your warehouse
- Eliminate guess-work
- Generate clarity on what you need and when you need it
To learn more about how upgraded inventory systems can also integrate material resource planning, provide profit margin notifications, and automatically handle reorder/back order/special order fulfillment, read Paul Trujillo’s full article on Wasp.
