If you’re a small business, managing and tracking inventory comes with the territory. After all, you need a firm handle on when an item might sell out, when to reorder or replenish your stock, and how much unsold products will cost. Making these decisions while managing other aspects of your business is far from an easy feat. But imagine if you could make inventory-related decisions based on reliable data—all from your phone!
Inventory management mobile apps are more sophisticated and reliable than simple spreadsheets, with barcode scanning and real-time inventory data capture features. What’s in it for your business? You can track inventory levels easily and quickly and access vital stock data whenever you need it. Dwindling stocks will never hinder your sales growth again.
Let’s look more closely at inventory management challenges your small business might face and how smart mobile apps can help you overcome them.
Challenges of Inventory Management for Small Businesses
Managing inventory comes with several challenges that affect your sales and operations if they aren’t effectively resolved. Here are some of them:
- Uncertain Data: As a small business, you must know what items are selling and how much of these are sold. This gives you an idea of what products are most popular and which ones must be restocked. Without an up-to-date view of your inventory, you risk understocking, leading to missed sales.
- Unreliable Tracking: Many businesses manually track inventory on spreadsheets—a time-consuming task prone to error that results in unreliable data. Manual tracking especially becomes a challenge while tracking larger volumes of stock across numerous warehouses.
- Loss of Inventory: A common problem is losing expensive inventory due to damage, improper handling, or theft. Small businesses will continue to lose money unless they can track and identify the problem areas that cause inefficiencies in the supply chain.
- Inability to Meet Customer Demands: Nearly 70% of online shoppers abandon their order if their desired item is out of stock. Similarly, small retailers end up losing out to e-commerce companies that can fulfill orders in a day due to one major reason: not keeping tabs on in-demand items their customers are seeking.
How Can I Speed and Improve Inventory Management With Mobile Apps?
Intelligent mobile apps are emerging inventory management software that allows you to manage your inventory quickly and accurately. Here’s how:
1. Speed Up Tracking With a Barcode Inventory System
Tracking your inventory easily as it moves through various stages of fulfillment—from receiving the stock to picking, packaging, and shipping—gives you complete visibility of your inventory data at all times. This is one of the major reasons for switching to inventory management mobile apps.
These apps feature in-built barcode scanners, allowing your logistics or inventory managers to swiftly scan QR or barcodes and update stock levels in real time. There is no room for human error, and you can significantly accelerate the inventory counting process.
2. Automate Data Capture for Better Accuracy
Paper-based data logs are a thing of the past. The burgeoning scale of small businesses and faster customer turnaround times call for a solution that not only fast-tracks but also automatically collects and stores inventory data. Imagine receiving automatic updates on a product’s stock each time you sell it in real time, helping you prevent supply issues. That’s the advantage of inventory management mobile apps, which often include features such as:
- Voice-to-text capabilities for hands-free inventory logging
- Drop-down menus and checkboxes to clamp down on errors during manual entries
- GPS and timestamp elements to make tracking inventory across multiple warehouses easy
- Centralized dashboards that visualize and display up-to-date inventory data
3. Accessible Metrics and Reports for Smarter Decisions
Smart inventory management software isn’t just about real-time inventory tracking. It goes beyond that by delivering in-depth reports and analytics about how your inventory is performing at a given time. With these SKU metrics, you can make confident decisions about when and which stock to replace or reorder or which items are bestsellers. You can also forecast and avoid stockouts that lead to lost sales and evaluate your inventory to calculate profit margins better.
4. Easier Linking with Business Systems
The best inventory management apps work in tandem with accounting, sales, and supply chain software to improve the flow of information and simplify the way you manage your business data. The best part? No overhaul or revamp needed—inventory management mobile apps fit into your existing systems as neatly as pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.
What Is the Best Inventory Management Software for Small Businesses?
Many inventory management apps exist today, but Alpha TransForm from Alpha Software leads the way for small businesses.
- Alpha TransForm’s advanced data capture tools eliminate slow, error-riddled manual entry and help you fast-track your data capture process with barcode scanning and custom digital forms.
- You never have to second-guess inventory records again, thanks to Alpha TransForm’s accurate, automated, and real-time inventory data collection and calculation process.
- Say goodbye to post-dated inventory data—get a handle on stock movement as it happens. Get alerts for depleting stocks, know your most popular and stagnant items, and stay on top of sales trends to make key business decisions.
- Partnering with Alpha Software will place you in the hands of a seasoned inventory management app specialist. Alpha TransForm has a proven track record of helping companies like Inventory Services Network (ISN) achieve faster, cost-effective solutions. Through this collaboration, ISN received a customized inventory app at nearly half the cost and twice the speed of other alternatives.
Change the Way You Manage Your Inventory for the Better
Take a big step for your small business—choose Alpha TransForm today to improve your inventory management process. We can tailor one of our pre-built inventory apps to your unique needs and get your business up and running with a smart mobile solution in no time.
Book a meeting with us today to learn what's possible. Send us your paper form in advance, and we'll even have it digitized to show you on the call.
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