The Benefits of Real-Time Inventory Tracking for Your Business in 2021

Today’s business world is all about making smart decisions. It’s about investing in strategies and new technologies designed to keep your customers happy, improve the business’ efficiency, and achieve the ultimate goal: higher revenue. 

You’ve probably seen businesses invest heavily in new software and real-time technologies to draw immediate solutions to emerging situations. One of the increasingly popular technologies you’ll find in a supply chain is real-time inventory tracking. This technology plays an essential role in the efficient management of the firm’s inventory to avoid the excess stock or unexpected stockouts. If you’re new to e-commerce and retail fulfillment, you can find more info here.

What is Real-Time Inventory Tracking?

As the name implies, real-time inventory tracking is the process of keeping tabs on the firm’s inventory. It involves recording what the company buys or sells in real-time through software, barcode scanners, radio frequency identification, and other tools. Inventory tracking systems are found mostly in large enterprises and their warehouses, although that doesn’t mean that they can’t be used in managing inventories for SMBs. 

Unfortunately, many small and medium businesses still use manual inventory tracking while others don’t track their inventory levels at all. One of the main reasons why they don’t do so is the sheer cost of purchasing, installing, and integrating the software across the business. It’s a huge investment, especially for small businesses. However, its advantages outweigh the cost.

Benefits of Real-Time Inventory Tracking for Your Business in 2020

Having a real-time inventory tracking system onboard is one of the best things you can do for your business. It gives you a clear picture of whatever is happening with the inventory in your store. This way, you can quickly react to surges in product demand and supply. Here are other benefits business owners enjoy with real-time inventory tracking.

Keeping Track of The Product

Dealing with fluctuations in demand and supply calls for a system that understands seasonal demand to avoid having too much inventory in stock and facing unexpected stockouts.

Using real-time inventory tracking keeps the costs down and, at the same time, helps the business provide goods consistently. 

Improves Customer Experience

Today, customers share their experiences with friends and family on social media and your firm’s website. With poor inventory tracking, your business might not be able to meet customer demand. This leads to a situation where a willing buyer fails to buy from your organization simply because the product they want is out of stock. Such an experience may be shared on social media, and depending on the customer’s influence, you might miss out on making sales to other customers.

With an inventory tracking system in place, the manager can plan adequately for the goods in stock. He/she can see what’s about to go out of stock and make purchases to replenish inventory just before the product runs out. This ensures that demand is met and that your customers are satisfied.

Minimizes Unnecessary Costs

Tracking inventory in real-time helps you eliminate some costs you never planned for. For instance, having a product stay on the warehouse shelves far too long brings two main problems: deadstock (expired products included) and unforeseen storage costs. Without an inventory tracking system, there is no better way to tell when the product was bought and how much it costs to keep it there. As a result, your business is losing out valuable revenue on a product it expects to sell. 

With real-time inventory tracking, you’re able to see the bigger picture and plan effectively to ensure that nothing stays in storage for too long. It helps you align your supply chain management goals with the real-time demand and supply, putting you in an excellent position to make informed decisions for your business.

Improving The Organization’s Efficiency

Manual inventory tracking is a tedious, tiresome process. It does not give an accurate summary of the current demand and supply of the product, meaning that the business may not meet the customer’s needs in time. A real-time tracking software records new sales and receipts efficiently, leaving no room for error.

Fulfill Your Customers’ Needs Today

Automated processes are a sure way to increase the efficiency of your organization. However, despite the benefits offered by the real-time inventory tracking software, your business should emphasize the importance of the human element in customer satisfaction. To get a better shot at success, you also need a company seasoned in providing e-commerce fulfillment, retail fulfillment systems, and other agile solutions that meet your customer’s individual needs.