If you run a business, especially in a competitive region like the UK, you need to stay ahead of the competition. One of the most effective ways of doing that is improving your customer support approach; the easier it is for customers to buy, the easier it is to make sales. Ensuring that your business has a strong and effective inventory management system in place, then, is vital. Such systems ensure you avoid over-selling products or running out of stock on your best-sellers.
Inventory management allows your business to maximise profits whilst minimising risk. However, when trying to implement your inventory management system, it is likely that you will run into some problems along the way. Some of the most common inventory management problems you run into can be easily resolved. Here are some of the most common issues you might face when implementing your new inventory management platform. Focus on these issues as a priority, as they are likely the most common roadblocks you face when trying to get this system up and running.
The Common Challenges Faces When Implementing Inventory Management Systems
Cross-Referencing Delays
One of the most typical issues you might face when investing in automated inventory management systems, like those installed by BlueHub, is cross-referencing. Your current manual system has to be implemented into your new automated ERP system – this takes time, effort, and commitment. There is always the risk that data might be misrepresented or inputted incorrectly during migration.
This can be easily resolved, thankfully. It simply requires a little more time and effort invested by your team as you implement the data. If possible, use a professional service to install your inventory management system; they can help ensure that all migrations are accurate.
The last thing you need is inaccurate information and data being implemented into your new inventory management platform!
Stock Control
One of the biggest problems that businesses face when implementing inventory management is stock control. It is easy to have misplaced stock data; overstocking and understocking become easy mistakes when implementing your system. For example, your new system might auto-order inventory you do not need as stock data is incorrect.
You should ensure that you have taken the time with your team to detail all stock accurately. This is one of the most time-consuming aspects, but knowing the exact numbers of stock you have for each item is paramount to success. This can avoid needless overstocking of items and stop the new inventory management platform from auto-ordering what you do not need.
As you migrate to a new inventory management system, make sure that you thoroughly check every piece of information on the stock levels you currently have.
Demand Forecasting Errors
Like the above, demand forecasting is one of the most common problems with modern inventory management migration. Automated inventory management systems like ERPs are designed to ensure stock can be automatically ordered to meet demand. However, while you go through the migration process, you might have a typically low-selling product enjoying a spike in interest.
Your inventory management system might read this as a top seller and automatically order an excessive amount of new stock for that product. Ensuring that your demand forecasts are accurate means that your inventory management system gets off on the right foot and avoids misordering.
This is often a problem that is spotted after the fact. Still, a little bit of extra detailing and focus before the initial setup of your inventory management platform can be enough to avoid this and thus avoid costing your company money on overstocking products that were briefly a hot topic on the market.
Stock Tracking
Stock tracking is one of the most common problems when migrating from one inventory management platform to another. With a real-time inventory management system, you know where your stock is at all times; with a manual system, you might not have that information available. During the migration, it is easy for stock to get lost in the ether and not get counted.
Not only can this lead to needless overstocking when you already have enough volume present, but it can also lead to problems knowing exactly what your business has to sell. If you have not committed to stringent inventory monitoring beforehand, it would be wise to get a physical count of all stock before you move to a new inventory management system. This can avoid these typical early problems.
Obsolete Products
Another major issue for companies moving to a new inventory management system is the obsolescence of some products. You might be migrating because your company is making the wrong judgements on what is selling and what is not. With an automated inventory management platform, you can avoid investing in products which are not popular. When using disparate and individual stock tracking, though, it is easy to overbuy on products that are now obsolete on the market.
When demand drops for a product, it is time to move on from that product line. Bespoke and automated inventory management helps you to see this, but it is common during migration to make mistakes on what is and is not obsolete. Stock control systems can help you put in place a stock rotation method that means you can spot which products are in demand and which have come out of circulation.
Employee Training
An automated inventory management system may streamline the process of monitoring and restocking your inventory, but you still need some employees to run it properly. Implementing a new inventory management system requires you to train employees on how to use the software and access all the tools and options needed to manage the stock in your inventory.
The initial learning curve is only a temporary setback. Once you train your employees on how to use the new inventory management software, you can restore efficiency and avoid any more unnecessary delays. If you need assistance training them, you can hire digital consultants to guide your employees through the training process. It may be the most effective way to train them because it will give you more time to focus on other aspects of your business.
High Upfront Costs
Upgrading or adding a new inventory management system could have considerable upfront costs for your company. The software itself will have a price, but that is only one of the costs you will incur. You also have to consider the expenses you will incur from lower productivity throughout the process of implementing the new system.
Depending on your organisation’s size, the implementation process could take days, weeks, or months before it is fully complete. During this time, you may also have expenses for purchasing new hardware, training employees, and hiring digital consultants to assist you with the implementation.
The upfront investment will pay off in the long run. The inventory management system will make it easier to manage your stock levels and turn over inventory more quickly. Then, as the number of sales increases, you will make back your upfront investment and continue to profit from the new system that you use to manage your inventory.
Data Security Risks
Robust data protection and security systems are more important than ever for businesses that use digital software to manage their inventory. Even if you use the most reputable inventory management programs, they are still susceptible to cyberattacks, especially when transitioning from one inventory management system to another or implementing a new system altogether.
You need to take steps to protect your sensitive data as you migrate it into your new inventory management system. Some of these steps include backing up your data before starting the implementation process and applying the latest security updates to all your software to ensure it is ready to defend against the newest cyberattacks.
See if you can hire one or more data security professionals to apply advanced safeguards when implementing your new inventory management system. That way, they can be readily available to respond to cybersecurity incidents if they were to occur.
Coordination Issues with Suppliers
Inventory management systems synchronise data with suppliers to ensure they have the latest information regarding your inventory levels. Implementing a new system may cause problems with the data synchronisation process because your suppliers will only receive real-time information about your inventory once the new system is up and running. And even then, you still must ensure all the previous data has been successfully transferred or manually entered into the new system without any errors.
During this process, your suppliers won’t receive automated orders to restock your inventory because they won’t know which products you need to refill. If you don’t have enough products available to satisfy your customers’ demands, this could cause a significant financial setback for your business.
In addition, make sure you notify your suppliers about the upgrade of your inventory management system. Perhaps you could directly submit your inventory order requests to them until the new system is fully installed.
Data Synchronisation with Other Software Platforms
Do you already use other software platforms for your business, such as QuickBooks, Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, or Xero? If so, you’ll need to synchronise the data of your inventory management system with all the other platforms that you wish to integrate with it. This process will take extra time and energy because you’ll want to verify that the data is accurate and consistent on all the different integrated platforms that you use to help run your business efficiently.
Customization Challenges
Every company operates according to a specific business model. One reason business owners are hesitant to try out new inventory management systems is that they’re afraid they cannot be customised to align with their business models. However, implementing a comprehensive inventory management system like Cin7 into your business will definitely offer more flexibility to match your business model.
For instance, Cin7 Omni offers flexible configurations for your inventory management settings. You can use it to tailor your workflows to accommodate your business’s unique needs. It also lets you integrate hundreds of other software platforms with Cin7 to create the perfect custom solution for your business.
Choosing the wrong inventory management system could be devastating if it doesn’t integrate with all the other platforms that you use. Cin7 offers the widest selection of integration compatibility compared to other inventory management systems on the market. But if you decide to choose a different system, make sure you review the list of eligible platforms that you can integrate with it.
Making The Correct Choice in Inventory Management
Of course, the above are just some of the most common problems you might face when investing in an inventory management platform. That is why we highly recommend that you contact BlueHub if you wish to ensure a smooth installation and migration. BlueHub has a team of digital consultants who can oversee the implementation and employee training associated with your inventory management system.
We have years of experience implementing inventory management platforms from scratch and migrating your current systems into the new platform. This can help you spot problems with your product selection and stock ordering long before they become problems. With our experience and insight, we can make it much easier to safely implement inventory management systems without these problems rearing their head.
You can always rely on BlueHub to be available whenever you have questions or concerns about the inventory management system. BlueHub can provide continued guidance and consultation services to ensure you and your employees manage your inventory and sales in the most efficient manner possible.
Contact us today to discuss your options and find out how you can simplify implementing such systems without the common problems associated with the migration.
