Showing posts with label Software Inventory Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Software Inventory Management. Show all posts

Thursday, 12 July 2012

Why Is Inventory Turnover Important?

As a business owner, the biggest investment that you are probably going to make is that of your inventory. Inventory management plays a key role in streamlining the supply chain, as well as in gauging how successful your business is. One of the most efficient barometers of your business’ success is your inventory turnover. To put it in technical terms, the inventory turnover is the sales generated from goods over the past year, divided by the cost incurred in replenishing the inventory.

In simple words, the inventory turnover is the number of times your inventory was completely emptied, and re-filled. So how is this important for your business? Looking at it plainly and simply, it is evident that a higher turnover is what we are looking for in any business. A higher turnover means that the inventory is flowing, and customers are actually buying what you are stocking. On the flipside, a low turnover is a reason to worry, since it means that you have an overstocked, slow-moving inventory.

The concept of inventory turnover can be better understood with this simple example- Business owner A invested $15000 at the beginning of the year on his inventory. By the end of the year, he had generated sales worth $20000, amounting to a gross profit of $5000. On the other hand, business owner B invested $5000 at three different intervals over the entire year, refilling his inventory each time it got emptied, and also generated a gross profit of $5000 by the year’s end.

The inventory turnover for A is 1, while that for B is 3. Even though their profit might be the same, but B’s business is considered to be more successful, since for the first period of the year, when he had invested $5000, he still had $10000 in hand, which he could use for other profit-generating purposes. On the other hand, A had his entire capital amount tied up in inventory, which means that he ultimately generated lower profit than B.

Apart from this basic advantage of having a high inventory turnover, the other essential application of inventory turnover for any business is that it helps in identifying the slower moving products in an inventory. Inventory tracking software or spreadsheets can be used for a better understanding of your inventory, and hence in the reevaluation of business plans.

McLane Logistics Technology provides customized Inventory Management Software system for businesses to effectively manage their inventory functions. For more information visit them at 4001 Central Pointe Parkway, Temple, TX 76504. You can also call them at 1-800-989-7568.

Monday, 18 July 2011

Elements Of Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is the process through which any organization develops its means to locate the raw materials required to make the products as well as for their production and distribution till end customers. The major components that are used by the supply chain management have been compiled below.

ProductionThe foremost element of the supply chain management is production. The focus on this element is mainly on the type of products that are in demand in the market as well as the products that are wanted by the customers. In this element there are many aspects that are put into consideration. The first decision taken by the company is regarding the type of product to be manufactured. After this, the company settles on the number of products to be made as well as what production aspects should be outsourced.

SupplyThe second main element of supply chain management is supply. This element focuses on the capacities and abilities of the plant operations of the company. The company decides on the number of products that are economical and can be produced feasibly. Most of the companies outsource some part of their production requirements to other organizations. In this element, the company also begins to find the suppliers of raw materials for the productions. This requires the comparison of many aspects such as quality and price of the supplies.

Transportation and location
The elements of transportation and location work in coordination in the supply chain management. A company finds out the best location for the production of the required goods. The decision is taken after considering the present customers and the available resources. The companies also determine the most suitable methods of transportation of the goods. The transportation method should be able to provide the smoothest possible distribution of goods.

Information
This is the final element of the process of supply chain management. Organizations that make use of supply chain management must execute methods to record and pass the accurate and effective information. It comprises of utilizing automated software that link together all the computer systems.

For complete supply chain management and logistic consulting, contact McLane Logistics Technology at McLaneTech.com