StockTrim’s Top Ten Tips: Making the Most of Your New Inventory Planning Software

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Be clear on the benefits

There’s no point adopting a new software for change’s sake. Change can be disruptive, unwise and short-lived if you don’t have clarity around why you’re introducing it.

So, what are the key benefits? StockTrim is all about saving you time and money by taking the guesswork out of inventory planning. Using intuitive, machine-based learning, StockTrim helps you:

optimise your stock levels so you don’t over or understock;
understand your target inventory and highlight any bottlenecks;
analyse past behaviours and predict trends;
resolve any inventory control issues by accurately predicting your stock needs and purchases;
predict demand for new products without prior sales history;
and more!

We recommend you take some time to educate your team on the short and long-term benefits of using StockTrim. Even if the strategic benefits of implementing StockTrim might be clear to you, if the end users don’t know why they are using it they may reject the change.

Adopt a champion for change

If your company’s open to change and exploring new technologies, change is likely to be more effective and long-lasting. It’s understandable that some people are resistant to new software, and they might be really comfortable with using outdated systems like spreadsheets. That’s why it’s important to let team members using StockTrim know the ways it will help them in their role, and how it can contribute to the long-term success of your company.

If you have the resources, you might like to appoint a change team or a champion of change. Pick someone or several people in your team who you know is open to feedback, willing to adapt, can be a cheerleader for change and is solution-oriented.

Educate

StockTrim’s made it simple to train yourself on how to use your new inventory planning software. When you log into StockTrim, you’ll see various video tutorials. Or you can visit our website for our blogs, FAQ or to book a demo.

Our team is always open to talk about our service and the real value we can offer you. Talk to one of our dedicated Customer Success Reps about how you can make the most of StockTrim’s features and machine learning capabilities, plus learn tips on how you can reach your inventory optimisation goals faster.

Upload your data

StockTrim easily integrates with your inventory management system including Quickbooks, Trade Gecko, Cin7, Unleashed and MYOB and Shopify.

To extract the most value from StockTrim, you need to upload your historical inventory data and upload it regularly. The more you upload, the better StockTrim performs.

Dedicate an afternoon

StockTrim’s simple to use, but it’s still sophisticated inventory optimising software with multiple features. That’s why we recommend you book out an afternoon with your inventory team and spend time getting used to the interface, exploring the various features, and writing down any questions you have for the StockTrim Customer Success Reps. It’s a small investment of your time to get familiar with our software, but, with the savings you make in optimising your stock levels, you’ll be rewarded for your efforts.

Talk to us

We’re agile at StockTrim and willing to reflect on and constantly improve our product offering. If there are features you’re unclear about, or you feel that your inventory headaches are still sticking around- despite using StockTrim - we really want to hear from you. We continue to improve and customise our product because we want you to stop worrying about your inventory.

Make it a habit

Once you’ve decided on StockTrim, the implementation should be done step-by-step, module by module. By doing this, you and your team progress with StockTrim at your own pace and it becomes easier to introduce StockTrim into your daily routine.

Start by uploading your historical data. Then progress through the video tutorials. Next, book a demo and get familiar with all the features and the parts of the interface that you will use the most. Once you have mastered these things, then you can customise areas like lead times and start generating reports for your analysis.

Acknowledge and reflect on the wins

After a successful free trial and a month of using StockTrim, celebrate and acknowledge the big and small wins, and reflect on how the software has improved your processes.

Keep doing this over the course of a year – a monthly check-in is a good idea as you can track your progress - and see the improvements the software has made to your inventory, ordering and planning processes.

Focus and commit

With a multitude of companies offering their SaaS (software as a service), it’s easy to chase the next shiny thing or the “flavour of the month”.

As business owners, we know it’s easy for our attention to be pulled in various, competing directions. But software continuity is important – both for your business and your employers. Part of this is making it a habit and keeping your team engaged and excited.

Inventory optimisation is an ongoing process. Over time, your StockTrim algorithm becomes more sophisticated – helping you achieve highly accurate predictions and equipping you to find the stock sweet spot for your business.

Once you commit to StockTrim, you really begin to notice how the software can save your business a lot of time and money. The guesswork is taken out of inventory planning, leaving you time to focus on other core parts of your business.

Keep in touch

As your business grows and you become more confident with your demand planning, you can use StockTrim’s many features as part of your long-term business strategy. We’re always here and keen to talk to you about how the software can help you make bold business decisions around procurement, expanding your product offering, or entering new markets.

For any questions about how you can make the most of the world’s smartest inventory planning software, or to book a demo, contact the team at StockTrim here.