How Inventory Software Can Grow Small Business

At the heart of a small business is inventory – what you’re selling. The last thing you want to do is grow a business with an unorganized stock of inventory, and yet, most small businesses are doing just that. And asking themselves why they’re not growing faster.

In order to grow successfully, and quickly, a small business has to have an organized system in place for their inventory. Period. Entrepreneurs that want to scale their business need inventory software.

Focus on better data

First thing’s first: if you’re still using a spreadsheet to track inventory, your business will never scale. Manual spreadsheets are prone to human error and repeat the same mistakes over and over again unless caught by someone on your team.

In a small business you don’t have time to monitor every detail of a spreadsheet every minute of the day when you have a million other tasks to complete.

An inventory software solution takes your inventory data and automates it for you. Once you input the information into the software, your business runs itself. And the best part? You get detailed and accurate reports as a result.

Inventory software produces a number of reports you can use to make better purchasing and forecasting decisions that a manual spreadsheet could never achieve. Say hello to faster growth!

Catch mistakes early

Another huge reason your small business isn’t scaling is because of incorrect order shipments. Which are also a result of using manual spreadsheets.

An inventory software comes with features like Quality Control set in place to check orders before shipment against their original PO for accuracy. Basically, if you’re about to ship an order that’s actually incorrect, QC will catch and stop it from proceeding.

Incorrect order shipments cause a multitude of problems for your small business. Not only does it result in angry customers, but also angry customer reviews, which don’t look good for your reputation or your Amazon Seller Performance Ratings.

Better customer service

Good inventory software comes with a dedicated team of customer support specialists ready to take your place at putting out fires. They can answer questions you have about using inventory software and automate your inventory data so that you can focus on other neglected parts of your business.

For example, spend some time answering those negative Amazon or Google reviews you’ve been ignoring before you lose your listings. Meanwhile, the customer service team handles inventory tracking in the background.

Streamlined order fulfillment

The basics of inventory software is what will really take your business to the next level.

The pick/pack/ship order fulfillment process is key to making all the other surrounding inventory fulfillment pieces fall into place. Inventory software is designed to provide users with streamlined fulfillment practices so they can get orders out the door faster.

Eliminate time-consuming and wasteful paper pick lists that lend themselves to error and switch to digital pick lists. Digital pick lists can adapt to real-time order updates and make the pick process faster.

Pack with more confidence using QC. QC practices, as we discussed earlier, guarantee correct orders and amounts to the right recipient before reaching the shipment stage. No one likes a wrong order.

Connect your favorite shipping solution into the inventory software for complete visibility on order tracking. Shipping software integrations ensure orders are handled with expertise.

Conclusion

Small business owners get to a point in their journey where manual practices no longer work and their growth is stagnant. The two go hand-in-hand. But many scratch their heads wondering what they’re doing wrong.

Automating your inventory is the answer to faster growth. In order to keep up with competitors, and beat them, small businesses have to throw in some money and invest in inventory software.

Spending a few extra dollars now pays off in the long run and will save your business an excess amount of lost time and money.

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