SAP B1 blog

It is crucial to ensure optimal inventory management through low capital commitment. At the same time, high flexibility and availability of stock must be ensured. With optimal inventory management, you always have exactly what you need in stock. If inventories are too high, this will increase warehousing costs. Again, among other things, one must think about Minimum stocks the supply of production must be ensured. This means that downtimes and bottlenecks must be avoided. The ability to deliver to the customer is essential. Furthermore, it is often impossible to react quickly enough to fluctuations in demand. Digital processes can provide significant support here. Stocks and delivery quantities that are monitored and evaluated in real time provide the necessary transparency not only with regard to stock levels, but also a potential Delivery date and Delivery method. Furthermore, media breaks are avoided and the Workflows optimised, automated and digitalised. Increasing transparency also makes it possible to make decisions based on real-time information. Reacting faster and more flexibly to changing conditions is thus becoming increasingly successful.

Stocks and stock management

There are several types of stock that need to be distinguished from each other. On the one hand, stock can be defined in a business context. This includes all articles and goods that are currently in the warehouse. On the other hand, there is the stock from production. This includes all raw materials, consumables and supplies as well as semi-finished products.

The classic warehouse stock therefore basically contains the items and goods in stock that ensure that general business processes can always run smoothly. This can be managed and maintained in a warehouse management system (WMS). This knows the exact stocks and where they are stored.

ERP software: 10 key benefits to improve inventory management

Full integration of information

ERP software makes it possible to integrate all relevant information about stocks (incoming or outgoing) through an automated process. This advantage thus directly counteracts the risks of overstocks and shortages. Furthermore, prioritisation of monitoring provides a forecast of demand, which is often crucial for any business, company or organisation.

Clear tracking of the articles

Identifying your items by codes and numbers gives you a global and detailed overview of your stocks. This advantage optimises the work organisation of your employees. Expiry dates are displayed in real time thanks to your ERP software. Finally, the geographical localisation of goods is quick and accurate.

VImprove the flow of goods

Managing the flow of goods is an essential function to improve inventory monitoring. The real-time data provided by your ERP software makes it possible to develop strategies to optimise the flow of products. Again, tracking goods by unique numbering provides essential assistance.

Automatisation of warehouse processes

ERP software can be used to automate orders with regard to inventory and order backlog. In this way, in the disposition purchase requisitions are generated automatically. The Purchasing can use some of his activities automatically by the ERP system. For example, if the purchasing department has a large number of purchase requisitions, it is possible to automatically convert them into purchase orders. The ERP system can also be used to reduce the manual entry and checking of invoices.

Seamless tracking of batches

In this context, the Batch management important. All goods are provided with corresponding metadata and can thus be tracked seamlessly. In this way, all parties involved can see at any time where an Charge comes and what it is to be used for. In this way, information for a specific batch can be provided throughout the entire logistics chain. This provides constant transparency. Information can be made available at any time. This is especially important in the case of product recalls. This creates much more transparency and information can be made available at any time. This is particularly important in the case of product recalls.

WAutomate arena entrance

The system has all the information readily available to compare the incoming goods with the order. All departments in the company can also find out about the current goods receipt and thus receive information about availability in the near future. When goods are delivered, the system can directly determine the correct storage location. For example, if goods only need to be stored for a very short time, it may make sense to store them within easy reach of production where they are easily accessible.

Shelf life of batches

The intelligent calculation of storage locations also shows its advantages in the context of the minimum shelf life. During storage, it can be ensured that goods with a longer shelf life are stored behind other batches. This prevents batches from expiring because a younger delivery of goods was anticipated.

Route-optimised order picking

When picking goods, it is advisable, among other things, to keep the distances between storage locations as short as possible. Items that belong together should therefore be stored as close to each other as possible. This also applies to items that are frequently ordered together. Picking times can thus be optimised enormously.

Cross-location warehouse management

Often, not only a main warehouse but also many other locations need to be managed with a uniform system. This is the case in retail, for example. In addition to a central warehouse, several branches are often supplied. Furthermore, there is online retailing. In order for customers to see whether and where a certain item is still available, all branches must synchronise their data with each other in real time. In production companies, too, it is often necessary to be able to map several locations synchronised.
Even the stock stored in service vehicles, for example, can be queried in a large overview.

Faster storage processes

The most obvious consequence of the automation of the warehouse management is the accelerated handling of warehouse processes. Automated processes not only ensure greater precision, but also enable warehouse staff to perform routine tasks more quickly than ever before.