Knowing what stock is stored when, where and in what quantity is fundamentally important for companies. With a warehouse management system (WMS), it is possible to come much closer to the goal of stock transparency. When integrated into an ERP system, the inventory data is also accessible to other areas of the company.
It is crucial to ensure optimal inventory management by minimising capital commitment. At the same time, a high level of flexibility and availability of stock must be ensured. Optimised inventory management means that you always have exactly what you need in stock. If stock levels are too high, this increases warehousing costs. Again, among other things Minimum stocks the supply of production must be ensured. 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. Inventories and delivery quantities that are monitored and analysed in real time provide the necessary transparency, not only in terms of stock levels, but also a possible 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. This makes it increasingly possible to react more quickly and flexibly to changing conditions.
Inventories and inventory management
There are several types of inventory that need to be distinguished from one another. On the one hand, stock can be defined in a business context. This includes all items and goods that are currently in the warehouse. On the other hand, there is 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 the 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
Complete integration of information
ERP software makes it possible to integrate all relevant information about stock (incoming or outgoing) through an automated process. This advantage thus directly counteracts the risks of overstocking and stock-outs. Furthermore, the 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 using codes and numbers gives you a global and detailed overview of your stock. This advantage optimises the organisation of your employees' work. 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 for improving stock monitoring. The real-time data provided by your ERP software makes it possible to develop strategies to optimise the flow of products. Tracking goods by unique numbering is also a major help here.
Automatisation of warehouse processes
The ERP software can be used to automate orders with regard to stock and order backlog. In this way 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 these 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 labelled with corresponding metadata and can therefore be tracked seamlessly. In this way, all parties involved can see at any time where a Charge and what it is to be used for. In this way, information can be provided for a specific batch across the entire logistics chain. This ensures constant transparency. Information can be made available at any time. This is particularly important for product recalls. This creates significantly more transparency and information can be made available at any time. This is particularly important for product recalls.
WAutomate arena entrance
The system provides easily accessible information for comparing incoming goods with the order. All departments in the company can also find out about the current goods receipt and thus obtain information about imminent availability. 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 best-before date. 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 more recent delivery of goods has been anticipated.
Route-optimised order picking
When picking goods, it is advisable, among other things, to minimise the distances between storage locations. Items that belong together should therefore be stored as close together 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 standardised system. This is the case in retail, for example. In addition to a central warehouse, several branches are often also supplied. There is also online retail. To enable customers to see whether and where a particular item is still available, all branches must synchronise their data in real time. In production companies, too, it is often necessary to be able to synchronise several locations.
Even the stock stored in service vehicles, for example, can be viewed 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 employees to carry out routine tasks faster than ever before.

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