Can Cloud Computing Manage Inventory and Shipping?

Jonny Parker
December 18, 2023

Managing inventory and shipping is a core part of competitive supply chains in any industry. Today, this management includes finding a place for SaaS services such as cloud inventory management systems, which increasing numbers of businesses are adopting to get a competitive edge in their demand forecasts and replenishment strategies. 

Cloud computing can manage inventory and shipping even for multiple warehouses, compiling real-time data on thousands of products into analytics that businesses can use to refine their decision-making. Inventory management solutions hosted over the cloud offer numerous features that help businesses manage this critical aspect of their workflows. 

What is cloud inventory management?

Cloud inventory management systems are online applications designed to track inventories for businesses. Where conventional management methods are prone to human error and limited in the scope of their available data, cloud systems can provide seamless management over multichannel inventory systems. 

Since the warehouse management software industry has grown so much in recent years, businesses need to know the benefits that versatile programs can offer their supply chains. 

Seamless integration of data sets 

One of the challenges of conventional inventory management is collating multiple sets of data into one strategy. Cloud systems can separate inventory, purchases, and raw material accounts. They can manage taxation and currency conversions. They can track company assets as well as products, no matter how many storage locations the business needs to monitor. 

Real-time visibility 

Cloud inventory management provides real-time visibility over inventory. Purchased items are scanned in and out of the system so that anyone with access to the app on their phone or computer can see inventory numbers updated in real time. 

This allows businesses to avoid the pitfalls of conventional inventory counts while saving time and labor costs. The numbers provided by the cloud system will never be inflated due to circumstances, such as an unforeseen buying surge or seasonal change. This allows for accurate cycle counts, continually updated and available to inform strategic replenishment strategies. 

Analytics and reporting 

 Analytics are key to success for modern supply chains. Businesses that can predict future stock needs with timely demand forecasts can get ahead of market shifts to avoid costly overstocks, stock outs, and dissatisfied customers. 

Cloud inventory management systems can compile historical data for your business, examine customer behavior, track market changes, and take external factors like supplier behavior into account to generate a clear picture of your inventory’s trajectory. 

Versatile inventory management systems compile this information into an accessible dashboard that managers can use to follow their customers’ expectations and respond to their workflow’s needs. 

Scalability  

Difficult scalability represented a major pitfall of conventional inventory management since larger inventories used to require larger labor forces to manage. More laborers and more numbers meant a greater margin for error. 

The difference with cloud-based inventory is that larger inventories do not necessarily require more laborers to account for, track, and replenish. The system automates so many of these tasks that businesses can take the pressure off their warehouse managers to keep perfect records. Instead, they just have to work within the system to use the automated inventory counts to their advantage. 

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The takeaway for businesses

Cloud inventory management enables businesses to manage inventory and shipping more efficiently than ever before. The system keeps real-time records of updated inventory counts so that businesses no longer rely on potentially inaccurate or untimely period counts for their decision-making in the next period. 

Continually updated inventory counts are more versatile, manageable, and scalable for a modern supply chain-focused business. The trick is in finding the right software suite that enhances your business’s existing workflow with cloud computing tools tailored to meet your expectations in an unpredictable market.