What is the difference between warehouse management and inventory management? Basically, it comes down to specificity. What do I mean? I’ll show you by comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences of warehouse management and inventory management below:
Similarities
Both warehouse management and inventory management involve:
- Monitoring product quantities.
- Cycle counting (checking the quantities of some products, but not all, at one time).
- Often using barcodes to track parts and products.
- Picking, packing, and shipping items.
- Managing multiple locations.
- Receiving orders into inventory.
Differences
- Warehouse management divides warehouses into many compartments and bins while inventory management takes a broader approach to tracking inventory by location.
- Warehouse management allows you to find specific items in a warehouse while inventory management simply informs you that they are somewhere in that warehouse.
- Warehouse management is often connected to inventory management software, but it’s not a standalone service because of its supportive nature.
I hope this helps clear up any confusion there may be on this topic. If you’d like to start using powerful inventory management software and warehouse management software, sign up for a demo of Fishbowl Inventory and also see what Fishbowl Mobile can do for you.
Robert Lockard is a copywriter with Fishbowl. He writes for several blogs about inventory management, manufacturing, QuickBooks, and small business. Fishbowl is the #1-requested manufacturing and warehouse management software for QuickBooks users. Robert enjoys running, reading, writing, spending time with his wife and children, and watching movies.
