Excel as an inventory management tool? That might work for a startup, but as you grow you’ll discover that Excel doesn’t have the functionality or flexibility to remain useful for long.
Here are four disadvantages companies face when they try to use an Excel inventory management solution: (more…)
It’s been a little while since we did a Whiteboard Wednesday video. The last one I published on the Fishbowl Blog (The Many Types of Kits) was on July 2, 2014. (more…)
Are you trying to manage your inventory without the help of inventory management software? Now that’s a scary thought.
Here are five frightening prospects you face when you do this: (more…)
According to a study conducted by research company Software Advice, a whopping 96 percent of companies looking to purchase inventory management software are first-time buyers.
Software for the Long Term
That makes sense. You want this to be both the first and last time you purchase inventory management software. Only a small number of companies wind up going back and looking for a replacement for their outmoded inventory solution.
Having to purchase new inventory management software after just a few years is an expensive and time-consuming proposition. Companies should do thorough research to find a flexible solution that can meet their needs in the short term and long term. (more…)
Microsoft Excel is a wonderful tool that many of us in the business world use on a daily basis. It helps us build charts and organize data into rows and columns for easy retrieval later. However, Excel isn’t the ideal solution for every business need. It’s a step up from managing your inventory on paper, of course, but it’s a far cry from an automated system.
Excel’s inventory management deficiencies are: (more…)
You don’t need to be a big company with vast resources to effectively manage your inventory. Basically, you have three options: doing it by hand, with Excel spreadsheets or with some type of inventory software. Rather than giving a long, boring explanation of all of these, I’ll give a list of some of the pros and cons of using each one:
By Hand
Pros:
Cons:
Welcome to the 200th blog post on the Fishbowl Inventory Blog! I’ve been responsible for 187 of those posts so far. I’ve been amazed by how many guest bloggers have published great content on this blog over the past two years, as well. We’ve had QuickBooks expert Shannon Tucker, several Fishbowl employees, and a number of other industry experts on here. (more…)
What is the benefit of using a barcode label on a company’s inventory of finished goods? Can using barcodes help a company reduce its inventory carrying costs? More importantly, what are these carrying costs and how does using barcodes help a company win more business? (more…)
For the past 80 years, a family-owned hardware store called Griffiths Plumbing Kitchen and Bath has done all of its inventory management by hand. But soon after the British Columbia-based company was placed into the hands of its fourth-generation steward, 28-year-old Damon Griffiths, they decided to change the way they did business.
Getting Up and Running
Griffiths Plumbing and Bath sells more than 3,600 parts and products. Because they had spent so many years managing inventory on paper and in Excel spreadsheets, it took four months to get all of their inventory data organized into a CSV file to import into Fishbowl Inventory. Now that they’ve put forth the initial effort to get the system up and running, they’re starting to see positive results.
Tracking Costs
“The part that really excites me is the information that is available to me now,” Damon Griffiths says. “I now have access to information that helps me manage my cash flow better. I can track so many different things.”
One of the most important things Griffiths is now able to track is the cost of equipment and parts that his plumbers use when they go out and work directly with customers. That way, he knows whether or not he’s charging enough to cover the cost of all the supplies and labor that go into on-site jobs.
As the company tracks costs and optimizes inventory levels, it will be able to grow faster than ever before. And, more importantly, it will keep its loyal customers happy.
Looking to the Future
Fishbowl is in the business of helping businesses succeed. If your business is ambitiously trying to grow into new markets or simply interested in carving out a local niche, you’ll find that Fishbowl Inventory is a great solution for a great price. Keep your business thriving for the next 80 years and beyond by using Fishbowl Inventory now. Sign up for an inventory software demo today to get started.
When I read the article “Five Steps to Painless Inventory Management,” I thought Christmas had come early this year. This article is full of ideas I can build on because everything the author, Lisa Girard, says either ties into Fishbowl Inventory or can be improved on by Fishbowl.
I’ll show you what I mean by going through all five steps:
1. Too Much Inventory
To solve the problem of overstock, Girard suggests business leaders “Start with some decent projections of how much supply you’ll need and when you’ll need it.” The problem is: how do you get these projections? She seems to have skipped that important step. You need to have access to data on products and sales history. But reports that project how much supply you’ll need don’t just create themselves. If you try to pull the data from Excel spreadsheets or some other ad-hoc inventory management system, you could waste a lot of time.
Fishbowl Inventory finds all the data you need and then generates reports that help you plan for supply needs, seasonal demand changes, optimum inventory levels and much more. It takes the guesswork out of inventory management and keeps your inventory levels balanced.
2. Inaccurate Inventory Tracking
“Using electronic data interchange (EDI) and bar code scanning can help eliminate data entry errors.” Exactly! Girard hit it right on the head with this one, so I really don’t have much to add. To keep your inventory records accurate, you should stop entering data into a computer by hand and simply scan product barcodes. That way, you eliminate the possibility of typos creeping into the numbers.
With a barcode reader and Fishbowl Mobile Warehouse software, you can receive products into your warehouse, place orders, cycle count inventory and much more.
3. Lack of Priorities
Girard’s answer to a lack of priorities is to “Focus on the items that matter most.” These include top-selling products. All other products, especially slow-selling ones, should be lower on your priority list. Again, there’s a missing step: how do you figure out which are your most popular products? You need data!
This goes back to No. 1. Fishbowl Inventory keeps track of all the inventory data you need, and it can put it into easy-to-understand reports so you can analyze information and use it to make smart decisions.
4. Using Spreadsheets
Instead of using Excel for inventory management, businesses should “use software such as QuickBooks or Peachtree,” Girard recommends. To her credit, she does note that these two software solutions are mostly used for accounting, not inventory management. But the fact is that neither of them has all the tracking and warehouse management features companies are looking for.
Fishbowl Inventory does. That’s why it’s the No. 1 inventory management software for QuickBooks. It integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks and adds all of the inventory management features companies need for a relatively low price. That way, they can keep using their favorite accounting software instead of having to switch to an entirely new system.
5. No Backup Plan
Girard makes a good point about data security. After you’ve set up a smooth inventory management system, “what happens if there’s a fire or your computer is badly damaged or stolen?” She offers several solutions to this problem, like downloading your data onto a jump drive or using a professional backup service. The trouble with backing up data on a jump drive is that it can be hard to remember to download all of your information onto it every day. Also, you might have to use multiple jump drives, depending on how much data you have. Professional services can be expensive, too.
Fishbowl Hosted Services is a good data backup solution for small and midsize businesses. It stores a company’s data in a secure, offsite server that can be accessed anywhere through the Internet. If your computer crashes, you can retrieve your data in minutes by calling Fishbowl. They constantly update your saved files throughout the day, and they handle cyber security and other IT tasks for a reasonable price.
So there you have it. That’s my take on the five steps to painless inventory management. Fishbowl offers solutions to all of these problems and many others, too. Sign up for an inventory software demo to see how Fishbowl can specifically help your company.
