Optimizing Inventory Management with Acumatica Cloud ERP

Are you content with your inventory management software?  

If you’re like most SMB owners, the answer is probably “no.” 

As an SMB owner, effective inventory management is essential. SMBs face unique challenges, such as limited resources and a lack of economies of scale.

So unfortunately, any hiccups in inventory management can lead to significant issues. These issues may include lost sales, poor customer satisfaction, and increased inventory costs because of overstocking or stock-outs. Inaccurate inventory counts and inefficient warehouse layouts can cause further problems.  

Thankfully, there’s a solution to these inventory management woes. Acumatica Cloud ERP provides SMBs with real-time visibility into inventory levels. This reduces lead time and minimizes inventory costs. You can also automate purchasing and sales, further reducing costs and improving efficiency.  

The Challenges of Inventory Management

Good inventory management is a vital part of building a winning business. Yet many SMBs lack the robust, cloud-based ERP system they need to overcome common inventory challenges.  

Consider a small retail store. Early on, it was straightforward and cost-effective to track inventory turnover manually. The owner simply used their best guess on what they would need and placed orders with suppliers accordingly. Then, the store grew, and they added more products.

Now, managing the inventory is taking more of the owner’s time. Errors creep in because of the manual process. Unpopular products are overstocked, and high-selling products run out of stock.

The result? Fewer sales and many unhappy customers.  

Besides stocking issues, SMBs without an inventory optimization solution must deal with inefficient warehouse processes. Employees often waste time searching for or fulfilling orders inefficiently, leading to delays and mistakes.  

Acumatica’s Inventory Management Features

Several key features of Acumatica made it the ideal inventory management system, improving customer satisfaction, and accurately forecasting future demand. By using real-time data for inventory tracking, you can keep an eye on stock levels and know when to reorder.

Thus, optimizing stock levels and avoiding costly stock-outs. Acumatica includes stock-level optimization features like automatic reorder points. These help to ensure that your most popular products are always in stock.

Plus, the system streamlines warehouse processes. It completes much of management automatically. This saves your employees’ time. That way, they can focus on higher-value tasks. 

Inventory Control and Cost Savings

Overstocking can lead to unnecessary expenses. Acumatica’s real-time tracking system enables you to avoid these costs, including: 

• Reduction in holding costs.   
• Avoidance of stock-outs 
• Prevention of overstocking (reduced requirement for safety stock. 
• Improved cash flow (instead of having cash tied up in excess stock. 
• Reduction in order and carrying costs. 
• Minimization of discounts and losses. 
• Enhanced supplier relationships. 
• Reduced risk of shrinkage and theft. 

Each of these benefits is money in the bank for your business. Even if some of these additional costs are small for your business now, they can grow into major problems if you let them.  

Demand Forecasting and Planning

The ability to forecast demand for products is crucial for determining the amount of inventory to have on hand. Instead of relying on guesswork, data should power these predictions.

Accurate demand forecasts help reduce excess inventory, weather supply chain disruptions, and improve customer service levels. Your customers want to know that when they want a product, they will always be able to get it.

With Acumatica, you can always get it to them. Acumatica ships with powerful analytics that use historical data to help predict demand patterns. You can even get modules like this one that use AI to analyze Acumatica’s data. They’ll provide you the most in-depth and accurate forecasting so that you can always meet customer demands.  

Case Studies: SMBs Achieving Inventory Efficiency with Acumatica

Let’s look at two case studies showing how Acumatica empowers SMBs with powerful inventory optimization tools.  

Shoebacca is an online retailer offering the latest in shoes, apparel, and accessories. As with many startups, they managed their business using a variety of disconnected software products. This disconnection created issues with inventory management.

With Acumatica (integrated with Fusion), Shoebacca could get real-time inventory management control. This helped them cut costs and improve their bottom line through less overstocking and allowing them to sell merchandise right out of their warehouse. Gaining control over inventory was key to cutting costs and helping the company to grow.  

Ray Allen Manufacturing faced many similar challenges to Shoebacca. But they struggled with the added issue of having multiple companies sharing inventory. Acumatica provided a “much better grasp on inventory,” to quote Steve Cates, Former President of Ray Allen Manufacturing. Tracking inventory in real-time and automating processes reduced manual tasks like labeling shipments with tracking numbers.

Warehouse Management and Fulfillment

Acumatica also features a warehouse management system (WMS). It facilitates efficient order fulfillment with several key features. These include automated data capture, native support for small parcel shippers, and packing automation.

With Acumatica’s simplified tracking, serial and lot numbers are scanned and printed on the pick list and packing slips. So, you can always keep track of your shipments.  

Integrating Inventory with Other Business Processes

Effective inventory management affects sales, purchasing, and finance departments. Integrating it with these departments can streamline workflows and improve overall business performance. Acumatica’s ERP system offers a seamless integration of inventory management with sales, purchasing, and finance. This ensures that all departments have real-time access to inventory levels, sales data, and purchase orders.  

The system’s advanced reporting and analytics capabilities provide business insights to make informed decisions and optimize supply chain management. With Acumatica’s ERP system, businesses can eliminate the inefficiencies and errors associated with manual inventory management and achieve greater efficiency and profitability. 

Scalability for Growing Inventory Needs

Acumatica’s scalability is a critical factor in supporting businesses as their inventory requirements grow. With Acumatica, businesses can easily manage increased order volumes and diverse product lines without compromising on their operations.

The platform is flexible and can easily adapt to the changing needs of a business. Thus, allowing companies to expand their inventory without worrying about system limitations. Acumatica’s cloud-based platform means businesses can easily access their inventory data from anywhere. So, it’s easier to manage and track inventory levels, even as they grow. 

Conclusion

To recap, here are just a few of the benefits that optimized inventory management can bring to SMBs. 

• Inventory Control and Cost Savings 
• Demand Forecasting and Planning 
• Warehouse Management and Fulfillment 
• Integrating Inventory with Other Business Processes 
• Scalability for Growing Inventory Needs  

Interested in learning more about how you can leverage Acumatica for better inventory control and cost savings? Reach out to us today. We can help you enable supply chain efficiency and unlock rapid growth.