The Latest News, Articles and Technology Insights

Order fulfillment is a more difficult process than it once was. Decades ago, orders were fewer in number but larger in size. The proliferation of SKU types was not as rampant as it is today. The typical pick, pack, and ship operation moved more pallets and cases than individual items.

Poor inventory management is among the top reasons why small businesses fail. Managing inventory is essentially a balancing act between having too little or too much. How much inventory is "just right" is often a moving target. Demand for different SKUs can fluctuate over some time due to a change in trends or seasonality. Poor inventory management impacts overall cost and profitability.

Unpredictability is the enemy of inventory management. Unpredictable product demand and unpredictable supplier lead times both require the inventory manager to keep more safety stock as a hedge against this uncertainty. Over very large customer or supplier pools however, this unpredictability often evens out.

For people not familiar with the problem, negative inventory seems ridiculous. However, minus signs don't imply having less than nothing. They indicate an "accounting" error somewhere in your inventory management system.

One of the biggest areas of any company is usually the warehouse. This is where products and finished goods are received, stored, picked, shipped, and much more. However just like many businesses, warehouses come in different sizes. This detail is an important one to consider before selecting a WMS. Just like many of the products in the storage area, software needs to be sized correctly to make sure it is the right fit for the business.

Most warehouse people would have heard of the 80-20 rule. Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist, once noted that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas. From this he developed the 80-20 rule. He then used this to show that 20% of the people in Italy owned 80% of the land. Experts in other fields also observed that this principle applied to their areas of expertise as well. Today it's recognised that this principle has a broader application beyond economics and garden peas.

How you choose to position and arrange your products in your warehouse is called slotting. Optimal slotting depends on the physical nature of your products, how often they are ordered, which products are ordered together, and other considerations that rely on the unique circumstances of your business.

SAP Business One is an invaluable tool for many small and medium-sized businesses in Australia and all over the world. It offers a wide range of modules that address key business functions, including sales, inventory management, material resource planning, purchasing, accounts payable, financial statements, and more.

Warehouse management affects a business on a number of levels. Excessive inventories tie up money, take up valuable space, and are prone to damage and shrinkage. Too little inventory reduces service level and loses customers. Disorganised and untidy warehouses increase operational costs and reduce customer service levels. A poorly run warehouse makes a company less competitive which may cause it to go out of business or fail to dominate its marketplace. Here are three signs of a warehouse in need of help:

Inventory shrinkage refers to the loss of stock between the time it is purchased from a supplier to when it is sold to your customers. Simply stated, you paid for the items but they become unavailable for selling to your customers. While businesses often pass on the cost of lost inventory to their customers, the practice makes their prices less competitive which adversely affects future sales.