In many ways, inventory control is the cornerstone of an efficient and effective business. By developing structures, systems and solutions that provide actionable insights into how your inventory is utilised, it becomes far easier to reduce inefficiencies and streamline operations.
If you’re caught with too little inventory, orders cannot be fulfilled and processes cannot be completed. If you find yourself with an excess of inventory, holding costs alone can impact your business’ profitability for months to come. In short, poor inventory control is bad news.
What is inventory control?
Inventory control describes any processes deployed to monitor inventory levels and analyse expected resource demands. Using a combination of manual techniques and automated technologies, constant visibility over all key inventory assets can be ensured.
An effective inventory control system will be supported by high-quality information collected from multiple sources. For example, purchasing, shipping, warehousing, machine operation, storage and customer service data may all be analysed to help discern inventory demands.
Despite the importance of well-implemented inventory management solutions, some reports reveal the average level of inventory accuracy in the US is only 65%. To boost this metric, you must first gain a thorough understanding of the role of inventory control in your facility.
The role of inventory control in facility management
By developing and continuously improving inventory control measures, you can ensure key operations are performed as efficiently as possible. Via the utilisation of intelligent technologies, it becomes possible to track all key assets and equipment. This live data can then be used to inform business decisions.
An effective inventory management software will help your teams perform the following tasks:
Procurement
By collecting real-time data associated with stock levels and usage, management teams can optimise procurement processes. Understanding how much inventory you hold and how much is required to meet demands enables you to consolidate orders and purchase items in bulk to reduce associated costs.
Production
Inventory control systems also enable you to monitor equipment usage, providing actionable data regarding machine operation. This helps teams to schedule predictive maintenance and required downtime to avoid unexpected faults, ultimately helping you learn how to improve production quality without risking equipment failure.
Allocation
With live records of inventory levels and locations, management teams can utilise resources more efficiently. Inventory control solutions will highlight surplus assets, enabling you to redistribute held inventory to areas in need. This helps teams to get the most possible value from all existing assets before purchasing new stock.
In short, inventory control solutions enable you to offer all stakeholders accurate data regarding available assets and the most efficient ways to utilize held stock.
Considerations for moving to the Cloud
It’s also important to consider moving inventory control to the cloud. This can offer numerous benefits, including real-time data accessibility, improved scalability, seamless integration with other systems and cost efficiencies through reduced infrastructure and maintenance needs.
It enhances inventory management by providing accurate, up-to-date information accessible from any location. However, considerations include ensuring smooth data migration and providing adequate staff training.
For healthcare facilities, it is crucial to ensure that cloud solutions are HIPAA-compliant, involving data encryption, access controls, audit trails, and a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with the cloud provider to protect sensitive patient information.
Facility management software for inventory control
If you need to keep track of multiple raw materials, saleable goods, machines and fulfillment processes, facility management software is a sensible option.
Facility management solutions with built-in stock control features enable you to fully automate inventory management processes and receive live data insights. Stock levels can be directly linked to ordering, shipping, POS and storage databases, with analytics and reporting tools constantly available.
Centralised procurement management
Modern facility management solutions can be integrated with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and accounting software to streamline procurement management processes. Live and historic order records can be organised in a single centralised platform, with figures updated automatically to reflect incoming and outgoing inventory.
With all procurement data clearly viewable in one place, you can easily automate a number of related processes. For example, integrations with accounting tools allow for automated billing, helping to improve cash flow by ensuring orders and payments are settled efficiently.
Automated analytics and reporting
In-depth, data-backed reports regarding buildings, utilities, machine operation and fulfillment processes can be created automatically, with findings presented in an easily understandable format. This enables you to quickly access accurate records and view key insights on factors like machine maintenance and facility usage, helping managers make informed decisions.
Compliance and inspection management
The data collection and analytical capabilities of facility management software can also help you maintain compliance with Service Level Agreements (SLA) and industry regulations. You can create custom audits to support risk assessments and compliance checklists for things like PPE usage, with reports and alerts outlining completion levels and upcoming deadlines.
Machine maintenance support
Inventory control and facility management software can also provide you with key insights regarding machine maintenance. By analysing machine usage data alongside live order records, the software can suggest opportune times to perform required maintenance.
