How to Develop Efficient Custom Inventory Management Software

Inventory management is very important for achieving efficiency in many businesses. The task may prove quite daunting, time-consuming, and requiring loads of manual work.

The main reason why businesses invest in inventory management software development is to cut costs and streamline multiple business processes.

An inventory management system is a software allowing businesses to track how inventory moves throughout the company’s entire supply chain. The system ensures that your business holds the necessary inventory at the right time and in the right place.

Depending on the particular company’s profile, we can distinguish several types of inventory management software:

• Warehouse inventory management system (storage of goods)
• Manufacturing inventory management system (storage of raw materials)
• Retail inventory management system (for e-commerce).

By automating and optimizing such processes, you can reduce costs, speed up interaction in the supply chain, and eliminate part of the risks that negatively affect your company’s profit. We will recollect the main advantages in more detail further on in our article.

Now, let us have a look at some insights on the topic:

• 34% of businesses admitted to not always shipping on time due to the unavailability of stock (Peoplevox).
• Only 18% of small businesses use inventory management software.
• Demand for inventory management software has doubled over the past five years.
• Human error is the leading problem in 46% of warehouses.
• Inventory distortion results in an estimated $1.1 trillion loss worldwide (Ihlservices.com).
• 70% of the company’s warehouse budget can account for labor costs.

Benefits of Using Warehouse Inventory Management Software

When some business needs to optimize inventory management processes, it has two main ways of solving the problem to choose from: hire more staff or resort to dedicated software. Opting for the latter way, the business receives several important advantages.

• The possibility to thoroughly track the movement of a product or raw material within the company’s entire supply chain. Centralized storage and access to information.
• Reduced human factor influence and lower risks of errors associated with it.
• Warehouse space is used more efficiently, and costs for hiring additional staff are lower.
• The possibility to get notifications when stocks reach a certain level (too low or too high).
• Both customers’ and employees’ satisfaction increases (data accuracy, timely delivery, the possibility to track the order processing status).
• Broader possibilities for data analysis, better planning, and more precise forecasting allow making high-quality business decisions.
• The possibility to create a unified digital space simplifies warehouse management and its integration with the company’s other business processes.

Sounds attractive, does it not? Companies can reduce time spent on routine manual work, fulfill more important tasks, and focus on developing their businesses.

What Features Should Your Inventory Management Software Have?

Now, when you fully comprehend the benefits of using this tool and are ready to start developing such a product for your company, you should make up your mind about its capabilities necessary for your business. Below, you can see the main features you should implement in such a tool.

• Barcode scanning. It accelerates product identification, labeling, and tracking.
• Inventory optimization. That is a module used to calculate recommendations for maintaining stocks of products at a certain level and taking demand fluctuations into account.
• Stock notifications. It allows receiving alerts when you are short or even surplus of stocks related to a specific threshold.
• Orders and payments. That is a useful module utilized in e-commerce to track orders, their processing status, as well as payments and product returns.
• Tracking. With this feature in your inventory management software, you can monitor stock movements from one location to another in one click and easily track items sent to customers.
• Supplier and procurement management. It allows businesses to conveniently and compactly keep all data on suppliers and the history of interaction with them.
• Reports. Here you can view history, dynamics, and other important indicators across various analytic data. This feature allows you to adjust your operation strategy and make informed decisions.
• Integrations. Your inventory management software can be integrated with ERP, website CMS, or other systems. The data is stored in a single place, but your employees from different departments have access to it when needed.
• Planning and forecasting. An inventory management system can assist you in predicting the demand for goods for the nearest future and in the long term, as well as use the prediction properly to benefit your business.
• Cloud. Cloud storage and data synchronization will allow you to manage and track inventory in real-time using different devices in any location with an Internet connection.

How much does it Cost to Develop an Inventory Management System?

Several factors will determine the cost of inventory management system development like the technology stack, functions, target platform, etc. A solution of this sort will cost from $10,000 to $30,000 on average.

A valuation model based on the amount of work done calculated in hours and indicating a specific hourly rate is the most convenient. For instance, if you hire an experienced team, it will cost you $35 to $50 per hour in Eastern European countries. That is why we recommend you outsource the development to Ukrainian IT companies to get the best price-quality ratio.

Even though ready-made solutions are available, many companies choose custom development since this approach allows them to fully take their individual needs into account.

Conclusion

The implemented inventory management system allows you to reduce costs, minimize human error, and free up resources for more valuable objectives due to routine tasks automation.

At Lvivity, we can help you develop functional and reliable inventory management software that will exactly meet your needs. It will allow you to increase your revenue and open up new opportunities for your business growth.

Contact us, and let us discuss the details!