Tag Archives: stock

Business Recommendations, Industry Insights, Inventory Management software, Stock Science

Getting The Right Inventory Manager

simms_stockManagement

A wide variety of training is available these days for those who wish to specialize in inventory management practices. The concepts that may seem very mathematical at first all support the ideas of supply-and-demand as well as incorporating the concept of the warehouse or storeroom as an evolving entity.

As for managers or owners selecting an employee to take on the task, it should be mentioned that qualified individuals can be hired with their training already in place, who come in and establish all the best practices after their analysis of the conditions that exist. No matter the source of your “Stock Master”, never just choose the person who is willing to do it. If you choose the option to promote from within, give the inventory tasks to several within your organization and you’ll soon discover which person has the natural talent. The ones with ideas for improvement and the ability to both voice and implement the ideas are a valued asset to your company. Don’t waste people where they will not excel — put the best people into every department if you truly wish to succeed. Once in place, your Stock Master must be introduced to your staff as that department head, and must be given an important place on an identical level with the others.

Companies that compete in the modern marketplace cannot have any aspects of their inventory management be considered — or actually be — vague or imprecise. The task of stock coordination must fall to someone who is prepared to do it and make sure that others observe the established in-house rules for its management. Most of inventory planning is merely the application of common sense and accurate arithmetic, and these responsibilities must be assigned to a specific individual who will take the duties seriously. Whomever the person is, they can literally be the savior of your bottom line.

For the best inventory management, SIMMS 2014 Inventory Management software will serve perfectly as the tool the master needs.

Visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca for more information.

Business Recommendations, Industry Insights, Inventory Management software, Program Modules

Use of Lot Names & Numbers

simms_mfglot

Manufacturer’s Lots come with a wide variety of details and information. Some are multi-digit numbers, some are nothing but letters that spell nothing sensible to you. Some are a mix of the two. The use of manufacturer’s lots — and in-house production lots — can add much to the process of inventory accuracy while increasing tracking capabilities of any items so designated.

When receiving items into inventory that will be used on a specific project, the project name and number can be entered in as those items’ manufacturer’s lot information. This simple practice enables the easy selection of the stock for that project or order, merely by looking for the number of items in stock with the specific manufacturer’s lot number.

SIMMS Inventory Management software provides similar tools to further enable the accuracy and ease of item selection. Visit simmssoftware.com today to learn more about manufacturer’s lot tracking.

Inventory Management

Giving It All

simms_MatisseHarmonyInRed

One winter, in his leaner days, Henri Matisse decided
to paint a picture of a woman seated at a table, on which
there was a bowl of fruit.

Having spent what was for him a fortune on the fruit, the artist was determined to make it last until the canvas was finished. He let the fire burn itself out and opened the windows. The temperature in the studio plunged.

Matisse donned his hat and overcoat, pulled on his stoves
and applied himself to his task. At the end of the day, he was pleased to note that the fruit had scarcely changed color. The same could not be said for the model, however. Her rosy
complexion was tinged with blue.

Business Recommendations, Increased Revenue, Industry Insights, Inventory Management software

Counting Stock

simms_stockcount

SIMMS’ Stock Count features make the process of adjusting inventory counts smooth and precise in just a few clicks of the mouse. Adjustments can be made live within SIMMS or on data collectors by those actually performing the adjustments on the stockroom or warehouse floor, who may be granted rights to merely scan-and-correct once any variance is noticed.

Within the process, SIMMS administrators can control the adjusting users’ access to information about the stock that is not necessary for them to know, while managers remain able to see such data under their SIMMS logins. Adjustments can be set to be confirmed or authorized before the adjusted numbers are committed to the stock database. Physical counts done by hand can be compared easily with the on-hand data in the system so discrepancies can be easily spotted.

The system can be locked down while adjustments are being made (the blocked method) or adjustments can be made on-the-fly (the snapshot method). Numerous reports can keep the whole process visual so that variances can be noted, counts corrected, and justifications for the adjustments are logged into the system during the adjustment for current and future reference. Inventory adjustments remain an important process that should be left to a selective group of individuals after the physical count is performed. SIMMS administrators can control this process and the Stock Count features easily help them to accurately track the consumption of stock.

Business Recommendations, Industry Insights, Inventory Management software, Stock Science

The Reorder Limit Method

simms_reorderstock

Orders are placed for a fixed quantity usually the Economic Order Quantity when the stocks reach the Reorder Limit (ROL) or at the end of a predetermined
review period if the stocks have fallen below the Reorder Limit.

The ordering quantity (the EOQ) is fixed, it is checked whether the
Reorder Limit is reached.

The ROL is determined by adding the lead time requirements to safety stock.

ROL = Safety Stock + Lead Time requirements

SIMMS Inventory Management software provides an easy system of setting and maintaining your reorder limits. Contact sales@kcsi.ca to learn more about how SIMMS can make your entire stock experience both easy and accurate.

Business Recommendations, Industry Insights, Inventory Management software, Stock Science

SKU Management with SIMMS 2013

simms_sku

In SIMMS 2013, the Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) Configurator enables you to set the component structure of the SKU (Item) number. You can choose characters from the item’s category, manufacturer, subcategory, vendor, or vendor’s part number to form the SKU number. Alternately, you can choose an auto-generated number to serve as the SKU.

You can also designate the number of items that can be created under a category and assign that item an incremented number. If needed, SIMMS 2013 has a manual SKU override, in which you can assign an item your own item code separate from the automatically-generated SKU.

SIMMS 2013 helps you assign particular SKU numbers to each inventory item configured in the Inventory Manager. This lets you assign an item number based on an SKU formula devised in the SKU Configurator. You can do this during the creation of an item, with the result that once the selection of either the item category, subcategory, brand (sub-sub category), model (sub-sub-sub category) or manufacturer has been made and the Save button has been clicked, the Item code SKU will be automatically created based on the selected options.

Examples of SKU options include these:

• the first two characters of a category

• a 5-character item incremented number

• the first three characters of a subcategory

• the first four characters of a manufacturer

• A 4-character automatically-generated number for a vendor

A specific example of an SKU could thus be as follows:

the category of a computer: SU (for SUPER COMPUTERS)

the 40th item configured under the category: 00040

the sub-category: FAN (for FANS)

the manufacturer: PHILL (for PHILLIPS)

the vendor: Ingram Micro (with an automatically generated code of 0009)

Ultimately, the SKU would thus become SU00040FANPHILL0009.

SKU usage and identification can help your stock management move from simple accuracy to complete precision. If this degree of control is something you seek, visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca to learn more about how SIMMS 2013 is the choice for you.

Accounting Software, Business Recommendations, Increased Revenue, Industry Insights, Inventory Management software

Return on Assets (ROA)

simms_ROA

Imagine that you are a dust-coated gadget of some sort, thick in the middle, bulky, awkward, still half-contained in your original box. You wait to be grabbed and be part of some shipping order to a customer some day. While many businesses may have items of stock in a similar situation as you, if any of those businesses have any more than five percent of its total stock of your age and condition, it could be said that the Return on Assets (ROA) has stalled and is leaving hundreds – maybe thousands – of units of currency that should have been redeemed as cash by now.

Return on Assets is the ratio of annual net income to average total assets of a business during a financial year. This ratio represents the efficiency of the business in using its assets to generate net income. It indicates profitability.

The formula to calculate return on assets is:

ROA =

Annual Net Income
———————————-

Average Total Assets

Average total assets are calculated by dividing the sum of total assets at the beginning and at the end of the financial year by 2.

ROA illustrates the number of cents earned on each dollar of assets.Higher values of ROA indicate higher profitability, and profits in this model are only expanded by turning over that old stock resting dusty on their back shelves. Using combination deals, clearance sales or bulk circulation methods, every business can recoup their original outlay of capital (or as near as is possible) and thus positively affect their ROA. A practical method that businesses can establish to help keep low ROA in check is the use of Economic Order Quantities (EOQs).

The Economic Order Quantity model is structured around minimizing the costs associated with introducing (or ordering) item into inventory versus holding an item within the inventory. Taking ordering, handling, and carrying costs into account, EOQ calculates the optimal order quantity that potentially provides the best long-term value.

SIMMS 2013 allows for the establishment of the EOQ model from the outset of its use, thus taking the issues of obsolescence and slow moving items off your desk and giving you back the time and power to build your company’s position in the marketplace. Visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca foe more information today.

Business Recommendations, Industry Insights, Inventory Management software, Stock Science

Turnover Ratios of Inventory

simms_ivr

Of the many metrics a business can use, one of the most important performance metrics for measuring how your business efficiently manages the quantity-side of their assets and sales equations on a balance sheet is the Inventory Turnover Ratio (IVR). The Inventory Turnover Ratio is derived by calculating the ratio of Cost of Goods Sold divided by the Average Inventory during the established time period (annum, quarter, season, etc.).

In short, the Inventory Turnover Ratio provides insight on how long capital is trapped in the cycle of being used to purchase finished product (or raw materials) for sale through to its sale. Particular Inventory Turnover Ratios differ from industry to industry.  The higher your Inventory Turnover Ratio, the more likely it is that that company carries an excessive quantity of inventory. Cash that is tied up in stock and assets for a prolonged period is referred to as overstocking. Subsequently, the correlation between the company functioning in a cash-poor condition and an elevated Inventory Turnover Ratio is overwhelmingly high.

Depending on individual markets or circumstances, a company can improve its reporting when other performance metrics are graphed on a y-axis along with the Inventory Turnover Ratio over the period of one year (12 months increments). For instance, graphing one product’s gross product margin can give insight into the relationship between the pace at which that product is processed through the warehouse at selected price points. Graphs of monthly revenues generated by a specific product against the Inventory Turnover Ratio supply additional insight in the potential seasonality of an item and thus improve its buying patterns.

It is crucial that buyers, executives, and inventory managers analyze and review any Inventory Turnover Ratios. One of the most useful ways for reviewing IVRs is tracking the ratios at a SKU level – or item type level – then graph the ratio in monthly increments over a one year block of time. This resultant view will help the company to best understand any internal buying cycles or seasonality. One must always remember that the primary aim is to move stock with more speed and to continue the downward pattern in your Inventory Turnover Ratio.

For more assessment of IVRs, visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca today.

Business Recommendations, Increased Revenue, Industry Insights, Inventory Management software

SIMMS 2013 and Apparel

simms_apparel

To stay ahead in today’s apparel industries, companies must retain their lead using technology, innovation and fluid speed. SIMMS 2013 meets these challenges with our leading edge Apparel Inventory solution that will help you compete and grow profitably today and in the future.

Retailers and consumers push for lower prices, better quality and quicker delivery. SIMMS 2013’s Apparel Module is designed to help apparel importers, distributors and manufacturers meet the competitive demands of quick supply demands and limited capital availability.

From data pertaining to the receipt of goods, the movement of goods within or between locations, the sale, removal or other disposition of goods, and the precise valuation and status of goods remaining in inventory at any time, down to the exact style/size/color, SIMMS will enable you to successfully manage your apparel/embroidery inventory.

Our apparel clients include manufacturers, importers and distributors of mens and ladies fashion and sportswear, children’s clothing, leisure wear, lingerie, foundation garments, swim wear, jeans, t-shirts and furriers. SIMMS 2013 has been designed to ensure that your business has timely and accurate information on inventory location, movement and valuation in order to precisely direct and dependable protect your inventory.