Tag Archives: stock management

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

Stock Flowthrough

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The inventory goes down the elevator every night. — Fairfax Cone

As companies sell their stock, the increased need for consumer goods and products increases. Businesses may use a manual or an automated system for reordering inventory. Manual systems commonly demand that business owners and managers to review inventory flow for individual products and place orders from vendors; such processes can be drawn-out and usually involves the usage of several ledgers. Automated inventory flow systems, however, allow companies to electronically transfer information to vendors and manufacturers who are requesting additional inventories; these systems reduce the lead time that businesses require to replenish their current stock counts. Companies more recently use automated business systems to improve their stock management, and benefit from their precision and speed.

Inventory flow begins with the purchase of consumer products or raw materials from suppliers. Manufacturing companies require raw materials to produce their consumer products. Raw materials include natural resources such as land, minerals and timber. Most manufacturers produce consumer products and ship these items to vendors. Vendors receive stock products and hold them as they anticipate orders from retail stores. Most retailers begin their inventory management process by ordering goods from vendors.

Flowthrough represents the methods that companies use to move consumer products through the company, and most often shows in businesses like distribution centers, grocery stores, manufacturers, restaurants and retail stores.

SIMMS 2013’s Inventory Management software can masterfully handle the manufacturing, storage, sales and accounting requirements that you have. Visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca today for the information you need to make SIMMS handle your work for you.

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

The SIMMS Windows Mobile Advantage

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Windows Mobile is a powerful mobile operating system (OS) available. It is productivity-packed and features a full Windows Office suite including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel; in addition, it has PDF viewers, Adobe, notes and options to customize. It also has Windows Media Player and options for other media apps. The iPhone OS is powerful as well, but the Apple security around it shows that apps from Android, Windows or open source cannot link or share back-and-forth. With Windows Mobile, you also gain the flexibility to choose the hardware you want. This gives you the best solution you need at an affordable budget.

Windows Mobile employs a filing system that is identical to Windows 7 for PC. All the files stored in your phone pair seamlessly to your PC or NetBook and open smoothly. While not as immediate as Android user interface, the superb productivity gained from this OS is quite impressive.  Windows Mobile provides opportunities for connections to thousands of open source applications. The OS is therefore something you can build upon.

SIMMS Windows Mobile brings the advantages of this expansive system for inventory management. SIMMS helps you gain the abilities to:

Collect Data Instantly
Warehouse and shipping/receiving staff can record bar-coded items with a scanner connected to a lightweight, completely portable hand-held computer (HHC) with Windows Mobile 5. An array of data can be gathered, validated and verified in this way—not only inventory counts, but also quantities, item numbers and lot/serial numbers of goods invoiced or received.

Eliminate Costly Time
Consuming manual data entry. Import data from the HHC into your SIMMS system in batch mode or live at the moment of entry using the wireless mode thereby virtually eliminating costly inventory errors with the advanced features found in the SIMMS Windows Mobile inventory software solution.

Free Yourself From Your Desk
Now with the SIMMS Windows Mobile Inventory software solution you are free to walk around your warehouse and process your invoices, receipts of goods, physical count adjustments and even add new items on-the-fly on a hand-held Windows Mobile device.

For more information and detail of SIMMS Windows Mobile, visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca.

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

SIMMS’ Fulfillment Module Keeps Customers Satisfied

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The Fulfillment Module was designed to work in conjunction with the Replenishment Module. Once a purchase order has been generated for the stock required to fill sales orders and the purchase order has been approved and received, the sales order is then listed in the Fulfillment Module waiting for the order to be picked and invoiced. Here the user can process all items on a sales order into an invoice or invoice individual items on a sales order. Also, the user has the option to invoice individual sales orders or automatically invoice all sales orders. This process is called “Recalculate Fill Quantity” (the fill quantity is the item’s quantity on a sales order).

SIMMS’ Fulfillment Module keeps all details of the stock you have ordered – or need to order – clear and concise so that you are not wasting extra time and money on stock the is not needed. Use this module to master your stock and your orders, all the while adding to the satisfaction of your customers and the efficiency of your stock management.

–          Comprehensive picking lists can be generated once selected quantities have been either manually or automatically chosen.

–          Fill quantities can be automatically filled using available stock or reset to zero, and can be recalculated at any time.

–          Order selection has been made simple, and can be filtered by customer, categories, or items.

–          Quantities of items already on purchase orders are displayed, avoiding the creation of duplicate orders for the required goods. Invoices that feature some or all fulfillment items can be generated, while any items that are already invoiced, or partially invoiced, are displayed.

–          You can manually enter only the quantities they need, avoiding investment in superfluous stock thus saving the user time and money. Once the required amount of stock is known, purchase orders can be created for unavailable stock involved in the fulfillment process, either an item at a time, or by the batch of required items.

SIMMS’ Fulfillment Module can help your business succeed owing much to its hand-in-hand link with SIMMS’ comprehensive inventory management software. Visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca today for more information on how fulfillment can help you serve your customers with a much more accurate and higher standard than ever before.

 

Business Recommendations, Increased Revenue, Product News, Program Modules

Why Choose SIMMS 2013?

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SIMMS 2013 is an advanced inventory management, accounting and manufacturing system that offers flexibility and growth.SIMMS Inventory Software is ready to use and easy to adapt and customize, it is today’s choice for dynamic businesses, both large and small, with an eye toward increased productivity and revenue.

SIMMS Inventory Management Software is a comprehensive business management solution that delivers the combined benefits of advanced productivity tools and state-of-the-art accounting and manufacturing capabilities that allows users to operate more efficiently and profitably.  Some of these features include powerful drill-down capabilities, advanced reporting, phantom kitting and more. SIMMS Inventory Software also includes a full suite of modules that are easily customizable to meet a virtually unlimited variety of business needs regardless of your business.

With SIMMS Inventory Software, you can choose the end-to-end business management applications you want from a comprehensive, integrated suite of accounting and manufacturing modules. In addition, SIMMS offers seamless integration, including customer relationship management (CRM), payroll, e-commerce and vertical solutions.

For more information on SIMMS 2013, SIMMS Online and SIMMS Mobile inventory and accounting solutions, visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca today.

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

Inventory Holding Costs

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Inventory holding costs are incurred when you hold stock in storage facilities or warehouses. They are separate but in addition to ordering or shortage costs. They include breakage/spoilage expenses (retail costs of having to write off inventory due to it being unable to be sold), depreciation costs (of stock as well as machinery used in the business), insurance costs (against destruction, loss or theft), materials handling costs (forklifts, pallet trucks, small trucks or vehicles, plus their related labor expenses), obsolete inventory write offs (because product lines become out of date within the current business year and must be sold at a discount or written off completely), tied up capital expenses (where the principle is for capital being allocated to best expected returns and the value of the business itself is optimized), or warehousing and logistic costs (rent, labor, utilities, trucks or other modes of transport to ship goods).

If your company over-estimates how much of a product to purchase and is unable to quickly sell it, then your company will have to manage the product’s storage and if you have finite storage space, the storage of one product creates an opportunity cost since you cannot store sufficient quantities of other products. In addition, over-purchasing might result in your company storing a product that consumers no longer need or want.

Your annual demand for stock items is calculated as doubling your average demand multiplied by the holding cost per unit. Knowledge of your demand rates can help assess the overhead required for holding costs and will result in you knowing what holding costs can be reduced within your inventory management system.

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

Placing Your Stock in Clouds

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As inventory management moves into the future, a vast number of companies are moving in the direction of cloud computing. While use of cloud software shows a lowered expenditure and a quicker ROI, there are other advantages to its use.

The real-time inventory monitoring is a part of the efficiency to be gained from a cloud system. Changes in one place cause an update in numerous other places in the system. Greater access and accuracy lead to confidence in the system and reliance on its features. Tracking products and supplies then generating reports based on the results are the mark of a fluid system. Remote login to up-to-the-minute data at any time in any department in any branch anywhere is the strength. Versatility in terms of equipment used to access the data is also a benefit – Blackberries, smartphones, tablets, all are supported by quality cloud systems.

Inventory programs in cloud format also increase inter-departmental communications and increase speed and efficiency. Restocking quantities and frequency, shipment status of customer orders, support information and progress, overall operations, as well as current fiscal data are all advantages gained by a cloud experience. Profit margins and break-even points are equally accessible and available.

From small to medium-sized businesses, another advantage to online systems is their availability and affordability when compared to OOTB (out of the box) systems. Features you need can be added to the interface and tools can be customized and prioritized. Sophistication, the capacity to increase sales, the improvement of efficiency and accuracy are the marks of any good inventory system and SIMMS 2013 Inventory Management software provides all the features mentioned above. Visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca today for more information.

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

The Moving Average Inventory Method

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Supply and demand is the central anchor of inventory management, and making sure you have enough stock on hand to meet order requests can be challenging, especially if you have variable peaks in your industry. By using the Moving Average Inventory Method, you can use historical inventory levels to predict future demand, thus empowering you to better plan financial and physical resources.

With the Moving Average Inventory Method, you re-calculate the average cost of each inventory item in stock after every inventory purchase. The calculation is the total cost of the items purchased divided by the number of items in stock. The Cost of Ending Inventory and the Cost of Goods Sold are then set at this average cost.

To use this method, you need to employ a perpetual inventory tracking system because the moving average cost changes whenever there is a new purchase. Up-to-date records of inventory balances are necessary to produce results in this method. The moving average method yields inventory valuations and cost of goods sold results that are in-between those derived under the first in, first out (FIFO) method and the last in, first out (LIFO) method. It is challenging to employ the moving average method when inventory records are recorded manually, and the additional clerical staff would be overworked by the number of required calculations. However, when the inventory valuations are calculated by a computerized system, the continual adjustments to valuations are always current and always accurate.

One such computerized package is SIMMS 2013, a feature-rich and fully-modern inventory and accounting management package. Visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca for more information.

Business Recommendations, Increased Revenue, Inventory Management software, Product: How-To, Program Modules

Remote Inventory Management

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One of the benefits of the management of inventory is when your stock software solution provides you the freedom to be on the road and still conduct your business with precision and complete confidence. Companies both large and small must supply information to personnel in your warehouse, as well as to people working from home, on the highway, in the office, at the cash register, in hotel rooms anywhere on the planet, or standing face-to-face with the stock. The data all of them need will help your company to provide the best service, support and information.

Transactional capabilities at a distance must feature access to your most current and accurate stock information so that orders can be placed, examined, confirmed, and shipped as soon as possible. Remote log-ins are a standard feature of today’s most comprehensive and quality inventory software, and the benefits are as follows:

  • Currency of Data – Since all files are logged into, the information and records in the system is always current and accurate because everyone is always viewing up-to-the-minute data. This leads to less mistakes and more accurate analysis of profits and trends.
  • Efficiency – remote personnel can remain linked in 24/7 providing far more immediate responses no matter where in the world the communications come from or what the source’s time zone may be.
  • IT Advantages – service, backups and software re-installations or upgrades can be performed from remote log-ins by IT personnel, helping to prevent physical visits to the office and thereby reducing the expenses of IT personnel.
  • Latitude of Life – Employees who reside awkward distances from the main office can maximize their day’s work without wasting time in traveling back and forth between two places. This added flexibility helps increase their work throughput.
  • Modernization Improves Access – While remote connections can be made today, the world of technologies are making it possible that owners and managers and analysts can check in from their cell phones and tablet interfaces, making it possible for anyone with an internet connection to keep linked in and keep in touch.
  • Productivity – work can be done from anywhere. Smooth and easy access to crucial information, documents, emails and other resident software on the home server provide access in real-time. Work from home during off hours also allows for any backlog to be reduced.
  • Profits – response to emails and customer requests can happen sooner, thereby improving customer service and sales performance.
  • Reduced Office Overhead – Remote access enables a business to use smaller office space than if all employees worked in-house every minute of every day.
  • Skills Become More Available – Talented and experienced personnel can be hired from a wider area because their link to the company can occur from anywhere without the necessity to commute or uproot their lives from somewhere else. This includes current employees whose lives acquire complexity that remote working will help them solve and thus continue with your company instead of being forced to go to work for someone else (possibly a competitor of yours).

Remote access is but one of the many features of SIMMS Inventory Management software. To learn more, visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca today for more information.

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

Managing Stock for Others

The management of stock for your own business should employ a system of precision and reliability so that your financial investment and profit margin are easy to know and improve. Perhaps your company acts as a holding location for inventory that belongs to other companies either by coordinating the delivery of stock items, their storage, or both. Some firms specialize in this practice, and the dispersal and receipt of tracked items are their stock and trade (pardon the pun). In fact, some firms who control their own storage space use this ability to store the goods of others to partially defer or, hopefully completely, offset their own stocking expenses: bring in monthly fees from others that pay for their storage of their own goods.

If you coordinate the accurate storage of others’ materials and thus are responsible for their safe and competent storage, you will need to establish a hub system that establishes a main area/zone that is central to each client. If your storage areas are organized as bays or sections, rooms or shelves, your attention to detail is of utmost importance. Another priceless asset in your tracking policies is a formalized recording and reporting system that is hopefully computerized and which functions by the processes of ins and outs. Clients who have similar items housed with you must rely on your accuracy in keeping things separate. Names and labels that clearly designate your clients are very important so that if in the course of receiving and physical handling of items that they can be easily returned to the client’s designated section(s) if they accidentally were moved during the handling of materials belonging to others.

If you do a monthly formal inventory of your own items, you should perform a similar physical count of clients’ items in the same manner, but on a different date and time. This concentration on precision is something upon which your clients must rely and for which you are completely responsible. For more tips on how to manage stock with accuracy and precision, visit www.simmssoftware.com or email sales@kcsi.ca.

 

Business Recommendations, Industry Insights, Inventory Management software, Product: How-To

Barcoding Versatility with SIMMS 2012

SIMMS 2012 Inventory Management system provides barcoding hardware and customized barcoding solutions.

Barcoding both lowers costs and raises efficiency levels. SIMMS 2012 offers the most comprehensive barcode and label-making features for your industry — from barcode labels for items or for their categories — providing all types of businesses with all of their necessary barcoding needs.

With SIMMS you can:

Print and/or scan barcodes for entire categories of items with a single mouse click.

Print and/or scan labels for item locations with ease — one location at a time or for all storage locations in your matrix. Making the situation quicker and more accurate, barcoding of location labels lets save time and gain accuracy simultaneously.

Print and/or scan barcodes for all items on a receipt of goods as the items enter your warehouse, thus updating your stock information in real time, making those same stock items available for your sales department to issue immediately.

Print and/or scan barcodes for apparel items on-the-fly so that their barcodes contain all the specialty information you need them to contain.

Print and/or scan barcodes for items with either domestic or inherited serial numbers.

Print and/or scan barcodes for items with either domestic or inherited manufacturer’s lots.

Print and/or scan both 1D and 2D barcode formats, and  export the labels to a customizable Crystal Reports format for personalization. 2D formats can contain a multitude of details, such as an item’s UPC, quantity, lot number, serial number, part number, description and lot number all at the same time.

If barcoding is your inventory need, visit the SIMMS homepage today at www.simmssoftware.com or e-mail sales@kcsi.ca for more information.