If you’re a business dealing with inventory, you’ll be familiar with the challenges faced in running a successful order and inventory management process. You might have fallen victim to some of the common pitfalls or maybe just have room to tighten things up.

Whatever the current state of your order management process, you can make sure you’re doing the best for your business by implementing the keys to success.

Let’s look at the 5 keys to a successful order and inventory management process.

Automation is key

For a total transformation of your inventory management, this tip is the most important. Businesses relying on spreadsheets to run inventory management often find mistakes are being made. These mistakes could be lost orders, late orders or simply slow processing. Either way, spreadsheet dependence can spell bad news for your order management.

Automating the process gives you a seamless process. A great automated order management software will provide a to-the-minute overview of stock changes and order information. Vital to exceed customer expectations and keep your workflows running smoothly, automation can transform your order and inventory management process.

Speed up order fulfilment

What is your average order fulfilment time? Getting a grasp on this will help you plan ways to get products to customers faster. Having a good understanding of your lead times could allow you to adopt a just-in-time approach, reducing the expense of holding lots of stock and streamlining your order management process.

Keep your stock room organised

Many elements of the order management process rely on a well organised stock room, from order picking speed to order correctness. Trying to run an organised order management process out of a disorganised stock room will influence your ability to properly execute an efficient inventory management process.

Keeping your stock organised and in the right place gives you the best chance of getting the correct order to your customer, faster.

Get your stock levels right

To run a successful order and inventory management process you must ensure that you don’t have bundles of stock caught up in your warehouse. Holding too much stock can be an expensive burden and having too much cash tied up in inventory can be a sign of inefficient inventory management.

Moreover, having too much stock can make your stockroom hard to organise, slowing down your order processing.

Keep an eye on safety stock

For most businesses, safety stock is a vital part of the inventory management process, but often they simply hold too much or too little. If your stock is perishable, for example, too much safety stock can be a drain on your inventory management efficiency. For some businesses, it’s important to hold plenty of safety stock in case of unpredicted sales.

To reduce unnecessary safety stock, start by taking the guesswork out of inventory management. Adopt a system that tracks and records your sales automatically- allowing you to reflect on your sales patterns and prepare for peak periods.

Once you’ve cracked these 4 keys to a successful order and inventory management system, your inventory management can become as seamless as ever. If you’re looking for a great system to automate your order and inventory management in a way that is customisable to you, find out more here.