Inventory
For many print providers inventory is one of the more visible and tangible aspects
of doing business. Raw materials, goods in process and finished goods all represent
various forms of inventory. However, each type represents money tied up until the
inventory leaves the company as purchased products.
In a literal sense, inventory refers to stocks of anything necessary to do business.
These stocks represent a large portion of the business investment and must be well
managed in order to maximize profits. In fact, many small businesses cannot absorb
the types of losses arising from poor inventory management. Unless inventories are
controlled, they are unreliable, inefficient and costly.
Successful inventory management involves balancing the costs of inventory with the
benefits of inventory. Many small business owners fail to appreciate fully the true
costs of carrying inventory, which include not only direct costs of storage, insurance
and taxes, but also the cost of money tied up in inventory. This fine line between
keeping too much inventory and not enough is not the manager's only concern. Others
include:
1. Maintaining a wide assortment of stock - but not spreading the rapidly moving
ones too thin
2. Increasing inventory turnover - but not sacrificing the service level
3. Keeping stock low - but not sacrificing service or performance
4. Obtaining lower prices by making volume purchases - but not ending up with slow-moving
inventory
5. Having an adequate inventory on hand - but not getting caught with obsolete items
E Pro helps with one of the most important aspects of inventory control i.e.
to have the items in stock at the moment they are needed. This includes going into the market to buy the goods (integrated with purchase order module) early enough to ensure delivery at the proper time.
Benefits of Inventory Management in E Pro
- Excellent reporting of customer supplied paper
- Integrates with Order Management and Scheduling, updating all changes and receipts
- Report on all roll consumption by job, customer or stock items
- Reduce held stock through real-time database accessible from Estimating
- Integrate into paper monitoring for real time statistics of over or under consumption,
react to over usage before inventory shortage becomes an issue
In addition to the main application, the following related modules are available:
- Order Management – incorporating functionality pertinent to production such
as order acknowledgement, electronic work instructions (job card) and stock allocation
for production purposes
- SFDC – Allowing E Pro to record the ‘actual’ time taken of a particular task
for job costing purposes
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