Inventory management is about knowing the level of stock you have in your warehouse. Nonetheless, your stock control software alone can’t streamline your processes unless it’s integrated with your accounting and back-office systems. It also can’t ensure that the inventory value on your financial reports matches the value of the physical inventory.
Today’s companies integrate their stock control systems with their accounting and back-office operations to optimize inventory management. Integration minimizes labor cost, provide a competitive edge, and minimize errors associated with manual reconciliation. It requires a business to assess its needs and future growth plan for it to determine the right medical inventory management software. Your integrated medical inventory management software must be scalable, transparent, real-time, reconcilable, and flexible for you to achieve maximum benefits.
Why Integrate your Inventory Management System with Your Accounting and Back Office Processes?
Integrating your stock control system with your back-office and accounting systems results in three key benefits. These three integration benefits can impact your bottom line significantly.
Accurate Financial Reports
Maintaining accurate tax returns and annual reports is crucial for your investors and government. The value of the physical assets in your warehouse must match the recorded value in your books. By integrating the transactions in your inventory system, you ensure financial integrity in your company reporting.
Inventory Optimization
Having the right mix and adequate inventory is essential for customers’ satisfaction. Activities such as counting, reworking, and storing reduce the availability of products that your customers’ demand. Your inventory management system needs to have a real-time visibility of your inventory to ensure that you have adequate and the right mix of stock.
Supply Chain Visibility
Today’s companies manage their stock levels and distribute their products through supply chain partners. They not only integrate their inventory systems with the company’s back-office systems but also with third-party logistics and suppliers systems. By integrating your system with those of your suppliers, you ensure that your inventory levels don’t fluctuate.
The Importance of Integration
The integration of your system must be real-time, scalable, transparent, and flexible. Real-time data enhances visibility to your supply chain partners and customers. That ensures that your financial reporting is accurate and up-to-date. Customers and supply chain partners want the integration to be scalable and flexible, as continuous growth could require your business processes to adjust to the integration. Many companies often forget about scalability during the integration design. That will come back to haunt you when high transaction volumes overwhelm your company’s success.
The easiest way to integrate your systems is to incorporate an inventory management module and ERP system that meets your needs. You could also look for an ERP system and inventory management system that was designed with flexible APIs. Alternatively, you can still integrate your system if it doesn’t match with systems with open and flexible APIs. However, your system will require constant maintenance as the provider upgrades the solutions. You could also update and reconcile your systems manually to keep various systems in synch.
