Inventory control software manages businesses’ physical inventory by providing real-time insight into the amount of each product they have on hand and available. Inventory control software is used to manage many aspects of a business, from purchasing and vendor evaluation to demand prediction and order optimization.
The best inventory control software is vital to keeping a production-focused business running smoothly, as its feature set is varied and its capabilities comprehensive. These features include inventory forecasting, asset tracking, inventory databases, stock history records, and more.
Proper inventory control has the potential to influence every aspect of a business—from providing up-to-date product information with the goal of aiding sales teams, to arming you with the necessary information to positively change business processes that are lagging behind. Inventory control software can offer businesses insight into production and shipping bottlenecks, which they can then leverage to improve those processes.
Inventory control software often contains warehouse management and barcode features to provide users with a complete inventory management solution. Inventory control solutions that do not include a full complement of inventory management tools will often integrate with warehouse management, barcode, and accounting software.
To qualify for inclusion in the Inventory Control category, a product must:
- Contain a centralized inventory database
- Use barcode or RFID technology to track assets
- Provide inventory forecasting tools
