When you have stock in multiple locations, it can become hard to keep track of it all. You don't know what's selling. You also don't know what's sitting in a warehouse catching dust. If you're using a manual system, chances are stock control takes up a lot of your time. You might feel frustrated and out of control. That's because you're losing out on opportunities to maximise your business' potential.
Automated stock control systems like Profit4 can streamline your processes, helping you to see at a glance what's selling - and what isn't. With 42% of warehouses expected to invest in automation and technology, the importance of automating your stock control is clear. In this post, we'll take you step by step through the key features, including how you can utilise them for your business.
Profit4's automated stock control system cuts down on unnecessary processes. But how exactly does this work? Profit4 has several key features that make keeping track of your stock easy and efficient...
It's not just your warehouse team that interacts with your stock. Your sales team will be taking orders. Meanwhile, customers will be buying from your trade stores and eCommerce sites. With a manual system, each department needs to be updated individually. Naturally, this can quickly become unruly. You might even lose track of your stock altogether. If a customer buys something in your eCommerce store and this isn't updated for the warehouse team, it could lead to unfortunate stockouts and delayed orders.
Meanwhile, with Profit4's automated stock control system, all of your sales channels synchronise simultaneously. So, if an item is sold in a trade store, your stock levels are automatically reduced across all platforms to reflect the sale. No need to update your warehouse or sales teams. If you sell multiple items in kit form, you'll also have the option to create a bill of materials. This ensures the stock levels of each component are automatically updated. Plus, you'll have full visibility of all operations, including shipping and returns.
As well as being able to synchronise your stock over multiple channels, you also need to maintain control over multiple locations. This potentially includes several warehouses, trade stores and pop-up shops. These locations could be on different sides of the country or across the globe. This makes it a challenge to keep up with incoming and outgoing stock using a manual system.
With Profit4's automated stock control system, you'll have an at-a-glance view of your entire inventory, spanning both digital and physical locations. Whenever a product is sold and shipped, moved within or between warehouses, or returned by a customer, the system will be automatically updated in real time. You'll also be the first to know when stock is low in any location.
Tracing the location of your stock is easy. Our system can pinpoint the exact bin location for each product, as well as provide a sequenced picking note that advises an optimum route for picking. This saves precious time on order fulfilment.
Stockouts can be incredibly damaging to customer loyalty and company reputation. According to one survey, 30% of consumers feel that stockouts actively hurt their shopping experience. If a popular item frequently goes out of stock, customers are likely to become frustrated and look elsewhere to buy what they need. Profit4's automatic purchasing features make stockout worries a thing of the past.
For example, you can automate restocking for items that fall beneath a certain stock threshold. The items will then be re-ordered automatically or added to a shortages list for bulk orders. There's also the option to set automatic re-ordering to maintain stock at minimum, maximum or optimum levels, depending on your specific requirements.
When you have a diverse array of stock across multiple locations and platforms, it's naturally hard to keep track of it all. It's also challenging to see a product within its wider sales context. Profit4 offers continuous stock takes that update in real-time. These can be tailored to specific locations or product types.
For example, you could use this to quickly identify which stock is gathering dust on the shelves. Once you have that information, you can use it to create an effective sales strategy and adjust your purchase orders.
Profit4 will also examine product order volumes to recommend maximum and minimum stock levels for each of your products. This ensures you don't order too much or too little - and it can even be set to automatically re-order when bestselling products meet the minimum threshold.
Another way that Profit4 can optimise your stock control processes is through reporting and analytics. With configurable, detailed reports on usage and trends, you can gain unique insights into what's working for your stock - and what isn't. These real-time reports will provide vital information that you can utilise for your purchasing plans, advertising strategies, and even your warehouse layout. You'll be able to predict which products are most likely to sell over the future months, which can help to avoid further stockouts.
Cross-selling and up-selling are integral to your sales processes. However, it can often be challenging for sales teams to find the right products to recommend in the middle of a sales call. That's where Profit4 can help. If a member of your sales team is managing an order for a customer, they will automatically be prompted with relevant product recommendations. This feature can also help to reduce the impact of stockouts, as your team will be notified if the customer is ordering an item that is out of stock. The system will then recommend alternative options to suit the customer's needs.
Profit4's automated stock control system holds a whole host of benefits for your team. Manual processes that could take hours can be streamlined through automation. This saves time for your team to focus on what they do best. Reducing human error and stockouts ensures that customers receive their items quickly and efficiently. That means stronger customer loyalty - and more sales in the long run.
If you'd like to see the features of this Cloud ERP software in action, watch our 3-min online demo, so you can discover first-hand how its features can optimise your stock control processes.
