According to statistics, 43% of retailers rank inventory management as their number one daily challenge. However, the data tells a different story.

When you consider supply chain issues such as delayed deliveries, unpredictable demand and higher storage and shipping costs, a complex picture emerges. As you expand your e-commerce business, you may worry about how to maintain visibility as you allocate products across many locations and channels.

So what is the difference between businesses that can withstand these challenges and those that can't?

Whether you are a raw materials supplier or a retailer, selling semi-finished goods or finished goods to consumers, implementing inventory management best practices such as tools that provide in-depth insight and real-time visual visibility into your inventory will save your organization time and money.

This guide will show you how better visibility supports the strategies you need to succeed.

What is inventory visibility?

Inventory visibility is the ability to see the quantity and flow of goods in real time. From a single view, companies can quickly track and store huge amounts of data, match supply with demand and reduce instances of overselling and overstocking. Being able to do this enables growth at scale. That is why creating inventory visibility is considered the best inventory management practice.

Tools such as barcode scanners and SKUs can track the physical flow of goods and make it easy for companies to see their inventory. However, the most advanced systems also account for real-time reservations across sales channels - for example, platforms that integrate sales data from a retailer's website, app and brick-and-mortar stores. At these companies, operations and sales teams know exactly how many units of each item are in stock at each location, how many units are awaiting shipment and where they are stored in the fulfilment center or warehouse. Automated reordering and predictive analytics ensure brands can replenish goods at critical moments, such as when demand rises but has not yet reached the reorder point.

Khám phá ngay: The best way to improve inventory visibility

A guide to managing all goods in the warehouse with a visual warehouse map (layout)

The fundamental challenge behind inventory management is clear: buy too much and you risk accumulating obsolete stock, but buy too little and you'll have nothing to sell - leaving customers dissatisfied and shopping elsewhere. Knowing when and how much to order is the key to successful inventory management. With real-time inventory data, companies can apply automation and predictive analytics to surface critical moments earlier. Automating the inventory management system saves money and avoids wasted labor - and it all starts with inventory visibility.

Improved visibility when companies implement a real-time inventory management system is crucial. Digitize and automate inventory management.

Manage all goods in the warehouse with a visual warehouse map (layout)

Visual inventory location management

Classify inventory storage by zone, rack, bin and shelf, while automating order picking and alerts on stockouts and the status of goods in the warehouse. Track the exact location of goods and products to optimize storage space and inventory flow. A modern warehouse management system provides visual dashboards that speed up order processing, such as:

Continuous updates on orders to be received and issued each day. Support for monitoring order processing.

Automatically identifies and gives directions on where to store or pick goods on a visual dashboard.

Track inventory availability and optimize warehouse space.

Alerts on the status of goods on racks and shelves that are empty or overloaded... on a visual interface.

Continuous updates on orders to be received and issued each day. Support for monitoring order processing.

Setting up a warehouse efficiently and in an organized way not only supports inventory control and time management but also streamlines the entire business operation, from ordering and storage to picking and shipping.

Manage all warehouses in one system

You can set up warehouses for different purposes, such as wholesale warehouses, retail warehouses and warehouses by location, region…

Within each warehouse, you can further set up locations/areas such as a receiving staging area, QC area, storage, shipping staging area,.....

Within each location you can set up different positions according to how each warehouse is arranged

Use a color chart to display the status of goods in the warehouse

A modern warehouse management system provides a warehouse layout map that gives you an overview of where goods are and their status, using colors to improve accuracy, for example:

● Red: alerts that an inventory item is out of stock or below its minimum level

● Yellow: the quantity of goods is above the set level, or goods have been in stock longer than expected.

● Green: goods are within the safe threshold or in normal status

Organize product information & attach tags/labels to goods

Organizing products is the most important step in improving a business's operations, as it takes less time to pick or store products. A well-organized business also makes integrating software into its processes easier to manage.

A smart warehouse management system supports managing inventory tags and labels. This helps build end-to-end visibility among all parties, from suppliers to customers, as inventory moves through the business's warehouse.

Depending on the product, product group and product type, set up and manage the tags or labels attached to goods, for example managing labels for each individual product or by carton, lot, bag or pack… to display information and look up product details or storage management information on the label, such as:

Track products by carton/pack; when you look one up you will know:

What products are in the package/carton/pack?
What are the actual on-hand, reserved and available quantities or weights in the carton?
Where exactly is the package, carton or pack?
And the quantity or weight in the carton or pack is updated fully automatically whenever goods are put into or taken out of it, without recounting or regenerating the carton/pack code.

Look up by lot/serial number to instantly get information on

Expiry date,
Production date
How many products are in that lot?
or purchase order information, … easily.

Track products by product code
when you scan a product code anywhere in your supply chain, you can look up:

The current quantity or weight of the product
Which lots the product is in
Which locations and areas the product is in

Real-time inventory tracking

Smart warehouse management systems use RFID technology, product location and barcode scanning, and mobile devices to control receiving, issuing and stock counts, improving productivity by skipping manual data entry: items can automatically confirm the quantities to receive/issue and reconcile them against orders by scanning barcodes, and labels can be printed for easy storage and retrieval.

Minimize and simplify tasks for warehouse operators on the warehouse floor with a visual warehouse layout map, the orders to be picked, automatic location of goods... helping operators find products easily while updating data accurately in real time.

Conclusion

In today's market, a clear supply chain is essential for effective inventory management. A modern, smart warehouse management system provides real-time visual visibility of inventory with built-in analytics tools. It provides a map of warehouse locations, the position of each item and the status of goods on racks and shelves… letting you see stock levels across different locations from a single overview screen. The system alerts you to slow-moving goods, inventory shortfalls that need replenishing or excess stock, stockouts, and empty or overloaded locations in the warehouse… speeding up picking, receiving and order processing and saving time.