How a Warehouse Tracking System Gives You Instant Insights and Total Control

• What is a warehouse tracking system?
• The role of SaaS in warehouse management
  
• Advantages of a cloud inventory tracking system
  
• How can cloud-based warehouse inventory tracking help your business?
  
• Warehouse management and digital transformation
  
• Timly: Warehouse management with 360° asset tracking software
  

What is online warehouse tracking?

Why does your business need a warehouse tracking system? Because accurate and real-time management of inventory is vital to your company’s daily operations and long-term success. However, tracking inventory in even a single small warehouse can present a big challenge, and larger operations often face logistic nightmares in trying to manage multiple warehouses, physical plants and other locations. Not to mention tracking the usage and performance in order to best utilise their inventories and supplies.

In warehouse tracking, digital and cloud-based is the way to go. From the smallest to the largest company or organisation, software solutios simplify inventory and stocktaking processes, making them more streamlined and automating many steps.

This is because a cloud based warehouse management system offers centralised storage of all stocks – and everything else – in one or multiple warehouses, and offers that information to anybody who needs access – warehouse personnel, sales staff, front office and others can get a clear, complete, accurate and up-to-date picture of stock levels, condition, age, value and much more.

 The role of SaaS in warehouse management

Warehouse tracking systems are not new, but surprisingly few companies are using fully modern cloud-based stock management software – instead of computer-based local inventory management system.

But a truly comprehensive, well designed solution does so much more than simply recording inventory. A centralised asset management system will:

• Allow for the most accurate and up-to-date accounting of the amount and changing levels of your stock.

• Make recording and tracking stock much easier and simpler, and greatly reducing errors, through pre-designed (but fully customisable) templates and QR codes.

• Account for stock not just in one site, but multiple warehouses and other places, effortlessly coordinating stock levels and locations.

• Record not just stock levels, but every detail and aspect of any item – amounts, age, value/price, condition, availability, relation to other stock, sales and ordering history, warranty and supporting documentation and more.

• Track all other details of warehouse contents – maintenance and safety equipment, forklifts and machinery, IT equipment, even employee records, training and qualifications.

• Make all data available to anybody in the organisation – from warehouse floor to c-level suites – in a clear and understandable format.
  Allow for simple, powerful and highly flexible reporting and data relationships.

For eCommerce businesses looking for a cohesive asset management system to tackle retail challenges, integrating it with a feature-rich eCommerce platform is especially advantageous. These platforms are designed to digitally transform your retail operations. Combined with an inventory management solution, they provide a holistic and comprehensive approach to modern retail needs.

Advantages of a cloud inventory tracking system

When you compare cloud-based inventory apps to more traditional manual or local (on-site) computerised solutions, many advantages are immediately evident.

More accurate and up to date information – Real-time data is maintained easily, and the recording and maintenance of this data is so easy that accuracy and diligence are ensured.

A single source of data – Everybody in your company or organisation will see and use the same inventory records, avoiding mistakes and oversights and allowing for more consistent and meaningful decision-making.

Not just levels – By having easily available not just just inventory levels, but also age, condition, location, manufacturing data, sales history, usage and access information, supporting documentation and so much more, you can increase sales, improve distribution and supply chains, save money and optimise workflow.

Availability and access – Anybody can access all inventory information easily, using a phone, tablet, PC or any device with internet access, from the warehouse, admin offices, a remote workspace or job site, a sales floor or a customer’s location. Access can also be easily controlled, allowing only qualified or applicable staff to see certain data.

Reporting and disclosure – Inventory levels, age, value, usage, sales, ordering and manufacturing data can be easily – or even automatically – compiled and delivered to internal or external audiences, including managers and executives, suppliers, existing and potential customers, regulatory agencies, investors and boards of directors.

Emergency avoidance and recovery – The best centralised data storage offers highly advanced security and data redundancy, and can prevent major breaches in or loss of your data, as well as offering easy or even automatic recovery in the highly unlikely event of an emergency.

How cloud-based warehouse inventory tracking can help your business

Many businesses realise that their warehouse operations are – in one or many ways – pretty seriously lacking. Goods are lost, unaccounted for, unnecessarily purchased, and/or stored improperly. Space is wasted and underutilised, inventory handling and transportation is unsafe or inefficient, and personnel training is lacking, outdated or not fully compliant. What’s more, invariably many other aspects of the company’s operations may suffer or fail to reach their full potential as a result.

It is interesting to peruse the guide of the UK Warehousing Association on this matter – UKWA Warehouse Best Practises 2022. Ok, in truth this 68 page publication may be ‘interesting’ to only save die-hard warehousers, but it is fascinating to realise just how many of the UKWA tips and guidelines around issues such as:

• Material handling and storage
• Safety and training
• Fleet management
• Physical plants and resources
• Environmental impact and sustainability
• Inventory management and IT

…and much more. Many of these are already addressed and even optimised in the features and functionality of comprehensive asset management software. These solutions are easy it is to implement and businesses can immediately start seeing the benefits all throughout their company, regardless of its size.

Warehouse management and digital transformation

The best online warehouse tracking systems make the most important data – quantities and locations of all stock, supplies and saleable goods, as well as other basic information – easily available to whomever needs it, and make it so simple to record and access this data that inventory management becomes a natural and organic part of the workday, reducing effort and stress rather than increasing it.

At the same time, a 360° inventory management solution records and tracks much more information about your inventory. It tracks all of your company’s other digital and physical assets as well, contextualises all of this data and offers meaningful and often enormously beneficial insights into best practices, cost saving and ways to often dramatically boosts performance.