What is an Inventory Management System?
An Inventory Management System is a system that helps businesses manage and automate their daily inventory. It can help track how many products are in a warehouse, when products are scheduled to be moved from this warehouse to the factory, and when inventory is combined to create new inventory.
An inventory management system is crucial for any business that needs to track and manage its stock levels. A custom inventory management system can be tailored to your specific business needs. It can help you keep track of your stock levels, stock locations, and more.
A custom Inventory Management system can be an excellent investment for any business, large or small. If you are looking for a way to improve your inventory management, then a custom inventory management system may be the right solution for you.
What is Custom ERP Software?
A custom enterprise software (ERP) creates a system tailored to a single company’s specific needs. It can include features, workflows, and integrations that are unique to the business.
Inventory Management Systems are a facet of Enterprise Resouce Planning (ERP) software. In the 90s, ERP software became increasingly popular among nearly all industries around the world. For any business bigger than a Mom and Pop shop, a good ERP System is considered essential. The global ERP software market is expected to be worth $78 billion by 2026.
Custom ERP software is a fantastic asset for any business. It will streamline their operations and improve their efficiency. By having a system designed specifically for their business, they can be sure they are using the absolute best software for their needs.
Advantages of Custom Inventory Management Software
Custom Inventory Management software can be tailored to the specific needs of their industry. Your company can integrate its processes, workflows, and infrastructure with this software. This will help the business function efficiently and without technical problems. As a result, you can focus on growing and flourishing.
Save on Administrative and Operational Costs
Custom Inventory Management software can help you save money on administrative and operational costs. By streamlining standard processes, employees can increase their productivity. In turn, it will increase the bottom line.
Reduction in User Errors
Errors are inevitable when relying on manual processes or generic software to manage critical business data. Even a small error can have costly consequences, and as businesses grow, the risks increase exponentially.
Custom ERP Inventory Management software is designed to eliminate human error entirely. By integrating industry and company-specific knowledge directly into the code, Custom ERPs do not allow many user errors.
Flexible and Adaptable
Custom Inventory Management software is flexible. It can perfectly match the needs of any industry. It can perfectly adapt to the workflows specific to a single company and continue to adapt as those workflows change.
Real-time Access
Customized software enables real-time data access for all employees within an organization. This feature helps the business analyze common client requirements and improve its services in the future. Also, custom Inventory Management software can be accessed from any device with a web browser that works well with open-source desktop environments.
Integration and Testing
You will be able to define your business requirements and integrate them into the software. In addition, you can choose the programming environment, languages, and features of your Inventory Management software. You can finely control who has access to what data. You can build your customized Inventory Management System step-by-step, performing careful testing along the way.
Higher Level of Security
Custom Inventory Management systems offer a higher level of security than off-the-shelf systems. This is because custom ERP systems are designed specifically for your organization, considering your specific security needs. On the other hand, off-the-shelf ERP systems are general-purpose and are not always a good fit for your organization’s security requirements.
In addition, custom Inventory Management systems can be built with security features that are not available in off-the-shelf ERP systems. For example, you can include data encryption, user authentication, and authorization controls to help protect your data.
Easy To Add Features
One of the most significant disadvantages of off-the-shelf Inventory Management systems is that you are mostly limited to the functionality that is built into the software. If you need or want a non-standard feature, you will be forced to pay excessively for add-ons or customizations.
Because it is far more difficult to swap away from off-the-shelf ERP systems, they will make you pay through the nose for even minor features.
Fast Bug Fixes
Another disadvantage of using off-the-shelf Inventory Management software is that you are dependent on the software vendor for updates and support. If there are any bugs or problems with the software, you have to wait for the vendor to release a fix or patch.
With Custom ERP Inventory Management software, you will have a dedicated project manager focused on ensuring that any bug fixes or changes happen promptly.
Don’t Fall for the Myths
There are a lot of myths surrounding customized Inventory Management solutions. Here are a couple we come across a lot. Be sure not to fall for them!
Myth #1: Custom Solutions are Expensive
Any company will likely ignore 90% of the features offered by an off-the-shelf Inventory Management system. And when your company requires a specific feature that isn’t included, you will have to pay through the nose for customization.
With Custom ERP software, you pay exactly for the features you need, meaning you typically pay a fraction of the price.
Myth #2: You Are Locked In
At PC Apps, we give you ownership of the code and work in the industry standards of Microsoft .NET & SQL Server. You can always find another custom software vendor to continue development. Because of that, we are always focused on meeting your needs and keeping you happy.
On the other hand, with your off-the-shelf Inventory Management Systems, you must go through the arduous and exorbitantly expensive setup process all over again if you want to change solutions.
Cost of a Custom Inventory Management System
The cost of an Inventory Management system can vary widely, depending on the specific needs of your business. The cost will also depend on the size of your business, the features you need, and the level of customization you require.
Off-the-shelf Inventory Management System
The cost of an off-the-shelf Inventory Management solution is higher in the short term and much higher in the long term. There will be a massive cost in the short term as you customize the ERP system as much as possible for your business, load all the data into it, train users, and learn about common user errors.
In the long term, you will have to pay an annual fee to use it and additional fees for licensing and adding more users. This can add up quickly and will certainly impact your bottom line more in the long run than the maintenance costs of a custom solution.
In addition, whenever you need/want to add features beyond what’s included, you will be charged excessive rates because of how hard it is to swap away from an off-the-shelf system.
Custom Inventory Management Systems
The cost of a custom ERP system depends on how many beneficial features you add to the system. The customizations you get, the more it will cost in the short term. But any beneficial feature will save you money in the long term. The biggest strength of custom software is the ability to add as many custom features as you want.
If initial costs get too high, you can leave some of the features for later. You will have more beneficial features even if you spend the same amount of time/money on an off-the-shelf solution. And you can always continue to add features later down the line, either with the same consultants or different consultants.
When to Consider a Custom Inventory Management System
Should you invest in a custom Inventory Management system? Whether to build or enhance a custom Inventory Management solution depends on the specific needs of the company and its departments. However, some general guidelines can help companies make this decision. The IT department is key in implementing the software, but each department needs to participate to make it successful. According to research, 91% of companies choose a customized solution, while nine percent opt for one-size-fits-all ERP solutions.
Before choosing an Inventory Management solution, small-to-midsized businesses should assess which of the many available software products they currently use. Each has different characteristics and interfaces. This makes it impossible to train your employees on multiple products, and the data from them is often different. In addition, separate software applications do not natively connect to one another, so the data must be entered manually. Integrations between these products are also not foolproof and may not work after a software update. The more systems you can add to the ERP solution, the less you will have to worry about these issues.
Inventory Management System Deployment
The deployment of an Inventory Management System is a major IT project that can significantly impact a company’s business operations. A properly planned and executed Inventory Management implementation can improve efficiencies and help a company better compete in the marketplace.
Off-the-shelf ERP Inventory Management solutions are typically packaged and sold by a software vendor. It is designed to meet the needs of a specific industry or vertical market and can be deployed out of the box with little or no customization. This does mean it will be less effective in nearly all aspects. There will also be a significant upfront cost in hours as everything is integrated into the “one size fits all” constraints of the software.
In contrast, custom Inventory Management systems can offer many advantages over off-the-shelf systems, including the ability to meet the organization’s specific needs, greater flexibility, and enhanced scalability. Until these aspects pay off enough to return the investment, custom ERP Inventory Management systems will have a higher cost. However, this cost is offset by not requiring a massive expenditure of internal work hours to set up the project.
Replace the Spreadsheet
If your employees are still using numerous supplemental spreadsheets after deploying an ERP Inventory Management system, then the system needs to be tailored better to your company’s business logic. Good ERP software will have business logic specific to your company built in. If it doesn’t, the ERP isn’t functioning properly and you are likely losing productivity. Also, you probably aren’t seeing all the information your company needs.
For example, our customers in the chemical industry enjoy having the chemical conversion ratios built into the Inventory and Manufacturing sections of their custom ER. This assists the manufacturer with moving chemicals through the manufacturing process without having to use spreadsheets and charts.
Streamline Business Processes, Documentation, and Accuracy
Custom-built ERP Inventory Management software is the best option for businesses with unique needs. It can streamline your business processes and make you stand out from your competitors.
You’ll have complete control over the software’s features and functionality. Also, you’ll be able to stay involved throughout the development process, providing input to ensure that the solution works well for your business.
It also streamlines data and documentation and ensures accuracy. Furthermore, you’ll be able to avoid duplicate documents, ensure data accuracy, and minimize the risks of cyber-attacks.
Get Ready to Customize Your Inventory Management System
If your business requires more functionality than an off-the-shelf ERP Inventory Management System provides, you should consider a customized ERP. It is designed specifically for your business and offers flexibility, scalability, and real-time access to your data. So, what’s holding you back? Our team of experienced developers can help you develop custom ERP software. We understand that every business is different.
We take the time to understand your unique needs and then design a tailored solution for you. Contact us today for a free initial consultation.
