A point of sale (POS) software that handles all elements of inventory management is key for retailers. After all, even small retailers often stock thousands of items, resulting in key challenges to overcome, such as ensuring items are properly stocked, helping employees find the right items and allowing for full eCommerce integration. An inventory management system makes sure customers get the products they need and helps retailers work towards perfecting their inventory system.
Point of Sale Software Helps Manage Inventories the Right Way
Every retailer is trying to perform a delicate balancing act of having enough products without overstocking. The drawbacks of being understocked are obvious: customers won’t get the product they want and likely won’t be returning. However, being overstocked also leads to negative cash flow problems, investment dollars tied up in products and even issues surrounding warehouse or stockroom space.
With the right point of sale software for inventory management, retailers can ensure they are performing inventory control with the latest real-time information, timing purchases with increased accuracy and predicting stock requirements across multiple stores. When stock levels hit a certain key point, orders are sent out automatically, and key details on products, such as billing and tracking information, are communicated from the back-end all the way to the front-end of the supply chain.
Of course, the right POS software also synchronizes with the eCommerce end of a business. Only 28 percent of small businesses have an online eCommerce business, but many of these businesses do not get the optimal results.
A huge factor involves the inventory hurdles they face. The right retail POS system will integrate with key tools like Magento and Shopify while tracking all online shopping sales in real time. This prevents retailers from selling the same product twice, helps keep their eCommerce inventory in stock and lets them easily handle issues like online returns.
Saving Time and Money
Traditional inventory management can be highly time consuming for storeowners. Since the ordering process is not automated, they need to generate orders, purchase orders, keep track of order receipts, and collate information, such as accounts payable, bar code information, UPC details, and pricing specifications, between various stores. Often, this is performed through unwieldy spreadsheets or involves time-consuming tasks, such as faxing, emailing, and scanning documents. With the right inventory software, all of these elements are automated, stored in easy-to-understand files and formats, and centralized.
Moreover, the right POS system comes included with financial reporting, ensuring the accuracy of the financial end of inventory management for budgeting and capital spending purposes.
Augmenting Sales Staff
A survey by Deloitte found that more than half of respondents indicated that a knowledgeable in-store staff member would make them more likely to shop in-store, an area in which a versatile POS system can make all the difference.
A POS system breaks down the complexities inherent within inventory management. Managers and sales staff can access information based on brand, type, subtype, style, color and a range of other factors. This ensures employees have the knowledge and tools needed to help a customer understand what a product offers and quickly find the product a customer is looking for.
All of this information can be accessed from mobile devices anywhere on the sales floor, allowing employees to make product upsell or cross-sell recommendations based on what a customer wants. In fact, Forrester research indicates that cross-sells and upsells account for 10 to 30 percent of all retail revenue generated, pointing to the possibilities POS can offer retailers.
Ultimately, inventory management is a key feature of an effective POS system. For companies that want to simplify and streamline the inventory process, Runit offers a POS system that covers everything from automatic reordering to financial reporting, making it one of the most innovative inventory solutions available to retailers today.
