For bakeries, inventory management is particularly important. When you’re dealing with fresh ingredients and perishable goods, you can’t afford to lose track of what you have in stock and when particular items must be used by. With that being said, you need a robust inventory reporting solution to keep you in line!
Whether you’re currently using an outdated inventory reporting system and don’t feel like you’re getting much out of it, or you’re still handling everything with spreadsheets, pencils, and paper, you need to start looking for a robust solution that enables you to streamline complex business processes and focus on what really matters: baking high quality products that keep customers coming back for more.
The issue is that sifting through the various inventory reporting technologies on the market is confusing. That’s why we’ve decided to simplify the process by giving you a look at the features you actually need to be utilizing.
1. Real time inventory tracking
While an inventory reporting solution does a lot of things, the main responsibility is to track inventory levels. It should be able to tell you how much you’ve received, how many orders have been placed, what percentage have been filled, etc. But it’s not enough to simply spit out these metrics. You need a solution that provides real-time data so that you’re always current. Even a delay for a few seconds can be costly.
2. Security systems and backups
The second feature to consider is the security system and backup technology. It doesn’t matter if your system is hosted on the cloud or installed on an on-premise server, there must be multiple levels of security to protect your data against things like natural disasters, cyber-attacks and even internal theft.
Lost data can kill your workflow unlike anything else. It’s expensive and may even cause legal risks, should a customer’s private data be exposed. Be very meticulous when analyzing how secure a particular solution is.
3. Scalability
The size of your bakery probably won’t stay the same over the course of the next three to five years. Hopefully, you’ll scale over time and increase the size of your operation. However, it’s also possible, that you could contract a bit. Either way, it’s important that you invest in an inventory reporting solution that scales to your demands. The last thing you want is to switch solutions every time your business fluctuates.
4. In-depth reporting
Reporting is an important feature to have in an inventory reporting solution. With the proper reports, you can understand how your business is operating, where you’re under performing and which tasks are directly correlated to success.
While all solutions have some sort of reporting feature, the nature of these features can vary dramatically from one technology to the next. Carefully review these features prior to making a final decision.
5. Mobility
When searching for inventory reporting solutions, it’s crucial that you consider mobility. While your employees may work from a single location the vast majority of the week, it’s hard to deny the fact that the industry is changing. With tablets, smartphones and PCs, the days where businesses were confined to cubicles are gone.
When choosing a solution, make sure it has mobile functionality that allows employees to access information regardless of whether they’re in the office, bakery or on the road. Having up-to-date info at your fingertips is a huge advantage.
6. Locations for warehouse picking
If you have a large warehouse, you know firsthand how important accurate picking and packing is. If picking slips aren’t precise, then your entire flow is compromised. Pickers spend too much time searching, supervisors must help, orders are backed up, and revenue goes down. The point is that your inventory reporting solution needs to have a very accurate location feature that employees understand how to use.
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