Inventory management can be a tricky operation especially since there are two types of security you need to consider.
First, there’s the peace-of-mind knowing that your inventory is where it should be and being moved on time and in accurate quantities. Between the factory, warehouse, distribution center and retail/customer premise, its easy to lose track of what you have.
Second, there’s the knowledge that your assets are protected from criminals. Without the proper safeguards in place, bad actors can easily take advantage of your processes putting your inventory at risk.
Consider the following inventory statistics:
- 43% of SMBs track their inventory manually or not at all.
- 37% of retail inventory counts are inaccurate.
- 46% of errors in inventory count are caused by human error.
To protect your inventory and sleep easier at night, you need more accurate visibility into your inventory with real-time notifications. PortalTrack Solutions from MSM Solutions offers a trusted solution by following a simple acronym: ITCM.
ITCM stands for Identify, Track, Count and Manage and PortalTrack uses it to create Digital DNA that identifies, tracks, counts and manages millions of assets every single day.
Identify
By identifying each inventory item with a unique identifier, you reduce the risk of assets going unreported, thus lowering the odds of them disappearing from your inventory without your knowledge.
PortalTrack helps you identify and manage your assets by creating Digital DNA – or unique identifiers – like electronic product codes (EPCs). EPCs help you identify individual and unique products throughout your inventory process. When used with PortalTrack’s easy-to-use EPC printing options, Digital DNA can be created at any point in the inventory process, whether it’s at the manufacturer, at the distribution center or in the store.
Track
Finding assets is always easier if you have up-to-date information as to where they’re located. Real-time visibility helps you track every piece of inventory so you know where every asset is at all time.
By utilizing PortalTrack and fixed RFID readers, inventory is constantly tracked from the factory floor to the customer’s dock. This reduces manual mistakes caused by human error. Plus with condition-based alerts, you can get real-time notifications any time your assets leave the premises outside of scheduled departure.
Count
If your inventory count isn’t accurate, how would you ever know if you were missing anything? The simple answer – you wouldn’t. Inventory counts based on old data can result in inaccurate counts, making it easy for inventory to be overlooked or stolen. Plus, the odds of selling a product you don’t actually have in stock rises resulting in refunds, delayed shipments and dissatisfied customers.
With Digital DNA, PortalTrack gives you more accurate inventory counts that can be automatically updated to your POS or accounting systems. That means better understanding of what you have in stock so you reduce inventory losses while creating more accurate inventory ordering models that prevent you from being over or under stocked.
Manage
Inventory data means nothing without the right tools to understand and manage it. PortalTrack brings clarity and understanding to your inventory management through Digital DNA. With customized reporting, facility mapping and real-time notifications, you not only know what you have, but also:
- Where your assets are located,
- Where they need to go,
- If anything is missing,
- And when it’s time to restock.
By utilizing Digital DNA like EPCs or other item-level smart tags, you can increase your inventory accuracy between 63-95%. And inventory accuracy with real-time visibility is the key to securing your inventory processes so you gain peace of mind while improving the efficiency of your operations.
For more information on PortalTrack or to check out a free demo, give us a call.
