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What does digitization look like? What is the difference between a traditional supply chain and a digitized supply chain? How can you and your organization make the transition to a more digital supply chain? 

Successful inventory control is necessary for any business with growth aspirations but it is particularly relevant to organizations trying to manage inventory in multiple warehouse locations. The singular purpose of inventory control is to find an appropriate stock balance that allows you to satisfy customer demand while simultaneously minimizing costs.

DATASCOPE has a standard set of key performance indicator (KPI) measures built into the WMS product. After go-live, we help the site settle down and the pickers and packers become competent in their new functional roles within the distribution center.

During 2020, we contracted John Urban Architects to look at what could be done to make the DATASCOPE Charlotte Head Office a more corporate-looking business. As one can see from the photographs, the transformation is quite evident.

Barcodes and barcoding technology are everywhere. From the grocery store checkout to Amazon deliveries and expansive warehouse operations, they’re great for moving electronics, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food items throughout the supply chain. And when it comes to manufacturing, barcodes are critical for inventory control. 

It becomes incredibly easy to lose track of your stock as you scale your supply chain, especially if you’re still using manual methods of inventory control. You count inventory as it arrives...using a pen and paper, or by physically typing numbers into a spreadsheet yourself...does that describe your process? 

For most distributors, manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers in virtually every industry, inventory tends to be the largest ongoing investment. From the short product life cycles of clothing, electronics, and cosmetics, to raw materials shortages and simple miscommunication between suppliers and warehouses, inventory control carries with it a whole host of challenges. 

A warehouse management system (WMS) offers great opportunities for optimizing your supply chain resources, including equipment, warehouse space, and the necessary labor. It can handle virtually every warehouse operation, from receiving, picking and packing, to shipping, labor management, reporting, and even warehouse layout design. But, most crucially, it also provides detailed, real-time insights into your inventory data and all of the product movement that takes place within your warehouse. When it comes to your supply chain, what could be more important than inventory management?

As your business grows, it becomes increasingly difficult, if not entirely impossible, to manage your inventory manually. It’s critically important that items are listed and priced accurately so that shipments can continue moving through your distribution process and customers can continue to receive orders on time. Unfortunately, without the right tools in place, backordered items can lead to missed sales opportunities, customers buy items that you don’t actually have in stock, and warehouse staff start to feel the pressure of manually inputting inventory data into spreadsheets no one ever looks at. Enter: automated inventory control.

Deciding between centralized and decentralized supply chain management systems requires asking yourself a few questions: Where are your customers located and what is important to them? What types of products are they demanding? What is your budget and are there things you can start doing right now to cut costs? If you’re looking to shift to decentralized operations, do your current suppliers approve of that? Do you even have the right infrastructure to make that shift in the first place?