How To Prepare For Inventory Management Software Implementation

You’ve made the right decision in choosing an inventory management solution. It will put infrastructure into your business that will tighten up inefficiencies and add some structure to your workflow.  With consistently smoother operations your data will be a more reliable tool you can leverage to make better business decisions. By using it as a guide, you can steer your company to success. The extra time you have to do other things or tend to other areas of your business is the extra bonus of implementing inventory management software.

While you may be dreading the disruption a transition like this may have in your business operations, there are ways to minimize your down time. With good planning and preparation adding inventory management software to your workflow can be a fairly simple transition. Here are just a few of the basic ways to prepare for your software integration.

1. Good Communication about your business processes. – Make sure the rep you are working with fully understands how your business both receives products and ships products.
2. Back up your Current Data – Back up all your data and store the backup in a safe place. This will be your emergency copy of information in the unlikely event something goes wrong.
3. Ideal Workflow for Orders and Shipments Besides knowing how it currently works, make sure your rep knows how you’d like it to work in case that is something you are looking to change. Now happens to be the right time to implement good processes you may be lacking. For example, maybe you want to move products into more accessible locations within the warehouse, change the flow of order management, or change how orders are received. Layout your preferred strategy and discuss this process with your new rep. This is the time to make any changes relating to your warehouse or workflow to prevent another disruption down the road. 
4. Thorough Product List, that includes SKU’s, external locations and internal locations, product descriptions, current inventory counts at each warehouse, backorders, etc. Ask your rep what format will be easiest to import your products. (usually an excel document) and get a template so you can edit your document to match. 

You can never provide too much information when it comes to your products. The more thorough you are now the less chance of mishap or errors that occur down the road. With Zenventory, you have a dedicated software specialist to guide you thru the onboard process, and provide some piece of mind during your transition. 

1. List of Marketplaces you sell on today and some or one (1) you may want to in the future is good information to discuss with your rep. With Zenventory,  multiple options exist for integration such as via shopping carts like Magento, Shopify, or WooCommerce or thru a service like ShipStation or ShipWorks. Depending on your needs as a retailer your rep can help determine the best route of integration for you.
2. Provide a List of Users and their Roles/Permissions– Providing this up front can help smooth the transition for you and your users. By utilizing the help of your software rep, users can be added to the system early on. Further it can ensure they have the necessary access to begin learning the new system so they are up to speed when it’s time to launch. With the ability to have unlimited users, Zenventory also allows you to assign specific roles and permissions to each user. 
3. Upgrade Inventory Tracking Systems to Sku Based – If you are manually managing your inventory,  it could be time to upgrade. With Zenventory, you can create sku’s on the fly and print them as needed. Having a list ready of your current Sku numbers will be helpful for importing them into Zenventory. If you currently don’t use sku numbers for your products, now is a good time to implement a sku based system.
4. Figure out What to do with All the Extra time You Have Now!

Overall, keep in mind that while it’s definitely important to choose the right platform for what you are looking to accomplish, don’t wear yourself out in the decision making process, most inventory software services are contract free and without penalties upon cancellation.

Choose a pricing plan with enough leg room on # of orders, # of users, etc, that will allow you to scale comfortably as you experience growth in your business. Check out Zenventory’s features and pricing if you are looking for inventory management software with lots of options and maximum flexibility. I’m pretty sure you’ll like the price too!