Inventory Control Options for Wholesale Retailers

Wholesale retailers go through thousands of products a year. Much of the merchandise is shipped in bulk, for the wholesale company to wade and sift through prior to resale. Inventory control is a huge issue for processing wholesale merchandise quickly and appropriately to maintain profit. What options are out there for wholesale inventory control to improve speed while reducing oversights?

Manual Systems. Old-fashioned manual inventory systems are still used by smaller warehouses. This system can be helpful if your company is a wholesale outlet of large, big-ticket items, meaning you have a smaller quantity of each product on hand. Even inventory systems based on hand counts, and packing sheets, are usually entered into a computer database. Problems with this system arise in the extraordinary amounts of time required for upkeep, and tracing any errors could be difficult.

Barcode Systems. Affordable inventory systems employing infrared scanners and printable barcodes are available for small to medium sized wholesale retailers. The cheapest systems usually run between $500-$1000 and include software and one scanner. Additional scanners will cost more, but make sense if multiple workers will be involved with processing shipments. One downside is barcodes are best made with a laser printer, which is more expensive to maintain than a standard ink jet printer. Also, barcodes are easily damaged from moisture or improper handling, causing headaches when it's time to ship the product to the customer.

RFID Systems. Radio frequency identification systems use integrated circuitry on tags to encode information about an item. An antenna or reader then decodes the information as the product passes within range, and the information is transferred to a computer for processing. This is the best system for a large wholesale retailer because the tags are more robust than barcode stickers, and can be completely hands free. Plus, the storage capacity of RFID tags is greater than the information capacity of a barcode. Mounted antennas or readers at doorways can even eliminate the need for a worker to scan the item-- the information will be read as soon as it moves through the door.

Inventory control is imperative for a wholesale company. Details such as quantity, condition, and length of storage time are all crucial factors for customers. Most wholesale retailers sell through a website or catalog. Simply finding an ordered item in a large warehouse can be difficult, if there isn't a computer system in place to quickly identify the designated storage location. Computerized inventory systems also eliminate any mistakes from workers incorrectly pulling an item similar in name to what is ordered, but not in price. Before investing in any large scale inventory control system, be sure the benefits and up keep costs defray the total cost of initial start up. Then, simply sit back, and let the computers track your assets for you.

All things considered, inventory control is a very important aspect that must be taken into consideration by merchandise owners because they need to avoid situations like the lack of some products that buyers demand or the reverse situation, the surplus of products that nobody wants to purchase.