How to Resolve Top 5 Inventory Challenges With SAP Business One in 2022

Global supply chains are under scrutiny now more than ever and business leaders are working to improve resilience, boost efficiency and continue delivering for customers. Supply chains have always been critical but often operated behind the scenes. This volatile nature makes it crucial to address inventory challenges for SME businesses to further optimize production and pricing. You can now resolve inventory challenges using SAP Business One.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed that revealing the importance of supply chains to a much wider audience.

“In a 2021 survey, over half of surveyed supply chain professionals stated that they found supply chain disruptions and shortages extremely or very challenging. During the survey, demand-side challenges, such as faster response time were cited among the most difficult hurdles supply chain companies face.” – Martin Placek, Statista.

Over the past year, companies serving both individual consumers and businesses have had to deal with changing buyer behaviors and evolving inventory management techniques that have created significant supply chain volatility.

In fact, according to a Gartner Survey last year, 87% of Supply Chain Professionals plan to invest in resilience within the next 2 Years. Continued uncertainty and high customer expectations challenge Supply Chain officers to find new trade-offs between Cost, Speed and Service.

These professionals are recognizing the necessity to make their networks more resilient and diversified by adopting digital transformation.

Implementing SAP Business One ERP Solution is the first step towards your digital transformation journey. It is a comprehensive business management solution offering complete visibility to manage and resolve burning inventory management challenges.

In this article, experts at VC ERP Consulting, best SAP Business One Partner in India, guide us to resolve burning inventory challenges with SAP Business One and Xtreme Inventory Count App developed by experts at VC ERP Consulting.

How SAP B1 Inventory Management Module resolves burning inventory challenges

Inventories are the blood and life of your manufacturing business, without them there is nothing to produce, sell and earn. Proper inventory management brings efficiency, profitability and sustainability in your SME manufacturing business.

Managing inventory is a burning challenge that many startups and SMEs face globally. Lack of proper technology and skilled resources are the main factors slowing it down.

SAP Business One ERP for small business provides real-time data on inventories for the expansion and management of more complex supply chains. Here are some of the many benefits of using SAP Business One for your inventory management:

Accuracy and timeliness
Realistic production schedule
Quality checking
Inventory analysis
Correct reporting

Sample SAP Business One Inventory Dashboard

Resolving Top 5 Inventory Challenges faced by Businesses with SAP Business One

SAP Business One is designed to improve your inventory management in every way possible. All the users of your distribution business can have access to vital inventory information with real-time data integration on one easy-to-use business management solution.

Experts at VC ERP Consulting, SAP Business One Gold Partner, shed light on resolving burning inventory challenges with SAP Business One Solution and Xtreme Inventory Count App.

Challenge #1: Limited or Zero Visibility in Inventory

Difficulties in locating or identifying stocks in your inventory
Poor impact on business bottom-line due to incomplete and inaccurate inventory levels
Lack of awareness about top-selling stocks and the right time to refill inventory items

Solution #1: Real-time Visibility in Inventory Levels

Locate inventory items instantly with complete & real-time inventory location data
Measure stock availability levels with 100% accuracy with automated features for re-ordering and procurement
Improve customer satisfaction with a scalable inventory management solution
Get centralized and cloud-based databases for accurate and automatic inventory updates with real-time data backup

Challenge #2: Inefficiency in Managing Inventory Levels

Lack of planning and management to sell unsold stock
Unable to plan strategies for core items
Poor execution of inventory plans
Inefficient inventory management process producing dismal results

Solution #2: Efficient Inventory & Stock Management

Manage and track stock levels with real-time data
Achieve efficient inventory management by streamlining inventory items
Segregate items depending on your batch size & requirements
Get detailed information about the items lying in the warehouse with pin-point accuracy
Track product movements in the inventory to identify the most profitable products

Challenge #3: Obsolete & Manual Data Management

Lack of access to real-time stock location information of specific inventory items
Tedious and unsecure management of paperwork & manual processes
Increased risk of stockouts and inaccurate records
Rising need of real-time inventory visibility with an all-hands-on-deck approach

Solution #3: Powerful Inventory Data Management with Insightful Reports

Make quick and effective business management decisions with relevant inventory data
Run through ‘what-if’ scenarios with familiar & easy-to-use MS Excel interface
Click through relevant inventory data and get answers quickly with interactive reports
Get updates about when to refill stock and which items are doing well in the market

Challenge #4: Unable to Keep Up with Overstocks

Buying stocks without selling the existing items can hurt your profits significantly
Poor stock control and lack of inventory management
Lack of accountability of inventory items bringing down business bottom-line

Solution #4: Regular Stock Audits to Improve Profit Margins

Perform regular stock audits to identify used and unused stocks
Improve inventory efficiency to boost business bottom-line
Optimize inventory levels and improve on-time delivery
Track stock transfers, record goods receipts and issues and perform cycle counts
Enable consignment and drop-ship options with SAP Business One Inventory Management Module
Manage the picking and packing process with multiple queues and automatically generated pick lists

Challenge #5: Increased Supply Chain Complexities

Shifts in global supply chains place a burden on your inventory planning and operations
Increase in lack of flexibility and more unpredictable lead times
Incomplete, inaccurate or delayed shipments
Low visibility and accountability across your supply chain
Discrete data about inventory items in different locations resulting in delayed shipping

Solution #5: Accurate Measure Of Inventory Levels

Monitor and track supplier data such as
- Shipment Errors
- Damaged or Defective Products
- Missed Delivery Appointments
Measure your supplier performance to find and fix supply chain disruptions
Reduce supply chain complexities by streamlining logistics
Maintain safety stock to offset supply chain disruptions and improve lead times
Adapt to dynamic global supply chains with proper inventory planning
Use multi-location warehouse management features to track and control expanding inventories

SAP Business One is designed to automate your business processes, improve inventory management practices and enhance customer experiences. This solution offers a collection of native inventory management and control features to help overcome some of the biggest inventory management challenges.

How VC ERP Consulting can help you resolve burning inventory management challenges using SAP Business One?

VC ERP Consulting has designed and developed Inventory Count Mobile App for SAP Business One to solve inventory management challenges for your growing business.This App helps you run a streamlined and systematic Inventory management process across your company by keeping inventory levels up-to-date and accurate.

Get real-time access to additional Inventory Management functions with SAP Business One MS SQL version and SAP Business One version for the SAP HANA® platform.

How Does Xtreme Inventory Count App work?

At times, unregistered inventory items in SAP Business One cannot be tracked and the employees can easily lose count of these Items. When your business deals with a huge number of inventory items on a daily basis across various branches in multiple locations, it gets difficult to get real-time insights of your inventory.

Xtreme Inventory Count App streamlines your inventory management function giving up-to-date and relevant inventory information across all the warehouses.

One-stop solution to register all the inventory items
Integrated with SAP Business One to get access across all branches and locations
Centralized connection of all the items across all the warehouses
Track your inventory items:
- Batch Wise
- Distributor Wise
- Customers Wise
- Serial Number Wise
Instantly track misplaced or stolen inventory items by their batch or serial numbers
Get relevant insights and reports on missed item counts