4.Inventory Management Integrations
An inventory management system alone can’t effectively optimize your inventory and warehousing. Let’s look at some of the software systems that should integrate with your inventory process.
Warehouse Management System (WMS)
A warehouse management system (WMS) is a software application that helps control and manage the day-to-day operations in a warehouse.
Inventory tracking is labor-intensive. Based on the data your WMS provides, you’ll be able to tell which products are moving the fastest, which affects how you store products in your warehouse. Organizing your warehouse so that your best-sellers are in an easily accessed area provides additional money-saving benefits, reducing the time it takes for your employees to get what they need.
WMS software offers the following benefits:
- Tracks items in real time as they are received, stored, picked, packed and shipped
- Guides inventory receiving and put-away
- Optimizes order picking and shipping of orders
- Advises on inventory replenishment.
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
An item you make or sell goes through a lot of changes from design to creation to the end of its life as a product. Product lifecycle management (PLM) software handles all the information about each product. It helps you automate data and integrate it with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other technology your company is using.
Managing complex product development efficiently and on-budget, fashion, apparel, footwear and accessories businesses are looking to improve lead time and reduce costs. Real-time information flow helps them thrive in an omnichannel market, and end-to-end product lifecycle software gives them that real-time advantage.
CRM stands for “customer relationship management. ” These tools help apparel companies organize and access customer data. CRM software works to integrate a company’s workflow between different departments and can help companies interact with customers more collaboratively and efficiently.
It can be difficult to keep track of all of the information about individual customers, including notes, correspondence, and transaction records, among other information. CRM software can be used by marketing, sales, and customer service departments in order to personalize a customer’s experience and streamline the business process.
CRM software reduces errors due to inaccuracies or lack of information, allowing you to personalize the customer experience and to make informed, data-driven decisions when it comes to sales and marketing efforts.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
In the apparel industry, you may be dealing with a wide range of product sizes, colors and styles. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software provides structure to your organizational management, helping to organize your business and allowing consistent access to accurate data at a moment’s notice.
ERP software works across departments, from sales and accounting to shipping and customer service. It can automate your warehouse, tracking your inventory, and monitoring sales and supplier trends. The software works with a WMS system to provide real-time status of every single item you have in your inventory. It can generate purchase orders based on sales figures, reducing the risk that you’ll run out of a product when you need it the most.
If you integrate your ERP system with the systems your suppliers and third-party logistics partners use, you can multiply the possibilities. For example, you can help ensure you’re getting the right products at the right time, because your suppliers can see exactly what you need, in real time.
Using ERP software with an integrated WMS solution improves your demand planning, reduces the chance for human error and boosts production and efficiency by optimizing your workflows and business processes.
ERP solutions have become much more affordable. Today, fashion brands of all sizes can easily implement these solutions into their daily operations.
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