Importance of Mobile Device Inventory Management
A business can only be successful by measuring certain ways in which the enterprise performs. It’s not enough to guess what’s going on, and so inventory management is highly important.
There are two kinds of inventory management to consider – the products or items that a company considers as stock to be sold, and also the devices that are used within the business.
Mobile Inventory Management and Asset Tracking
Everything that is used within your business is an asset, from the products you sell to the computers you use day to day. Making sure you know what you have in stock allows you to plan for the future and keeping track of the devices and equipment that are essential to the business lets you know everything about the back-end of the business.
This could be knowing when devices or computers need replacing or updating, or even when desks and chairs are past their best. Knowing what you have is half the battle.
Mobile inventory management makes the process of tracking your inventory easy, especially if you have a large amount of stock or items to keep a check on. Traditionally, inventory management may have been managed by multiple members of a team checking and counting, noting their results down, and entering them into a system later on.
This gives plenty of opportunity for errors to creep in and does not give a true picture of what is happening at any one time due to the delay between recording the information and entering into a central system.
Mobile Inventory Management changes this.
Inventory Management in The Digital Age
Information can instantly be sent from a mobile device to a central database ensuring that all the data is current, but that’s only the beginning of the benefits. Using a mobile device to scan a bar code from a product will ensure that the correct information is recorded and reduces the potential for mistakes.
If two employees scan the same codes, the system will be able to determine if the work is being doubled-up or if there are two separate stores of the same items. Products can be scanned as they enter or leave the warehouse, confirming order dispatch and making monitoring stock levels much easier.
Even if the depths of a warehouse don’t allow for instant connection to a central database, synchronization can happen quickly and intelligently as soon as a connection is viable. This gives managers and supervisors the best chance of achieving a true high-level view of the operation of the business.
Using Mobile Inventory Management in Your Enterprise
While simple to use and manage, setting up a mobile inventory management system can pose a few problems for businesses who are used to working in a different manner. As part of a digital transformation process, switching over to mobile devices is best handled by a Mobile Lifecycle Management (MLM) company.
MLM companies offer user support, configuration services, and can help you to choose the right device for the right task. While it’s possible to achieve all of this on your own, taking expert advice when it is needed is the sign of a strong and intelligent business that is ready for the next step.