Keeping track of a business's inventory items with spreadsheets or other outdated methods can cost a company thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Some inventory "vanishes" from the warehouse, plus manually counting and recounting inventory requires excessive man hours. Because of these common problems, an accurate, real-time inventory solution usually offers a substantial RIO (return on investment). If you're looking for more information on inventory management the Inventory Software Portal is a nice resource.

Inventory software can be simple or complex. Many growing companies want a simple solution, but require some advanced functionality to meet their goals. When comparing inventory systems, it is important to know which features the business requires and which features are "extras". Software developers distinguish these two categories as "need-to-haves" and "nice-to-haves".

Generally software companies develop systems that include hundreds of functions in order to sell the software to a large client base. This works out well for the software company, but in practical application the unnecessary complexity makes the software difficult to use, ultimately failing for the users. Other inventory software vendors provide a simple system that might not have all the functionality that an organization needs. This model is easier to use, but without the proper structure it can still fail to improve inventory management.

The best inventory solutions are structurally sound with add-ons that one can include or remove. This way each business designs an inventory system around their organization's structure. Advanced inventory systems can be modified to a great extent, offering even more flexibility. WMS (warehouse management systems) often include premium capabilites such as: FIFO, LIFO, JIT (just-in-time), location-based tracking, RFID, directed picking/put away, MRP, EDI and more. Be sure to choose a system that is flexible so that as the business evolves the software can adapt to the company's needs.