Product Inventory Management

In screen printing, keeping a handle on inventory is key to smooth operations. This involves balancing customer needs with storage space and budget. You’ll want to have staple blanks like garments and inks on hand, but also anticipate popular requests or local trends. A well-managed inventory ensures you can take on jobs quickly without running out of vital materials. Carefully tracking each stage of production with versatile production tracking software is ideal for streamlining processes and lowering labor costs. OnSite is product management software designed to assist you with your complete backend operations to increase profitability and improve customer service.

What to Track with Product Inventory Software

To lower costs and identify bottlenecks, it’s important to track all product information including costs accrued through the production process. The more detailed your records, the more in-depth your report analysis, allowing you and your staff to make informed decisions. These represent just some of the product information you may track:

1. Product Identification (SKUs): Assign distinct identifiers to each product to simplify tracking and ensure accurate stock counts.
2. Description: Include any pertinent information about the product such as size, color, materials, etc.
3. Barcode Integration: Leverage barcodes to expedite accessing work order information via a Touch Screen module in OnSite.  Barcode scanning also assists with labor tracking in OnSite.
4. Supplier Records: Maintain a comprehensive list of your suppliers. Include their contact information, lead times, and any specific terms or agreements. Effective supplier management is crucial for smooth operations.
5. Costs: Cost tracked over time will change the status of each product as it travels through different stages. The end cost used to calculate the sale price should include labor and overhead on top of the cost of materials used to create the product. Costs for some products can also change over time as the cost of acquiring materials fluctuates.
6. Designs: Associate designs with specific products or custom orders and retain design details for future orders.

FAQ:

Q: What strategies can I use to minimize overstocking or stockouts of screen printing materials?

A: There are three different approaches you can use to balance orders with demand. One is the just-in-time approach which is popular for custom orders. Materials are ordered as the customer order is placed to minimize inventory on hand. Automated reordering paces your purchase order creation with sales. A reorder is triggered when stock levels dip to a predetermined Min Max level. Physical inventory auditing ensures inventory on your books matches what’s on your shelves to bring data up to date.

Q: Why is accurate inventory management crucial for small screen printing businesses?

A: Effective inventory management helps control costs, improves cash flow, and prevents lost sales.

OnSite product inventory management software facilitates screen print shops in balancing their strengths with the challenges they face, adapting to industry trends, and guiding them to invest in efficient management practices to thrive in this dynamic field.

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