SAP inventory management allows for controlling supply levels. It is a handy and practical system for ensuring the right products are available at the right time.
In this article, we’ll discuss an inventory management system, its features, and, most importantly, the benefits of implementing SAP. Let’s get started!
What Is an SAP Inventory Management System?
SAP is a system designed for full-range enterprise resource planning (ERP) and management, with inventory management being one of its features.
With SAP, inventory management is integrated within other subsystems, such as sales, accounting, shipping, and digital supply chain tools.
In other words, it is an effective tool for replacing voluminous Excel sheets and tracking where the products are in your company.
Features of SAP Inventory Management
The key features of the SAP Inventory Management system are
- Real-time inventory tracking: The system allows seeing where the products are located in real-time.
- Inventory management in multiple connected warehouses: In the case of a store chain, SAP offers a centralized system for tracking and distributing items across different locations.
- Multichannel order fulfillment: The system grabs orders from numerous channels, such as online orders, ones created manually in the ERP, or orders from the POS systems.
- Returns: SAP allows flawless returns management to ensure returned items are in the system without delays.
- Integrations with E-commerce and CRM: Traditionally, SAP inventory management tracking is integrated with e-commerce and CRM to represent stocks and manage resources adequately.
Business benefits of SAP inventory management
The key business benefits of SAP implementation in inventory management come from SAP allowing businesses to always have a clear view of their inventory. This transforms into such positive outcomes as:
Increased revenue
Always having the right products in stock allows companies to supply these products in time and fulfill the maximum number of consumer orders, which leads to increased sales.
Improved customer satisfaction
Having the products customers need in stock means more satisfied customers and a better brand reputation.
Increased productivity
Having automated tools immune to manual errors allows for faster operations and increases order accuracy, leading to better productivity.
Forecast accuracy
SAP SCM Solutions (which provide supply chain management) also help make forecasts about possible future demands and adjust stocks for seasonal peaks and lows. This way, your company will not risk losses due to overstocks or stockouts.
Reduced waste
Reducing the number of expired, outdated, or damaged products improves sustainability and increases profitability.
How Do You Get Started With SAP Inventory Management?
There are several essential things to consider before starting SAP implementation. They refer to your system’s readiness for SAP migration and your understanding of future needs. They may be as follows:
Integration
Ensure you include all the necessary integrations in the SAP implementation plan. SAP integrates well with E-commerce platforms and point-of-sales systems and also allows for order creation inside the system.
Features
SAP offers all the key capabilities, such as stock tracking, serial number and barcode tracking, reporting, and demand forecasting. Yet, some custom, business-specific features, such as intelligent document processing for invoice scanning and management, can also be included.
If you hire an SAP implementation team, consider discussing all the necessary feature sets to maximize positive outcomes.
Scalability
SAP is perfect for growing companies, as it increases the number of inventory stocks. Yet, to be prepared to scale effectively, it’s crucial to learn SAP’s scalability possibilities before integration.
Onboarding and training
Before implementing SAP, you must train your teams and IT staff. Every migration requires halts on different essential operations. Also, an onboarding period allows new users to get accustomed to the new system.
To make the transition smoother, it is recommended that the staff be trained before the new system is deployed. This will exclude situations like faulty or lost orders, or incorrect stock forecasting.
It is also important to mention that the IT staff will have to handle entirely new systems, and therefore, many roles will be changed within the teams. Consequently, we recommend creating a specific transition plan for them.
Summary
When implemented correctly, SAP inventory and supply chain management systems greatly increase business productivity and profits. These systems also cut unnecessary spending, reduce waste, and better prepare companies for seasonal fluctuations.
Blog as received in the mail.
