Inventory control system

An inventory control system is an integrated package of software and hardware used in warehouse operations, and elsewhere, to monitor the quantity, location and status of inventory as well as the related shipping, receiving, picking and putaway processes. In common usage, the term may also refer to just the software components.

Modern inventory control systems rely upon barcodes, and potentially RFID tags, to provide automatic identification of inventory objects. In an academic study [ [http://www.rfidradio.com/?p=11 RFID’s reduction of Out-of-Stock study at Wal-Mart] , RFID Radio] performed at Wal-Mart, RFID reduced Out of Stocks by 30 percent for products selling between 0.1 and 15 units a day. Inventory objects could include any kind of physical asset: merchandise, consumables, fixed assets, circulating tools, library books, or capital equipment. To record an inventory transaction, the system uses a barcode scanner or RFID reader to automatically identify the inventory object, and then collects additional information from the operators via fixed terminals (workstations), or mobile computers.

Applications

An inventory control system may be used to automate a sales order fulfillment process. Such a system contains a list of order to be filled, and then prompts workers to pick the necessary items, and provides them with packaging and shipping information.

Real time inventory control systems use wireless, mobile terminals to record inventory transactions at the moment they occur. A wireless LAN transmits the transaction information to a central database.

Physical inventory counting and cycle counting are features of many inventory control systems which can enhance the organization.

References

ee also

*Newsvendor model
*Warehouse Management System
*Supply Chain Management
*Automated identification and data capture
*Economic order quantity
*Scan-based trading