Inventory records may be more difficult to maintain as the amount of inventory increases. Without good inventory records it is very hard to track inventory, provide accurate delivery dates to customers and so on. Theft, damaged inventory and outdated merchandise also comes along with increased levels of inventory. These will all drive up costs for our customers and if we can not provide them with accurate information about their order our customer satisfaction will decrease. Good inventory records use to be a dream, but today they are much easier to achieve and are almost a necessity to stay in business.
Customers expect to be able to find out exactly where their order is at any given time.
Computer aided tracking systems make it much easier to control inventory. Using computers will also cut down on the number of errors that occur because data is generally only entered once. Once we receive each item, whether it be a truckload of lumber or a single widget, it would be labeled with a bar code that can be read by a computer scanner. This bar code system not only keeps very accurate records of inventory, but they can cut down on the paperwork that would accompany each item or groups of items. The single bar code can contain a vast amount of information about that product, it can help anyone easily identify what is to be done at each particular stage, then where it is to go next, who ordered it, when it is to be ready for shipment and so on.