For manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers alike,
jewellery inventory tracking is a complex and critical issue. Complicated
inventory movements can now be managed and tracked automatically.
Inventory tracking is possible because of the Jewelry ERP software's
inventory tracking capabilities.
The first step toward
automation is digital jewelry inventory management.
A shortage of inventory results in missed sales
opportunities, whereas a surplus inventory results in excessive operational
costs in terms of handling, shipping, and storage. If you recognize any of the
above instances, it's a solid clue that your company needs new jewelry inventory
software.
Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn't
determine what raw materials or products you have on hand?
Have you ever been in a circumstance where the time you
gathered all of this data was out of date because additional inventory
movements had occurred in the meantime?
Is it difficult to figure out how much your actual inventory
is worth?
Is it tough for you to estimate how much raw material you'll
need to complete your jewellery orders?
As you can see from the preceding questions, keeping track
of your jewellery inventory is a difficult task. Because we're dealing with
high-value objects and resources, this is especially important in the jewellery
sector. Inventory tracking is critical for any type of organization, whether
it's a manufacturer, retailer, or wholesaler. You could argue that this is the
business's beating heart that keeps everything running smoothly. It is linked
to manufacturing, sales, raw material inventories, reordering, and
consignments, therefore it cannot be treated as a stand-alone function. Because
old inventory software isn't dynamically connected to the other tasks, it's not
ideal for completing this difficult activity.
Spreadsheets in Excel? They may work for a one-man
operation, but those who keep track of their inventory this way are well aware
of the solution's obvious drawbacks.
I've brought you some really interesting facts on this: in
India, 70% of small firms do not have an automated inventory management
system.
The advantages of
using jewelry inventory software
Let's take a look at some of the most important objectives
that an inventory management module can help us achieve:
·
Optimal inventory levels — attain optimal
inventory levels at the right locations.
·
Reduce inventory losses and obsolescence by
addressing inventory loss and obsolescence issues.
·
Excess inventory should be reduced.
·
Forecasting – avoid production delays due to
stock shortages.
·
Increase visibility - make information regarding
inventories more visible.
·
Processes for purchase and replenishment should
be improved.
·
Maintain inventory costs and valuations.
·
Keep an eye on sales and manufacturing trends.
·
Organize your internet sales.
Each bullet point deserves a fuller explanation on its own,
but individuals who have dealt with similar issues before know which of the
previously described aspects are critical and why. It could be more useful if I
discuss how inventory software or a module can help you achieve these
objectives. After all, we're all aware of the issues, but you're presumably
looking for a solution, right?
Handling jewellery
inventories in the real world
How does jewelryj inventory management work in practice? To
have a deeper understanding, consider it from a variety of perspectives,
including sales, production, purchasing, accounting, and managing raw
materials, as well as pricing.
A. Jewelry inventory
management from the standpoint of sales
One of the most basic concerns from a sales standpoint is:
what do we have on hand that can be sold right away? Due to the fact that
objects can be categorized into different groups for the sake of clarity in
inventory management software, this can be simply followed: pendants, rings
(engagement rings, wedding bands, solitaire rings), earrings, and so on.
Furthermore, the groups are associated with traits that are unique to each
group. For example, pendant length and ring size.
From a sales standpoint, the second question is: where is
the jewel? Is it in the safe? Are you in a retail store? In a different
location? It was for this reason that inventory locations were created.
The issue of consignments (or memos) arises at this point.
Because these problems are rarely solved by simply assigning a simple inventory
location, they necessitate an optimized feature that is part of inventory
handling but handles products sent out for consignment separately.
It may also be useful to know which pieces of jewellery are
commonly sold and which have been in the inventory for a long time from a sales
perspective.
Last but not least, how our point-of-sale system is linked
to our back-office inventory system is a critical consideration. What technique
do we need to employ, for example, if we track our stocks in an Excel
spreadsheet, to remove the item of jewellery that has just been sold from our
inventory? If this can't be done in as little as two steps, we're wasting
valuable time; this is one of the reasons why automating this process is
worthwhile. Let's not forget about e-commerce platforms, which are becoming a
more and more popular sales channel, and we frequently encounter the issue of
integration. When inventory is manually tracked in the background, it is nearly
hard to develop an online sales plan.
The solution is to integrate the online platform with jewelry business software or ERP
software, which will allow orders to sync seamlessly and inventory to be kept
up-to-date on both ends with no effort.
You'll also get the following benefits from this
integration:
Boost your visibility
Inventory levels that are optimal
Keeping track of sales trends
Taking care of internet sales
B. Jewelry inventory
management from the point of view of the manufacturer
As I previously stated, inventory is the driving force
behind all business operations. Inventory management that isn't up to par can
make manufacturing difficult, hence the two are linked.
First and foremost, it is critical to keep proper track of
the inventory ledger. How do I know what raw materials I have on hand and
whether I need to order more? Due to the frequent fluctuation in inventory, if
there is no central database for this, it can be incredibly difficult to keep
track of it.
There are two automatic ways to accomplish this. The first
is tracking minimum inventory (necessary items), with the system notifying the
user or automatically sending a purchase order to the vendor if inventory falls
below a specific level. A job-based ordering technique is the other option
(items on job orders). This is a more advanced feature that handles two
problems at once. First, it allows us to keep raw material inventory to a
minimal since we only order materials when an order has been placed that
requires that specific item, and second, it ensures that manufacturing runs
smoothly because we have an accurate forecast and can order supplies on time.
Automate inventory movements are the next item that an
inventory management system can help us with. To put it another way, we don't
have to manually assign raw materials to each order because the system does it
for us. You can keep track of what's in the safe, what's on the assembly line,
and what's on consignment. You can see how raw materials are transformed into
completed goods in real time, and all you have to worry about is entering the
necessary weights into the system. I'd like to point out that there are digital
scales that automatically read the weight of whatever is placed on them and
send the information to the system, reducing the chance of an error.
And now we've arrived at the following point regarding inventory
loss tracking: Inventory loss can occur naturally as a result of production
operations (polishing, casting), but it can also occur as a result of other
circumstances, such as theft-related shortfall. These deficits are generally
masked since inventory is tracked manually. Whether we adjust inventory or not
when reusing scrap metal, if the tracking is not done automatically within a
digitalized jewellery
inventory software, we will almost certainly experience massive losses at
the end-of-year stock count, and many of these losses will be difficult to
justify because they are not traceable.
C. Jewelry inventory
management from the standpoint of purchasing
I've already touched on this topic, but it's worth
revisiting. There are various ways to automate purchasing, and doing so can
save us a lot of time. For example, we can "command" the system to
automatically place an order in a specific phase of the process — whether it's
manufacturing or a simple wholesale operation. This feature allows us to order
that particular diamond from the vendor only once our consumer has placed the
order. This is a frequent technique in the jewellery industry; most of the
time, the stones, diamonds, and diamond rings being sold are not in the
seller's hands. Why? They don't have to keep as many expensive stocks this way.
How does a jewellery
management software system generate an automatic purchase order? The answer
is straightforward: we can assign default suppliers to specific item types,
ensuring that the system has access to all relevant data. Automated purchasing
involves only a few clicks from the user, but manual purchasing is a complex
and time-consuming procedure.
A decent inventory system will include the following
features:
·
Processes for purchase and replenishment should
be improved.
·
Keep an eye on production patterns.
·
Excess inventory should be reduced.
D. Jewelry inventory
management in terms of pricing
It is an inextricable aspect of inventory management that we
understand the worth of our inventory, or how much money we have committed in
this way.
The system automatically refreshes the substantive price of
products on stock depending on the prices of the international market, the
metal market, or Rapnet prices if they are diamonds on stock, using
market-based pricing. All of this happens in real-time and automatically. This
feature isn't included in all jewelry
software.
However, when it comes to inventory items, not only the
price of raw materials but also the price of the finished product, is crucial.
Every jewellery firm operates on various principles, which is why it's critical
to employ formulae in a software environment as well.
Smaller enterprises that don't have access to software try
to substitute Excel formulas. We are prepared at Jewelsinfosystems to
manage these various pricing algorithms. Component-based pricing,
attribute-based pricing, factor-based pricing, and cost-based pricing are just
a few of the pricing formulae that can assist with accurately pricing
jewellery. These algorithms enable us to design pricing that is precise,
effective, and quick. For example, if we're producing a price quote and want to
change the centre stone of the style, we won't have to recalculate the price
because the system can calculate the new price based on the new stone's
properties. The process behind this is known as variations. This implies we
have a basic style with components that we may modify – for example, 18k Pink
instead of 14K Yellow – and the operation has an impact on the base price.
A good jewelry inventory
software program will include the following features:
·
Maintain inventory costs and valuations.
·
Boost your visibility
E. Jewelry inventory
management from a financial standpoint
Inventory automation is particularly critical from an
accounting standpoint since we must be aware of every single movement. The fourth
question, "What came in, what went out," "What we have on
hand," and "What we need to order," maybe the most crucial.
These changes reveal the direction in which our company is
heading. Many sales, but a low-profit margin? Are there a lot of unsold items
in your inventory? Is it better to increase or decrease sales?
Perhaps you've been stuck in a rut for a few years? Do we
have a high rate of sales but a lot of assets and unpaid checks? Maybe it's not
so much a problem with my items as it is with my customers.
I'm afraid to break it to you: but QuickBooks isn't an
inventory management program. Many businesses attempt to set up inventory
tracking in QuickBooks, but they are frequently disappointed. QuickBooks does
an outstanding job of keeping track of the financial side of the business, but
the inventory module that comes with it wasn't designed for the jewellery
industry; it's simply too wide. This is why we handle our inventory accounting
in Jewels and only communicate financial data to QuickBooks via our
QuickBooks Bridge plugin, which happens automatically and in real-time. This
allows Jewels to continue to handle inventory-related automation while
QuickBooks takes care of all financial accounting as needed.
I'm afraid to break it to you: but QuickBooks isn't an
inventory management programme. Many businesses attempt to set up inventory
tracking in QuickBooks, but they are frequently disappointed. QuickBooks does
an outstanding job of keeping track of the financial side of the business, but
the inventory module that comes with it wasn't designed for the jewellery
industry; it's simply too wide. This is why we handle our inventory accounting in
JewelsCB and only communicate financial data to QuickBooks via our
QuickBooks Bridge plugin, which happens automatically and in real-time. This
allows Jewels to continue to handle inventory-related automation while
Quickbooks takes care of all financial accounting as needed.
If you're looking for
jewellery inventory software, you've come to the right place.
I hope you learned something useful and that I was able to
share a few ideas that will help you broaden your perspective on jewellery
inventory automation. Every jewellery business is different; some have a
simpler inventory, while others have a more intricate one. In both cases,
automation saves a lot of time and energy. If you're having trouble finding and
implementing the correct jewelry
business software, I'd be pleased to do a one-on-one session with you.
