5 Benefits of Inventory Visibility For Your Small Business

Inventory visibility should be a top priority for small businesses. Implementing a proper inventory management system can lead to savings in the short and long term. Comprehensive tracking offers a myriad of benefits for businesses operating along the perishable food supply chain.

In this blog post, for your learning, we’ll provide information on why implementing a strong inventory management system to support your business can be extremely beneficial. 

5 ways your small business benefits from inventory visibility

In general, effective inventory management results in the seamless movement of products throughout the supply chain without error or delay. Here’s specifically how your business benefits from greater visibility.

1. The ability to respond quicker to supply chain disruptions

Customers often prioritize speed, efficiency, and performance. However, many recognize that delays and problems can happen.

Business disruptions (such as slowdowns, shutdowns, overproduction, and underproduction) can cause negative ripple effects, affecting the entire supply chain. Inventory miscalculations can trickle down to your customers, impacting profit margins and your bottom line. 

By increasing visibility through the use of technology, you can respond more quickly and effectively to disruptions. You’ll better understand how much inventory you have on hand, as well as where it’s located, to communicate with stakeholders as needed. 

After all, advance notice is crucial to allow everyone to adjust operations in accordance with present challenges. A heads-up will allow for the proper management of expectations.

It’s important to openly communicate any challenges that arise to minimize inconveniences. This is made easier when you have the right tools in place, such as inventory visibility and tracking.

2. Better customer relationships

The key to boosting profitability is ensuring customer satisfaction. Focus on improving the customer experience by prioritizing status, ensuring delivery transparency, and fulfilling orders in a timely manner. 

One way to accomplish this is by making improvements to your inventory tracking system. Upgrading your system will help you identify and address potential challenges that may arise in different areas of the supply chain, such as end-product problems or delays.

Tracking inventory also allows for improved traceability measures, which is essential in today’s market, where consumers are concerned with sourcing their food and ensuring that the products they purchase are sustainably farmed.

3. More accurate demand forecasting

Optimizing inventory to ensure transparency is essential, as it provides the accurate and real-time data necessary for improving decision-making and problem solving. This information helps businesses gain valuable insights to enable better forecasting. 

By understanding the amount of time each product takes to move through the supply chain and identifying products prone to causing challenges, businesses can make more informed decisions about the products they offer. This data can help meet supply and demand, all while helping to avoid stock outs. 

With greater transparency, you can stay ahead of the competition by anticipating consumer needs and adjusting your strategy accordingly.

4. An easier time with procurement and production

Monitoring and managing inventory levels can streamline core business processes. Keeping track of inventory allows your business to: 

• Improve its ability to meet order fulfillment targets
• Track the products that sell the best
• Identify equipment and machinery that are being over or underutilized (to purchase new equipment or sell unused machinery)
• Upgrade or condense warehouse space

By putting the products that consumers want on shelves and removing items that aren’t selling, businesses can meet sales targets, streamline production, and reduce product waste. Ultimately, monitoring inventory levels can help businesses improve efficiency in procurement and production to keep money in the bank. 

5. Saved expenses

Inventory can be expensive to hold and transport. The expenses involved in keeping inventory properly stored, maintaining temperature control, and distributing such delicate products can be very high.

Any delays or problems that keep products in one place for too long can result in businesses paying what could have been avoidable costs. 

To mitigate these expenses, it’s essential to have a good understanding of inventory quantities. By doing so, businesses can avoid holding excessive inventory and prevent food loss and waste. The result: significant savings and increased profit in the long run. 

Increase inventory visibility with Silo

With so many lots coming in and out, effectively managing inventory can be difficult. That’s where Silo comes in. Businesses that make use of the Silo platform for inventory management see results in maximized profits, sustainable business growth, optimized operations, and stronger customer relationships.

The Silo platform consolidates all of the most important inventory information for a single source of truth. You’ll have accurate information at your fingertips to keep everyone on the same page. You won’t have to worry about errors from manual inventory counts either, as Silo streamlines every aspect of inventory management, from data entry to tracking.

With Silo ensuring better traceability, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that compliance will be simple and recall efforts will be easier to navigate. Protect yourself from liability and reduce risk.

Businesses that have implemented Silo into their business process, like Capro Inc and Chicago Basil, have benefited from higher profits. 

“After 1 month of using Silo, we saw a $40,000 increase in profit. Real-time visibility into our margins ensures that sales orders account for the appropriate markup based on our expenses and overhead. It’s a game changer!” - Harry Grewal, President, Chicago Basil

Real-time insights into key metrics allow you to proactively guard your profit margins. Silo empowers businesses with data that allows for informed decision-making, directly impacting profits.

Book a demo with Silo today!