5 Reasons Managing Inventory by Spreadsheet is Killing Productivity

Spreadsheets are used in all facets of business. They serve as a helpful tool, but when it comes to inventory management, they don't make the cut.  Analyzing inventory operations and streamlining your supply chain are pertinent parts of running a business. Spreadsheets restrict the ability to view inventory operations from a broader perspective and are prone to costly mistakes.

Here are the top 5 reasons why spreadsheets are limiting your ability to productively manage inventory operations and why you should consider switching to inventory management software. 

1.) Efficiency & Real Time Updates

Let's face it, inventory spreadsheets require a lot of manual labor and updating. Most businesses aren't updating spreadsheets in real-time as inventory is purchased, used or transferred to a new location. This leads to many inefficiencies and prevents valuable resources from focusing on other critical areas of your business. Moreover, spreadsheets have limitations on the type of information you can track since they only have an x-axis and y-axis. This makes it cumbersome to track multiple inventory fields at once. Using an inventory management software can help you track complex details about your items and lets you update inventory quantities on the fly with pinpoint accuracy-saving you time.

2.) Human Error

Human error is inevitable and managing inventory with spreadsheets requires manual inputs that are susceptible to mistakes. Even the equations and formulas you set up to track your inventory are a manual process that has its drawbacks. If one equation gets entered or copied into a cell incorrectly, this can lead to unfavorable outcomes resulting in stock discrepancies, ordering mistakes and potential financial losses for your business. Switching from spreadsheets to an inventory management software reduces human error by automating inventory calculations and streamlining manual processes. 

3.) Security & User Access

Spreadsheets have many limitations when it comes to managing user access and do a poor job of restricting certain users from making changes. Most inventory operations have multiple users with varying inventory management responsibilities. If you're using a basic inventory spreadsheet, it's impossible to limit user access based on their job function or role. On top of that, some users may be managing inventory from different locations. Being handcuffed to a single spreadsheet limits their ability to update inventory data in real-time. Inventory management software can eliminate many of these concerns, giving you full control over user roles and permissions. It also gives users the ability to access critical inventory data on-the-go from multiple devices, saving valuable time and money. 

4.) Scalability

As your inventory operation continues to expand, many businesses will quickly outgrow the effectiveness of an inventory spreadsheet. Managing rows upon rows of data and categorizing information into multiple tabs on a spreadsheet is terribly inefficient. The larger your data set, the more likely your users will make mistakes. With the right inventory management software, these complexities disappear because it's built to handle very large, complex data sets in an automated fashion. The sooner your business invests in inventory management software, the easier it will be to manage growth. 

5.) Reporting

Even if you consider yourself an Excel guru, inventory spreadsheets still have many reporting limitations. Inventory management software provides easy-to-read, real-time reports with a simple click of a button. You can add all the complex formulas and pivot tables to your inventory spreadsheet that you want, but you still won't be able to time stamp transactions, track user activity, or view up-to-the-minute stock levels. Inventory management software automates the inventory reporting function-allowing you to spend more time analyzing your inventory data instead of wasting countless hours building reports from scratch in a spreadsheet.

While spreadsheets certainly have their place in business, using them to manage your inventory certainly isn't one of them. The limitations they impose on inventory operations far outweigh the cost of most inventory management software. So, if you're a business struggling to manage inventory spreadsheets, there's no better time to embrace an inventory management software like Scan IM.  

If you'd like to experience the difference Scan IM can make for your business, we invite you to trial our software risk-free for 14 days. Don't let spreadsheets hold your business back any longer-give Scan IM a try and step into a world of streamlined inventory management in the palm of your hands.