Why You Should Serialize Your Inventory
Managing inventory is the primary task for remaining competitive in today’s business environment. Good inventory control allows organizations to cut costs, and secure their margins while keeping customers happy. It also holds a lot of importance internally because company assets like equipment and furniture need to be tracked as well.
What is Serialization?
Serialization is when you label and record inventory using the unique identification number present in the product. Most products already contain a unique serial number, phones/tablets have IMEI, published books have an ISBN, and IoT sensors also have unique codes so that they can be tracked and maintained efficiently. Because these numbers are unique, they can be used to store valuable product information. This data can then be retrieved by either scanning the available barcodes or QR codes through scanning devices. In addition to that, the information about available inventory can be used to make data-driven decisions for stock reordering, maintenance of assets, and product-wise profitability calculations.
How Does It Impact Inventory Management?
Efficient inventory control means that there are less wastages within the system. The chances of product shortage or excess in supply are minimized. Through serialization, the data for each item becomes available in the system through the ERP software. If it weren’t for serialization, the devices could not be maintained in the ERP system. For example, during the order fulfillment process, when the barcodes are scanned, the inventory would be updated instantaneously. The business would have an exact picture of the inventory levels. In addition to that, the business would have an efficiently linked database containing information regarding each product in detail with easy access.
IoT Devices
If the company has multiple IoT sensors installed within its premises then each device can be tracked properly. Using the barcode on the device, a database can be maintained containing information like date of installation, location, maintenance date, department, and so on. The organization can use this information to proactively design maintenance schedules and replacement work for uninterrupted operations.
Book ISBN
Similarly, for the inventory of books, they contain a unique ISBN (International Standard Book Number). The ISBN can be used to store information about each book’s shelf placement, genre, customers, pricing, and much more. This information can be used to understand the consumer-base, what genre of books are more in-demand, and which books or category of books need to be ordered more. It can also help collaborate with publishers so that book piracy can be discouraged and new books can be easily reordered.
Pharmaceutical Inventory
The pharmaceutical industry is riddled with problems regarding counterfeiting and smuggling of fake medicines. In order to strengthen the supply chain, the unique serial number issued by the suppliers can be used to only allow authentic medicines into the inventory. Many regulations have been passed in different countries that promote the use of serialization in the pharmaceutical industry.
Conclusion
Depending on the type of operations a business has, serialization can be used for internally tracking company assets like IoT devices and other appliances for maintenance. Furthermore, it can make storing and retrieving data more efficient because multiple characteristics of a given item can be accessed just by a single serial number. So, take advantage of the unique serial numbers already present in various products and use specialized software for managing inventory through serialization.
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