Managing and differentiating between inventory and warehouse operation is not rocket science. The only thing that you need to understand is the scope of the task. Let’s starts with inventory management. It is a process of managing all inventories across all locations while warehouse management is all about in-house stock storage.
Another thing that can help you differentiate between these two concepts is, with inventory management, one can forecast business trends and manage orders and receiving simultaneously, replenish the inventory, and allocate stocks to fulfil demand proactively. On the other hand, the warehouse arranges the inventory based on demand trends so that shipping can expedite.
So, if you are running a business that frequently had to manage transfer requests and scan barcodes manually and the fulfil order quantity is more than the available inventory stock then you need to adopt Warehouse and Inventory Management System.
And, the best ERP available in the market right now is Odoo. We suggest adopting Odoo ERP for two reasons. First, it is open-sourced which makes customization for any business or industry super easy. Secondly, Odoo ERP offers a complete solution in terms of all business process management.
Considering the concerns and queries of our clients, we have divided this article into three parts.
In the first part, you will find the features of inventory and warehouse management.
The second part contains a comparison. It is for those who don’t get the above-stated difference.
And lastly, how Odoo Partners Techloyce and our team of Odoo Certified Consultants can help you set up a customize Odoo solution for one-stop inventory and warehouse management.
Learn More About: How To Choose the Right Odoo Partner?
Feature of Odoo Inventory Management
1. Basic Support
What do you think a warehouse needs? A one-stop incoming shipment and inventory management? Scheduling and arranging packages based on barcode scanning and delivery details? And, scarp management? All, right? Yes, and the Odoo ERP offers exactly that and much more. The basis support of inventory management includes shipment management, tracking, and sorting packages based on the barcode or expiry date and other rules set by the inventory manager. It also includes scrap management.
2. Traceability
In addition to basic support, Odoo Inventory management offers comprehensive traceability support. This means the organization can track the product inside and out of the organization with the help of bar code tracking. So, nothing can get lost on the way.
3. Replenishment
The worst nightmare for inventory managers is having not enough stock to fulfil the demand. In manual inventory management, this is the common reason cited by many that cause delay in order fulfilment. Hence, the only solution to this is ‘automation.’ Odoo’s inventory management system is designed to reduce manual entries and programmed to send automatic demand drafts to the manufacturer to replenish the inventory on time.
4. Receipt & Delivery Order Management
The next thing on our list is receipt management. This includes comprehensive detail on the booked order, address of the company, delivery date, and status. From this point on, the inventory manager can track significant details such as order issuer name, product quantity, delivery date. All of this information is shared with the client who can monitor the order from placing point till the delivery.
5. Inventory Adjustment
This is the most essential feature that helps the inventory manager or concerned personals to track account the location of the product to the available quantity across all inventories from one location. Moreover, one can sort and arrange the inventory based on the product category, variants, and other significant details.
6. Product and Product Variant Management
Lastly, the important feature of Odoo enterprise resource planning is product and product variant management. It helps the inventory managers efficiently manage product, product variants, either in the alphabetic order or the expiry date. This later helps in identify and hunt the product manually at a glance. This feature act as product indexing in the inventory’s library, in which every product is assigned a unique barcode.
Read More On Understanding The Difference Between Odoo Functional & Technical Consultants
Feature of Odoo Warehouse Management
Unlike inventory the scope of warehouse management is small and it only deals with the in-house inventory stock management. If you opt for Odoo warehouse management, you will be able to enjoy the following benefits.
1. Type of Location
The first feature on our list is stock location tracking. Usually, they are three physical, virtual, and partner locations. All of these can be mange from one dashboard. In addition to location, one can manage several product categories along with multi-level variants.
2. Inventory Report
The next concern of warehouse management is mapping the available quantity of products along with product tracking. With Odoo ERP, you can rest assure that you can manage all of these from one dashboard. This later helps the warehouse managers in create reports for warehouse optimization. Since every product contains a lot of numbers and barcodes, this makes product tracking and mapping easier.
3. Forecast Inventory
In addition to the inventory report, the Odoo warehouse management system allows one to forecast product trends and seasonal demand based on the archival inventory reports. And, it can also predict product quantity and map dead product details.
4. Product Movement
The second last thing on our list is tracking product movement across the inventories and warehouses with the help of barcode scanning. Odoo ERP can read data that is either manually scanned, transferred via wi-fi and USB. Furthermore, it empowers the inventory and warehouse managers along with clients to track the movement of products. Since every product contains a barcode hence the movement and docking details are updated frequently.
5. Reordering Rules
Last but not the least, the warehouse management system allows the warehouse manager to set customize rules for warehouse organization on the basis of first in first out(FIFO), last in last out(LIFO), the first expiry first out(FEFO), best before date, end of life date, and alert dates. By doing so, the shipping of products becomes smooth and nothing in the warehouse is wasted.
Inventory VS Warehouse Management
- With an inventory management system, one can track products in all inventory across all locations, while in warehouse management you can track the movement of products inside the warehouse.
- In inventory management, one can get a comprehensive overview of all inventories. On the other hand, warehouse management provides an inhouse stock status report.
- Inventory management focuses on inventory level while warehouse creates files of product and provide a comprehensive guide to the warehouse managers containing details on product picking, packing, and shipping.
- Lastly, inventory is about managing stocks and forecasting trends, however, warehouse management is all about managing inventory and related tasks.
Conclusion
Whether you are managing an e-commerce store or hosting a drop-shipping company, managing products and tracking delivery statuses shouldn’t be difficult, especially when you are living in the 21st century of automation. And, the best solution available right now is Odoo ERP. It is one of a kind ERP solution that makes warehouse and inventory management super easy.
For customization of the Odoo inventory management system and Odoo warehouse management system, reach out to Techloyce. We are Odoo Certified Consultants and provide you with the best of industry solutions.
