Inventory control system

An inventory control system is a process for managing and locating objects or materials. In common usage, the term may also refer to just the software components.

Modern inventory control systems often rely upon barcodes and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to provide automatic identification of inventory objects. In an academic study performed at Wal-Mart, RFID reduced Out of Stocks by 30 percent for products selling between 0.1 and 15 units a day. Inventory objects could include any kind of physical asset: merchandise, consumables, fixed assets, circulating tools, library books, or capital equipment. To record an inventory transaction, the system uses a barcode scanner or RFID reader to automatically identify the inventory object, and then collects additional information from the operators via fixed terminals (workstations), or mobile computers.

Applications

An inventory control system may be used to automate a sales order fulfillment process. Such a system contains a list of orders to be filled, and then prompts workers to pick the necessary items, and provides them with packaging and shipping

An inventory system also manages in and outwards material of hardware.

Real-time inventory control systems may use wireless, mobile terminals to record inventory transactions at the moment they occur. A wireless LAN transmits the transaction information to a central database.

Physical inventory counting and cycle counting are features of many inventory control systems which can enhance the organization.

See also

• Automated identification and data capture
• Document automation
• Economic order quantity
• Economic lot scheduling problem
• Inventory management software
• Newsvendor model
• Scan-based trading
• Storage management system
• Supply chain management
• Vendor-managed inventory
• Warehouse management system

Radio-frequency identification