With suppliers and vendors, companies have to keep a close eye on profit and loss. With empty shelves and vendor problems comes increased waste and higher costs overall. This means that vendors should prepare to adhere to stricter rules, as well as a vendor managed inventory system. These new processes streamline supply chain management so that companies aren’t waiting around with empty hands for the customer, among other benefits. Before implementing one of these systems, here are some rules to go by.
Always Do Your Research
Will a VMI work for your business? That all depends on how many issues you have with supply chain management and getting products to customers. The system that you pick should ideally enhance your efficiency and make it easier to sell products. You also want to pick a system that can provide reports and data on what is selling, what isn’t selling, and what vendors are behind or aren’t making good on the supply chain deliveries.
Pick a Common Platform
You should always pick a system that has inventory management at the center and builds out from there. These systems should be able to integrate with any software that you also use for your business, but the goal is to have a better eye on your inventory and supply. This means that the system should be able to effectively communicate delays in shipments as well as core data that you need to run your business and work with other vendors.
If you are thinking about a vendor managed inventory system, then you ideally want to look at one that can be customized as well for what you need to do with your business. Many of these systems have tailored software that should be able to match everything you do with your business.