For manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers alike, jewellery inventory tracking is a complex and critical issue. Complicated inventory movements can now be managed and tracked automatically.
Inventory tracking is possible because of the Jewelry ERP software's inventory tracking capabilities.
The first step toward automation is digital jewelry inventory management.
A shortage of inventory results in missed sales opportunities, whereas a surplus inventory results in excessive operational costs in terms of handling, shipping, and storage. If you recognize any of the above instances, it's a solid clue that your company needs new jewelry inventory software.
Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn't determine what raw materials or products you have on hand?
Have you ever been in a circumstance where the time you gathered all of this data was out of date because additional inventory movements had occurred in the meantime?
Is it difficult to figure out how much your actual inventory is worth?
Is it tough for you to estimate how much raw material you'll need to complete your jewellery orders?
As you can see from the preceding questions, keeping track of your jewellery inventory is a difficult task. Because we're dealing with high-value objects and resources, this is especially important in the jewellery sector. Inventory tracking is critical for any type of organization, whether it's a manufacturer, retailer, or wholesaler. You could argue that this is the business's beating heart that keeps everything running smoothly. It is linked to manufacturing, sales, raw material inventories, reordering, and consignments, therefore it cannot be treated as a stand-alone function. Because old inventory software isn't dynamically connected to the other tasks, it's not ideal for completing this difficult activity.
Spreadsheets in Excel? They may work for a one-man operation, but those who keep track of their inventory this way are well aware of the solution's obvious drawbacks.
I've brought you some really interesting facts on this: in India, 70% of small firms do not have an automated inventory management system.
The advantages of using jewelry inventory software
Let's take a look at some of the most important objectives that an inventory management module can help us achieve:
- Optimal inventory levels — attain optimal inventory levels at the right locations.
- Reduce inventory losses and obsolescence by addressing inventory loss and obsolescence issues.
- Excess inventory should be reduced.
- Forecasting – avoid production delays due to stock shortages.
- Increase visibility – make information regarding inventories more visible.
- Processes for purchase and replenishment should be improved.
- Maintain inventory costs and valuations.
- Keep an eye on sales and manufacturing trends.
- Organize your internet sales.
Each bullet point deserves a fuller explanation on its own, but individuals who have dealt with similar issues before know which of the previously described aspects are critical and why. It could be more useful if I discuss how inventory software or a module can help you achieve these objectives. After all, we're all aware of the issues, but you're presumably looking for a solution, right?
Handling jewellery inventories in the real world
How does jewelryj inventory management work in practice? To have a deeper understanding, consider it from a variety of perspectives, including sales, production, purchasing, accounting, and managing raw materials, as well as pricing.
Jewelry inventory management from the standpoint of sales
One of the most basic concerns from a sales standpoint is: what do we have on hand that can be sold right away? Due to the fact that objects can be categorized into different groups for the sake of clarity in inventory management software, this can be simply followed: pendants, rings (engagement rings, wedding bands, solitaire rings), earrings, and so on. Furthermore, the groups are associated with traits that are unique to each group. For example, pendant length and ring size.
From a sales standpoint, the second question is: where is the jewel? Is it in the safe? Are you in a retail store? In a different location? It was for this reason that inventory locations were created.
The issue of consignments (or memos) arises at this point. Because these problems are rarely solved by simply assigning a simple inventory location, they necessitate an optimized feature that is part of inventory handling but handles products sent out for consignment separately.
It may also be useful to know which pieces of jewellery are commonly sold and which have been in the inventory for a long time from a sales perspective.
Last but not least, how our point-of-sale system is linked to our back-office inventory system is a critical consideration. What technique do we need to employ, for example, if we track our stocks in an Excel spreadsheet, to remove the item of jewellery that has just been sold from our inventory? If this can't be done in as little as two steps, we're wasting valuable time; this is one of the reasons why automating this process is worthwhile. Let's not forget about e-commerce platforms, which are becoming a more and more popular sales channel, and we frequently encounter the issue of integration. When inventory is manually tracked in the background, it is nearly hard to develop an online sales plan.
The solution is to integrate the online platform with jewelry business software or ERP software, which will allow orders to sync seamlessly and inventory to be kept up-to-date on both ends with no effort.
You'll also get the following benefits from this integration:
Boost your visibility
Inventory levels that are optimal
Keeping track of sales trends
Taking care of internet sales
Jewelry inventory management from the point of view of the manufacturer
As I previously stated, inventory is the driving force behind all business operations. Inventory management that isn't up to par can make manufacturing difficult, hence the two are linked.
First and foremost, it is critical to keep proper track of the inventory ledger. How do I know what raw materials I have on hand and whether I need to order more? Due to the frequent fluctuation in inventory, if there is no central database for this, it can be incredibly difficult to keep track of it.
There are two automatic ways to accomplish this. The first is tracking minimum inventory (necessary items), with the system notifying the user or automatically sending a purchase order to the vendor if inventory falls below a specific level. A job-based ordering technique is the other option (items on job orders). This is a more advanced feature that handles two problems at once. First, it allows us to keep raw material inventory to a minimal since we only order materials when an order has been placed that requires that specific item, and second, it ensures that manufacturing runs smoothly because we have an accurate forecast and can order supplies on time.
Automate inventory movements are the next item that an inventory management system can help us with. To put it another way, we don't have to manually assign raw materials to each order because the system does it for us. You can keep track of what's in the safe, what's on the assembly line, and what's on consignment. You can see how raw materials are transformed into completed goods in real time, and all you have to worry about is entering the necessary weights into the system. I'd like to point out that there are digital scales that automatically read the weight of whatever is placed on them and send the information to the system, reducing the chance of an error.
And now we've arrived at the following point regarding inventory loss tracking: Inventory loss can occur naturally as a result of production operations (polishing, casting), but it can also occur as a result of other circumstances, such as theft-related shortfall. These deficits are generally masked since inventory is tracked manually. Whether we adjust inventory or not when reusing scrap metal, if the tracking is not done automatically within a digitalized jewellery inventory software, we will almost certainly experience massive losses at the end-of-year stock count, and many of these losses will be difficult to justify because they are not traceable.
Jewelry inventory management from the standpoint of purchasing
I've already touched on this topic, but it's worth revisiting. There are various ways to automate purchasing, and doing so can save us a lot of time. For example, we can “command” the system to automatically place an order in a specific phase of the process — whether it's manufacturing or a simple wholesale operation. This feature allows us to order that particular diamond from the vendor only once our consumer has placed the order. This is a frequent technique in the jewellery industry; most of the time, the stones, diamonds, and diamond rings being sold are not in the seller's hands. Why? They don't have to keep as many expensive stocks this way.
How does a jewellery management software system generate an automatic purchase order? The answer is straightforward: we can assign default suppliers to specific item types, ensuring that the system has access to all relevant data. Automated purchasing involves only a few clicks from the user, but manual purchasing is a complex and time-consuming procedure.
A decent inventory system will include the following features:
- Processes for purchase and replenishment should be improved.
- Keep an eye on production patterns.
- Excess inventory should be reduced.
Jewelry inventory management in terms of pricing
It is an inextricable aspect of inventory management that we understand the worth of our inventory, or how much money we have committed in this way.
The system automatically refreshes the substantive price of products on stock depending on the prices of the international market, the metal market, or Rapnet prices if they are diamonds on stock, using market-based pricing. All of this happens in real-time and automatically. This feature isn't included in all jewelry software.
However, when it comes to inventory items, not only the price of raw materials but also the price of the finished product, is crucial. Every jewellery firm operates on various principles, which is why it's critical to employ formulae in a software environment as well.
Smaller enterprises that don't have access to software try to substitute Excel formulas. We are prepared at Jewelsinfosystems to manage these various pricing algorithms. Component-based pricing, attribute-based pricing, factor-based pricing, and cost-based pricing are just a few of the pricing formulae that can assist with accurately pricing jewellery. These algorithms enable us to design pricing that is precise, effective, and quick. For example, if we're producing a price quote and want to change the centre stone of the style, we won't have to recalculate the price because the system can calculate the new price based on the new stone's properties. The process behind this is known as variations. This implies we have a basic style with components that we may modify – for example, 18k Pink instead of 14K Yellow – and the operation has an impact on the base price.
A good jewelry inventory software program will include the following features:
- Maintain inventory costs and valuations.
- Boost your visibility
Jewelry inventory management from a financial standpoint
Inventory automation is particularly critical from an accounting standpoint since we must be aware of every single movement. The fourth question, “What came in, what went out,” “What we have on hand,” and “What we need to order,” maybe the most crucial.
These changes reveal the direction in which our company is heading. Many sales, but a low-profit margin? Are there a lot of unsold items in your inventory? Is it better to increase or decrease sales?
Perhaps you've been stuck in a rut for a few years? Do we have a high rate of sales but a lot of assets and unpaid checks? Maybe it's not so much a problem with my items as it is with my customers.
I'm afraid to break it to you: but QuickBooks isn't an inventory management program. Many businesses attempt to set up inventory tracking in QuickBooks, but they are frequently disappointed. QuickBooks does an outstanding job of keeping track of the financial side of the business, but the inventory module that comes with it wasn't designed for the jewellery industry; it's simply too wide. This is why we handle our inventory accounting in Jewels and only communicate financial data to QuickBooks via our QuickBooks Bridge plugin, which happens automatically and in real-time. This allows Jewels to continue to handle inventory-related automation while QuickBooks takes care of all financial accounting as needed.
I'm afraid to break it to you: but QuickBooks isn't an inventory management programme. Many businesses attempt to set up inventory tracking in QuickBooks, but they are frequently disappointed. QuickBooks does an outstanding job of keeping track of the financial side of the business, but the inventory module that comes with it wasn't designed for the jewellery industry; it's simply too wide. This is why we handle our inventory accounting in JewelsCB and only communicate financial data to QuickBooks via our QuickBooks Bridge plugin, which happens automatically and in real-time. This allows Jewels to continue to handle inventory-related automation while Quickbooks takes care of all financial accounting as needed.
If you're looking for jewellery inventory software, you've come to the right place.
I hope you learned something useful and that I was able to share a few ideas that will help you broaden your perspective on jewellery inventory automation. Every jewellery business is different; some have a simpler inventory, while others have a more intricate one. In both cases, automation saves a lot of time and energy. If you're having trouble finding and implementing the correct jewelry business software, I'd be pleased to do a one-on-one session with you.
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