Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Inventory management in 2024 – Innovations to be aware of
Moneymagpie Team
31st Oct 2024
There have been so many technological innovations relevant to the logistics niche in recent years, that it’s often difficult to keep up. From transport innovations like automated driving systems to new energy sources, sorting the gimmicks from the genuinely useful can feel like a full-time job.
Inventory management is an often area in this respect. If you’re wondering which innovations might be helpful, you’re in the right place – from warehouse automation to tags, here are some innovations to be aware of.
Warehouse automation
One of the most impactful areas of innovation to hit the logistics world in recent years has been in the realm of loading automation.
Automated loading systems from companies like Joloda Hydraroll have made it easy to massively reduce damaged and lost stock in warehouse environments, resulting in predictable and relatively stable inventory management.
As a result of these kinds of benefits, automated warehouse loading systems result in a whole host of cost reductions, meaning they’re absolutely an investment to keep an eye on.
Demand forecasting
The crux of inventory management often lies in demand forecasting. If you don’t know how much of a product you need, it’s nearly impossible to get your orders right, potentially resulting in lost revenue or wasted storage space.
By using advanced, AI-powered tools, logistics managers are able to predict demand with increasingly high levels of accuracy. These benefits can help avoid supply chain bottlenecks, and help you to optimise your use of storage space.
Cloud-based management portals
Inventory management is increasingly being tackled through the use of cloud-based management portals. These systems are becoming increasingly decentralised, allowing for reduced redundancy, and for any relevant stakeholders with an interest in these kinds of data to access it when necessary.
This means that even consumers can see whether items are in stock, or where they can order items if they’re not available in their local store. These systems only stand to become more advanced, and it’s important to keep up to date with any innovations that could positively impact your position.
The importance of tags
Lastly, tracking tags have become absolutely key in inventory management, and it’s critical that you stay informed on the latest updates. Things like RFID tags have been deployed in most warehouse contexts for a while now, allowing for near-seamless tracking of stock in otherwise volatile and difficult-to-navigate spaces.
By integrating the data these tags provide into easily parsable displays, everyone involved in inventory management can stay in the loop and contribute as necessary, from data scientists to people packing up goods on the warehouse floor.
No two businesses, even those in the logistics niche, will benefit from the same technologies in the same way. It’s crucial that you take a step back to try to properly understand your own, unique position in the market, before you start investing in supposedly ‘game-changing’ innovations. By taking that step back, you can ensure that you’re efficient in your research, limiting any unnecessary use of resource.
Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence.
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