Ever heard or said this: “I am happy with my inventory datasheet on my Google Drive”? “Why bother implementing an inventory management system, or any kind of jewelry management system?” Well, we hear this from time to time 🙂 , so let’s address this topic specifically.
In today’s fast-paced business environment, managing inventory effectively can make all the difference in the success of a jewelry business. Fortunately, there are tools and software available that can help jewelers manage their inventory more efficiently and with fewer errors than traditional methods such Google Drive datasheets. Here are some advantages of using tools/software like Valigara:
- Reduced risk of mistakes: Uploading data from Excel to online channels is semi-manual, with data validation created by the data owner himself. There is no additional “pair of eyes” providing feedback on the uploaded data. With the, inventory systems include multiple algorithms of automatic data verification. This drastically reduces the cost of manual work and the risk of errors.
This is particularly important for jewelers who manage multiple channels, as manual data entry can lead to mistakes that can damage a business’s reputation or result in lost revenue.
- Centralized control: Inventory Management Tools allow jewelers to centralize control over their inventory across multiple channels, reducing the risk of mistakes and saving time. This is especially important for jewelers who want to manage their inventory in a more organized and efficient way, without spending countless hours on manual data entry and management.
- Automated processes: Many of these tools come with pre-implemented processes, so jewelers don’t have to reinvent the wheel. This saves time and effort and allows businesses to focus on other areas of growth. In addition, tools like Valigara can automatically schedule inventory updates to channels, reducing manual work and mistakes.
- Expansion: Using integrated Jewelry Management software makes expanding to sales channels, marketing channels, and B2B distribution tools easy. These tools offer support not only for short-term needs but also for expanding into new growth areas. This is not possible with Google Docs, which can only partially support a jeweler’s needs and is unsuitable for further expansion.
- Easy knowledge transfer: Modern tools invest a lot of time, effort, and money in supporting relevant documentation, making knowledge transfer easy within a team. In contrast, custom-built Excel data sheets increase dependency on the team and complicate knowledge transfer. With tools like Valigara, new team members can be quickly trained and brought up to speed, which saves time and reduces the risk of errors.
- Customizable reports: Inventory management tools offer customizable reports that allow jewelers to analyze their sales and inventory data in depth. This can help them make better business decisions and optimize their operations. For example, Valigara provides jewelers with detailed sales and inventory reports that can be customized to fit their unique needs, allowing them to identify trends, pinpoint areas of weakness, and develop more effective strategies for growth.
- Data accuracy: while datasheets are good for storing the data as-it-is, a modern Inventory Management system is integrated with a Product Information System, which makes the data more accessible, useful, and enriches the data to different needs.
- Integrability: Inventory is an important part of multiple business workflows. Therefor it is important to have it deeply integrated with all supporting components at all business stages: sales, customer service, fulfillment etc. While a cloud-based Inventory Management System will provide this integrations, Excel file or Google Drive datasheet creates a challenge in building smooth workflows.
- Accessible Data History: The ability to track the historical data of the jewelry is mandatory for proper business analysis. Upgrading to an inventory system enhances the static current-only view of the data with business-supporting historical information.
- Decision-making support: Jewelry sales are the most valuable component of the business strategy. The Inventory Management System proactively provides business insights based on multiple inventory performance parameters, while the Google datasheet is only displaying multiple data-points lacking calls-to-actions for growth.
In summary, managing jewelry inventory using tools and software like Valigara offers several advantages over traditional methods, such as using an online datasheet in Google Docs. With technology becoming an essential part of business, jewelry businesses that want to stay ahead of the competition should consider modern tools and avoid growing the “technical debt” for the years to come.
