Keeping a close eye on your stock is important for business, and for machine tool manufacturing, where there are a lot of variations, small parts, and even made to order options, knowing what you have on hand and managing your raw materials is even more important. In this article, we look at some of the challenges that machine tool manufacturers face, 5 of the different tools that are being adopted to meet these issues, and where to begin when adopting inventory management for your machine tool manufacturing.

What are the key inventory management challenges in machine tool manufacturing?

Machine inventory manufacturing businesses often have significant stock management challenges that relate to the purchase and use of raw materials, standards and variations for international and global variants, and similar issues.

Being able to keep a close eye on what is being used, what has been returned, what is being developed, and what items need to be manufactured next, requires careful attention to detail, real-time application of analytics and a in depth understanding of forecasting and customer wants.

Some of the key stock management challenges that often appear for machine tool manufacturers include:

  • Limited visibility and changing demand leading to inappropriate raw material purchases or creation of products that are being outstripped or evolved by competitors with new technologies or additions.

  • Poor inventory management leading to over or understocking, excessive returns, cancelled orders, and avoidable delays in the fulfilment and re-ordering portions of the sales cycle.

  • Inaccuracies due to manual documentation and poor communication that relies on team members being consistently and constantly available, as opposed to having a centralised digital record that offers clear views of who has done what, when, and why.

Machine tool manufacturers can boost their sales and ensure that the most is being made from every opportunity, order, and repeat engagement with TEB Apps. Bringing strategic automation, the ability to handle thousands of products and variations, and support real-time notifications and activities, TEB Apps makes stock management simpler, and far more effective.

5 ways to streamline inventory management for machine tool manufacture:

1.     Adoption of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software

The right CRM can make an enormous difference to the entire business. With access to customer records, monitoring in real-time of any engagements and updates, and the ability to make concise adjustments to specific orders, a CRM can allow manufacturing businesses to not only streamline what they are doing, but ensure it is being done as quickly as possible with the most data and as the customer wants.

2.     Use of strategic Business Process Automation (BPA)

The right level of BPA saves your company time, money, resources, and reduces errors from human interaction. For your stock management, this means that you can be certain of the figures you are seeing, and know they are the most up-to-date overview of your materials and stock.
The right BPA connects your CRM, databases, sales and marketing activities, and so much more, allowing your business to operate from a central data-driven hub.

3.     Integration and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI has become a vital tool for a lot of different businesses, especially those driven by the need for accurate real-time data on a regular basis. AI can not only assist with ensuring customers are connected with additional support and options, but within the business process side, it can be used to check data, monitor stock and activities, predict trends and so much more.
Using AI to its fullest is not always an easy task, because there is so much that AI can do, but the flexibility and options that the technology brings cannot be underestimated.

4.     Integration of stock management with real-time updating

You and your team need to know what you have on hand, what is currently on the factory line, what raw materials are available, and dozens of other small but vitally important variations. With stock management that integrates with AI, CRM, and data-driven platforms, your business is positioned to be able to tell exactly what is going on, what is going out, and even what has come back.
With real-time stock management being available, your sales teams can also benefit from quickly and efficiently working out what they can offer potential clients, and give quotes that the company are going to be able to meet in regards to timing and delivery.

5.     Analytic development and support for improved accuracy in forecasting

Being able to see what your company is doing, where it is going, and how the existing market is reacting is business critical. With the right analytics and data, you can review the success or failure of your business โ€“ from individual item lines, and elements to overall engagement and so much more.
Being able to see where you have been, and how you have been received, will allow you to guide your business to where you want it to go.

Where to begin when considering inventory management tools for your machine tool manufacturing business?

When looking at stock management tools, you need to be sure that you are working with systems that are:

Stock management
  • Reliable
  • Scalable
  • Regularly updating and upgrading
  • Capable of integrating with existing systems
  • Supported with training
  • Competent data management

Inventory management, especially for a manufacturing business, is going to be a core activity, which determines what your sales team can do, where your company can grow, and what you can do with your business.

Getting your stock management done correctly is one of the most important tasks you are going to need to manage in order to have a stable and reliable structure for your business to grow from.

Streamline your inventory management with TEB Apps

TEB Apps is designed to give you full coverage support and functionality, with strategic automation, efficient data pipelines and operations, and the tools you need to keep track of your business at every stage.

When you work with TEB for your inventory management needs, you can expect to benefit from:

  • Management of 1000s of products, available and updatable in real-time, so you and your team will always know exactly what is available, what is in stock, and where you should be focusing your efforts.

  • Order workflow management that makes sense, covers the different stages of your specific workflow, and is adaptable to the individual needs of your customers.

  • Automated payment scheduling and multi-currency support, so you can get your orders moving and sales closed as quickly as possible, allowing you to better manage your on-hand stock, order your raw materials, or determine what you will be doing next.

  • Create multiple terms and conditions for your team to choose from when finalising a sale.

With TEB Apps supporting you, your company will benefit from a wide range of carefully designed tools and options, so you can focus on building your business and growing your profits. Book a demo today, and discover TEB Apps for yourself.

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