Attach an active Database to your inventory system, stop all of this manual data entry to save real time for all size shops.
In any inventory based retail businesses, they do not do all of this manual data entry. When you make an order for sellable items or parts restocking orders that's when you create your PO for that order. Every thing from this point on should be scan an enter. Almost everything has a UPC code today. So when that PO order comes in all you should have to do is scan the barcode/ UPC and that item is added to your inventory. Now by the time you scan the last item of the order your PO should balance and zero out if everything you order was delivered. I know there are a lot of other parts and inventory processes to go over. Here is not the place or time for it. What we need to understand from this request is that SR needs to get a live database so that we can just pick up are little hand held UPC barcode scanner and get to work. Having a live database will give us endless time saving money making options to even list here. I would be glad to go into detail or give real life examples that any of us can understand how simple it works. This is also the type of an option that would make a real difference of a lot more sales of RepairShopr. All of that adds up quick into advantages to current members, like contacts, industry info, maybe reduced cost for SR software, add'l inventory available. Well let me stop here, and just say live Inventory &(parts) Database!!
Keith Camiolo
shared this idea
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Bryant
commented
If the UPC Index @ http://www.upcindex.com database could be integrated with a app that would make adding parts to inventory much easier.
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Keith Camiolo
commented
Ryan: I have been trying to get some traction on this issue, so thank you for your question. I want to take what is a time consuming task and make it a much faster and more accurate procedure. The root idea is to take the complex inventory stocking in of all of it's detailed layers and streamline it to be as quick as checking out a retail showroom customer. RS has a lot of great features, such as being able to check out a customer quickly with the ability to just scan the UPC barcodes on their showroom purchases, which sets of a chain reaction for the good. First of all you will be able to check the customer out quickly. when you scan the customers items there going to be added to their ticket with the product details,correct cost,quantity and so on. Now their checked out an cashed up, as they leave the chain event continues. Now the back end of the inventory system also continues to benefit from that simple UPC scan. It starts by removing the items out of inventory, which could trigger the quantity on hand needing to be replenished it is also reducing your cost of inventory. So now it is also changing and activating all kinds of automated accounting in the backend seamlessly. At this point it is also creating all of your management reports that will help you run the business. You will find out what to reorder or not because of the info in those reports i.e.aging,cost against current market,quantity on hand and so on. Now all of what I just went over in some detail, required someone to manually enter all of the detailed information of those purchased items into the inventory system. The only thing that you can add to the inventory system by scanning the UPC code of an item or part is just the UPC number in the upc number field. Okay all stores and businesses will have different inventory needs and requirements, but I believe we all would appreciate not having to manually add our inventory. Well we can have it our way of adding all of our inventory into stock as easy as we can sell it out of stock. However in order to do this we need to have an active database (software). These databases are usually something that you subscribe to and connect them to your inventory system. Now with having this database you can have and offer thousands of items and parts, being just a one man band which I am. Real quick now if I actually can, but with a database take the selling situation and reverse it to some degree. Here's how it goes, you have a P.O. come in with 35 items. You scan the UPC and into inventory that part goes with all the details automatically entered as well as pricing, and there may be 5 of the same items which you can scan all of them real quick to be accurate on the count. Now you can do everything in reverse to the selling example and quick and efficient. Well there are a lot of other great details and advantages that go with having this type of inventory system. I would even buy in to the first level of RS if it had this type of inventory system because it would allow me to truly be a one man army.
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Ryan (CTO, Pinellas Computers)
commented
@Keith: I don't fully understand how this would work, but I love the sound of it. Could you please elaborate when you get a chance? Thanks!