Tag: <span>cost-saving</span>

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Sustainable building is, without a doubt, the future of the construction industry. As pressure for environmentally-friendly building practices increases, companies are discovering that ultimately, ‘going green’ saves cash. Recycling and reusing construction materials is a smart decision for all builders whether they are interested in environmentally-friendly building or not. Here are a few steps that may be taken to increase efficiency and reduce waste generated by construction activities.

Increasing the volume of recycled materials is an easy place to start. Research local material recovery facilities to check for rebate programs. As landfill rates have gone up, more and more contractors are looking for ways to increase recycling. To prevent useful construction debris from further clogging landfills, many material recovery facilities offer financial incentives for builders to recycle. These programs offer per ton discounts on debris that builders bring in.

Reusing materials is also a great way to cut down on jobsite waste. Many tools, wood/metal debris, and plastic products can be reused during the construction process to reduce costs. Another option is to donate used materials. Donating materials to non-profit organizations such as Rebuilding Together and Habitat for Humanity gives contractors the option to declare a tax deduction. Contractors can feel good about donating to organizations that improve their communities while simultaneously saving money.

Although many builders feel that environmental regulations for water and energy use are an inconvenient burden, they can be used advantageously. Emphasizing green building and waste reduction policies is great for public relations and, if implemented effectively, can reduce a business’ bottom line. LEED buildings are becoming increasingly popular as energy prices rise. Although energy efficiency costs more up front, it saves home and business owners a significant amount of money in the long run. Environmentally-friendly construction is becoming increasingly important to consumers; businesses who embrace sustainable building practices now will have an edge in the future home/business market over those that do not.

Taking precautions to minimize waste is one of the easiest ways to go green. Protecting newly installed finishes in a residential or commercial site saves money on potential replacement supplies and reduces waste. Companies like Builders Site Protection are happy to provide building companies with recommendations for recycled or reusable surface protection materials.

These are only a few steps builders can take to increase sustainability and reduce waste. Recycling and reusing materials not only helps the environment, it also has the potential to save contractors money.

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Source by Heather Ley

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Looking into the future and thinking about expenses you may meet down the road is one way to avoid sticker shock or buyer’s remorse when purchasing a new car.

Experts say most people expect the purchase price, taxes and registration fees associated with a vehicle but many forget the hefty price tag that could come with certain vehicles. Gratefully, there are ways to keep the insurance costs down while keeping the type and amount of coverage a new car usually requires.

Here are some tips to help you control are costs from the sticker price to the insurance premiums:

• What type of vehicle best suits your needs and decide ahead of time how much money you can afford to spend.
• The Institute for Highway Safety had test videos and analysis, so research crash test and accident data.
• To negotiate the best deal, check with several dealerships and get a firm quote from each in writing.
• What about financing and their rates will vary between institutions, so shop around.

Insurance Cost:

It is wise to check into how much it will cost to insure this type of car before you buy. Talk with your independent insurance agent; they could save your some money. Independent agents unlike “captive” agents who represent only one company offer products for many insurance companies. More choices and more opportunities is what this means for you to find the best service and coverage at the right price.

Have your independent insurance agent shop around to help you keep coverage cost down.

Here are a few questions to ask you insurance agent:

• My car has safety features can I get any discounts? Many carriers offer discounts for safety features that cut the risk of injuries or theft. The cars value, the cost to repair it, and its overall safety record and the likelihood of theft is what your auto insurance premiums are based on.
• Handling Claims – how does this insurance company handle claims? Will they be there around the clock when you need them? Price is not the only reason you need to consider.
• What are my coverage needs? The age of your car, your personal situation and other factors may vary your specific needs.

Select an independent agent will take the time to answer your questions and who can help you find the right combination of price, service and coverages that you need.

Some of these agents have been the business a long time and know solutions to saving your money on your auto insurance.

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Source by Linda J Blakeney

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How can Information Technology and a returnable container tracking system provide cost saving solutions and increase ROI for your fleet of returnable shipping containers? Using the Internet and enabled by media such as electronic file transfer, RFID or Bar Code, a tracking system can be a major step towards controlling, recovering and securing returnable shipping containers during their entire life cycle. Unlike a GPS location application, the container tracking software solution necessarily includes not only each returnable container’s most recent location but also a permanently archived history or “passport” from the date the returnable shipping container was acquired.

While a container tracking and recovery solution can help with internal and external audit requirements, regulatory compliance and international trade requirements, it will drive up the overall cost effectiveness of the returnable container fleet.

Some of the management benefits you should also expect from automated container tracking software can be derived from a focus on event-triggered exception or smart reports. This should address potential trouble areas of the returnable container fleet performance such as stranded containers, excessive dwell or transit times or inordinately high damage. Another benefit of a container tracking system would be the ability to sort or rank customer or supplier locations from “first to worst” in terms of the container fleet performance while under customer or supplier control. The routine flagging of containers that are due for maintenance or testing and certification will avoid loading outbound product into an inappropriate returnable container that can’t be shipped.

The container tracking system and will improve Return on Assets (ROA) by increasing the velocity and utilization of the returnable containers, which can be tracked and measured. As a consequence, it will provide better performance intelligence when the container fleet size needs to be increased, or in the alternate, identify an opportunity to downsize the container fleet.

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Source by Peter Kastner

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Overspending is a major issue in today’s society. Because of this, people are riddled with loads of debt unable to keep their heads above water. Unfortunately children learn by watching what their parents do. As a result they are learning poor habits that will continue this trend. Fortunately though, there are things that parents can do to make sure that they do not instill the bad habit of overspending in their children. Teaching children to respect money is the first step in this process.

Make Them Aware of the Cost of Things

One of the best ways to teach a child to value money is to make them familiar with the costs of items. While shopping show your kids the various items that they are interested in and discuss with them the costs of each of those items. Also help them to understand the process of saving money and that parents do not have an unlimited supply of money.

Kids do tend to think that money is unlimited and that the ATM will give you as much as you want. The more you help to explain to them budgets and that there is a limited supply of money to spend, over time they will gain a better understanding. This will help them develop a greater respect for the idea of saving money.

Teach Costs of Other Items

When discusses the price of the toys and things that your kids are interested in it would also be a good idea to give them the costs of everyday items. These include groceries, health and beauty items, clothes, etc. This will help them to better compare costs and get an idea of how much of a sacrifice that the new video game system that they are interested in will be.

They may be more hesitant to ask for expensive items when they see that they cost the same amount as groceries for 2 weeks. Even if they do ask they will have a better understanding of why you may say no.

Teach Them About Saving

Teach your child the habit of saving money. Have them put money away in their piggy bank or savings account if they have one established. Whenever they want to purchase something let them spend their own money. When they begin to see their money dwindle they will be more hesitant to spend.

For some reason it is easy to spend Mommy’s or Daddy’s money, but when it comes to spending their money somehow things seem quite different. As you begin to instill in them the habit of saving they will have a harder time spending money frivolously when they get older.

Encourage Your Child to Save Money

You must not only teach your child to save money. You should also provide a motivation for them to do so. You can start this by introducing a nicely designed piggy bank. You can go for the musical piggy banks to help a child become interested in saving. You may also want to give them bonus amounts for saving. For instance you could give them $5 for every $20 saved. This will also help them to understand the principle of earning interest on their money.

As your child grows, you can introduce a college investment plan for them to support their education. For grown up children, after school jobs can also be a good way of earning money and teaching them to value it.

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Source by Matt Fulton

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Today’s time-tracking solutions can cultivate companywide productivity. Very few delivers cost savings while optimizing employee productivity along with iClock, the newest and most innovative of their Web-based line of time, HR, payroll, and benefit tracking products.

iClock extends the general cost-conserving business trend away from decentralized systems to Web-based, hosted systems. Far from a physical clock, iClock is a Web-based approach to time and attendance tracking that simplifies the payroll process, improves accuracy, and reduces expenditures. Not only does this technology present an innovative alternative to traditional time and attendance tracking methods, but it offers real advantages over these options.

For example, iClock allows managers to see the “in/out” board on their own PC over the Internet. It also includes a nightly backup of the day’s labor-tracking data and a full menu of reports.

REINVENTING THE TIME CLOCK

Traditional time clocks require employees to travel to the location of the device, potentially creating a physical logjam that interrupts their workflow. iClock moves beyond this with its Web-based approach, which provides easy access from any computer connected to the Internet, as well as from existing time clocks, badge swipe readers, and fingerprint readers.

For the employer, iClock puts an end to labor tracking maintenance issues. Some providers maintain and hosts iClock on its own servers and store all of the data. Not only does this streamline the everyday attendance tracking for employees in a workplace, but it is especially convenient for nontraditional employees. A traveling salesperson, for example, can punch in and out just as easily as her coworker in a cubicle at company headquarters!

CUTTING COSTS

Traditional time clock systems involve a significant investment in hardware and other IT infrastructure, such as cables, servers, and networking concerns. iClock requires no special hardware. Upgrades are automatic each month and are delivered at no extra cost-this in addition to the original cost savings over the thousands of dollars associated with physical timeclock purchasing and installation.

In fact, even for companies with card swipes of fingerprint readers as their punch-in mechanisms, the iClock system requires no physical time clock. It effectively eliminates the expensive middleman by connecting the card swipe directly to a PC that is running iClock.

PERFORMANCE BOOSTER

iClock creates substantial savings in time as well as cost. When tested from a usability standpoint, iClock demonstrates multiple productivity and time-saving benefits for payroll departments, managers, and employees. Managers can access all time-tracking data for employees from a centralized In/Out Board, thereby decreasing administration time and giving managers the ability to control overtime and reduce overall payroll costs.

With traditional paper timesheets, someone would have to key in all of the individual data. But with iClock, paperwork is eliminated, and automatic data visualization is at the managers’ fingertips. They can review a history of missed and late punches, as well as a full suite of standard and ad hoc reports.

Employees can select from multiple clock-out reasons and view their own attendance history, which greatly improves employee accountability.

ROBUST INTEGRATION

Several Web-based offerings for time and attendance tracking already exist on the market. Oracle and SAP are both trying to deploy such technology through a kaleidoscope of platforms and partners. iClock, however, is a part of a fully dedicated, fully developed application suite that can integrate completely with HR, payroll, time-off, timesheets, expense-tracking, and salary-planning solutions. The data from iClock can be exported into any payroll system.

EASY ACCESS TO EMPLOYEE DATA

Another standout feature of iClock is the wide range of interfaces it provides. Other time and attendance solutions usually provide one or two interfaces to track employees’ time. iClock delivers multiple options to best fit your company’s environment. For example, a Web clock terminal could be available at the gate, office, or kiosk, and can be configured with a card swipe, fingerprint reader, or keyboard.

To create the feel of a traditional time clock, iClock can also connect with any clock and provide complete time and attendance functionality. With these options, the robust functionality may be invisible to the employee, but still in place for management, and the cost savings associated with eliminating the physical time clock still apply. Many companies prefer these traditional devices, and what iEmployee provides that competitors do not is the inexpensive option of a PC connected directly to them, rather than costly physical time clocks.

PRODUCTIVITY DEFINED

iClock delivers time management at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. It is both more efficient and requires less cost and effort to maintain—a true triumph of technology.

Considering the productivity benefits of iClock, combined with the robust functionality it delivers, this innovative and affordable product rises to the surface as the best solution on the market today for time and attendance tracking.

Paul

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Source by Paul P

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But you can save a lot of your money by outsourcing your projects to offshore destinations. This article discusses the key benefits of outsourcing your Java application development project.

Java application development has been going on since a long time, but the trend of outsourcing Java development projects to countries like India is a relatively recent trend. The development of the Java platform, and the addition of new features and facilities to Java, has made it the perfect language for certain types of development projects. While Java developers in first world countries charge more than $60 per hour for Java development, talented and experienced Java developers in India work for as little as $10 per hour! This cost effectiveness is the main reason for the outsourcing of software development work to India. But outsourcing Java development also brings a number of other benefits:

Cost saving and better talent:

Not only does outsourcing help companies to do their development work done at a cheaper rate, but it also allows them to hire programmers who possess have an edge over their counterparts. As companies can get developers at less than half the rates in first world nations, they can opt for more experienced developers.

Choice:

There are a large number of software development companies to choose from. You can get your Java application work done by a top-notch multinational company, or you can choose a budding software development company trying hard to make its mark on the market. The fact that a number of companies are clamoring to get your project also helps you to beat down the price. You can choose companies on the basis of your project requirements and budget.

Quality:

A number of offshore companies are involved with Java application development, and it is imperative for such companies to provide quality services and solutions. There is a lot of pressure on these companies to prove themselves; so, if you select your offshore partner carefully, you will get first-rate work from a company driven to excel. Consequently, you get quality Java application development at economical rates.

Round-the-clock support and communication:

The biggest hurdle to the execution of an offshore development project is the lack of proper communication between the company that wants software developed and the company that is expected to do the development. But most offshore development companies have proper mechanisms that allow you to communicate with the people working on your project. Not only do they keep your updated on the state of your project, but they are also open to accommodating any new changes you want to integrate in your software. The open communication channels ensure that your project gets completed on time and on-cost.

‘Hiring’ a team:

We’ve all heard horror stories of companies that bid for outsourcing projects, take the money, and vanish. If you are not comfortable with entrusting your project to a company that is located thousands of miles away, you have the option of ‘hiring’ a team. This approach allows you to monitor the progress of your project on a day-to-day basis. The team or individuals that you’ve ‘hired’ work exclusively on your project and report directly to you; at the same time, infrastructural and technological support is provided by the software development company.

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Source by Jay Valiya

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Households, facilities and industries can now avail themselves of the different advanced water treatment solutions in the market. Many people are not aware of the advantages that filtration systems give to users. The benefits of water treatment solutions such as an arsenic treatment system are as follows.

Improvement of Water Quality

Installing a good arsenic filtration system will considerably improve the quality of drinking water. Arsenic is among the most common harmful substances present in groundwater. People unknowingly consume this contaminant when drinking unfiltered water and using the same for cooking and watering crops. For this reason, filtration is a must to promote well-being.

Removal of Contaminants

It is common for old water pipes to have rust, sediments and soil, among other contaminants, which can be removed by arsenic biological filtration. When people have a treatment solution that is reliable, they can eliminate these pollutants with various stages to make sure water is potable.

Long Term Cost-Savings

Households and industries that use their water to process and operate can save lots of money. The initial costs of setting up a filtration system are expensive but these are outweighed by the savings people get when using this system in the long run. There are companies that offer an initial testing stage, wherein people can send a water sample and have it returned.

Using the best arsenic removal system can let a well work for several years, which results in significant savings.

Environmentally Friendly

When households install a water treatment system, this significantly reduces the purchase as well as disposal of bottles. Also, drinking from their water supply lets people waste less water since they will only get as much as they can drink. In addition, buying bottled water will have an additional cost for each plastic container bought.

No Water Shortage

People have nothing to worry about when it comes to water shortage except if their well dries out. However, their supply could be interrupted by floods, earthquakes and frozen pipes.

When the water filtration system is installed, they will not experience erratic pressure and maintenance, since they will have an unlimited clean water supply.

Avoid Losing Water when there is a Crisis

Natural calamities as well as periodic maintenance can lead to the temporary closure of the public water system. They should build their advanced water treatment to avoid this.

Improve Taste and Clarity of Water

Filtering and using arsenic treatment in drinking water improves the way water tastes and looks. They both remove the tap water’s aftertaste coming from the use of different chemicals in treating water. The correct combination of chemical solutions and equipment makes sure that water is properly treated.

These are only a number of benefits provided by setting up an advanced water treatment solution for a household/company. People can keep their family, employees and tenants safe and healthy by investing in the right system. Most of the contaminants that are ingested over time can bring about chronic diseases such as cancer and renal failure. So, to minimize health risks, they should use a water filtration system.

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Source by Karina Popa

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Industry lingo is representative of some of the major advances in the processes and gains associated with construction. One such term that finds increasing popularity is value engineering. So, what is value engineering and how does it benefit the construction process? Using engineering principles to achieve the utmost value with the least possible cost is a construction industry art form called value engineering. Value engineering involves substituting tried and tested materials and methods with less expensive options, without affecting functionality and output. One of the parts of the construction workflow that can benefit from value engineering is MEP coordination services.

During World War II, it was at General Electric that the idea of value engineering emerged. Product value was defined as a ratio: function/cost. This implied that the value of a product could be increased by either improving its function or reducing its cost. The concept was adopted across industries, and the construction industry, specifically, enjoyed considerable benefits.

Value engineering is a resourceful, organised method of analysing project requirements to lower total costs through the capital, staffing, energy and maintenance expenses. Alternate designs, materials and workflows are studied and investigated to improve value and economy. This methodology can play a key role in improving the design and layout of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, or MEP (M&E) systems. Not only is the budget drained, but there is a noticeable time delay when MEP systems clash during construction. Four features of utilities installation are enhanced when MEP systems are efficiently developed using the value engineering method. They are:

1. Design calculations
2. Layout comparisons
3. Cost evaluations
4. Effective solutions

The design stages of a project present a prime opportunity for productivity gain and cost savings. Computer-aided design (CAD) technology enables critical design workflows to design informed MEP systems. Reliability is key to designing efficient MEP systems. In the design drafting phase of value engineering, a selection of design layouts must be considered to determine the most cost-effective option. Third-party drafting services providers have shown they are quick and effective in delivering multiple layout options for MEP systems. The vendor providing these services must be skilled in generating 3D and 2D utility systems layouts, which can later be evaluated by in-house engineering personnel. Ultimately, spending money wisely is the bottom line of value engineering, and that leads to finding the right outsourcing partner – a partner who brings the most value to a project. Experienced outsourced engineering services firms can maintain value while not charging hidden costs, extra fees or having inflexible contracts.

A successful outsourcing partner can contribute to economic planning and effective design by delivering precise MEP drafting, 3D modelling and design package documentation. Offshore partners can facilitate significant savings by delivering drafting documentation quickly and reliably. In MEP systems design, a considerable part of the work is repetitive and requires extensive documentation. Offshore engineering services can be value-conscious partners in this part of the design process. Outsourcing of projects that require proficient technical skills is growing in popularity and has been shown to be an economically astute option. Offshore companies generally have a large pool of skilled CAD technicians who are proficient in high-level CAD and BIM software, such as Revit. Aided by online sharing tools, outsourced firms can partner with in-house staff while providing high-value output, without the principal firm investing in hiring, training and maintaining domestic staff for large projects.

Increasingly, governments in the West are making it mandatory to follow a value-engineered course of action for government projects. To reduce construction costs and ensure the building performance quality required for MEP systems, pertinent points to consider are:

• Alternate low-cost methods, materials or workflows that perform the same function
• Evaluation of best practices in comparison to costs incurred
• Thorough examination of design options
• Concentration on areas of design for which performance is crucial

The emerging ideas are not focused solely on reducing costs, but the growing acceptance that systematic team efforts can add value to the execution of projects. In this way, innovation and quality are not compromised.

The benefits of value engineering were recently experienced in a UAE project. According to the project manager, there was 10-15% cost saving and 20-25% energy reduction due to value engineering. Oversized MEP systems experienced challenges in material and equipment procurement and inefficient layouts of engineering communications. Also, the high humidity levels of the local climate could not be effectively controlled. MEP systems which were oversized needed more space for equipment, ductwork and piping. Value engineers solved these issues, integrating the design process with effective cost management.

Effective communication is a key factor in implementing value engineering in MEP coordination. The impact and quality of removed or replaced components should be fully comprehended by all team members; otherwise, it could lead to unfavourable repercussions. For example, on a recent project, a thermostat control valve substitution was approved to bring project costs down. The mechanical engineer introduced the valve into the system following design documents, however, he did not review the installation guide for the valve. The project manager also missed looking at the installation guide. This presented a challenge as the valve’s installation guide changed the original piping detail in the design. Therefore, the valve was incorrectly installed. System functionality was negatively impacted and extra costs were incurred by the contractor to repair and re-install the valve. These drawbacks could have been avoided with clear and extensive communication with all team members in an environment correctly implementing and reviewing value engineering.

Object-oriented 3D models have revised MEP coordination, with major improvements in design and coordination resulting due to its use. Trade contractors contribute to enhanced MEP coordination by locating components for MEP systems while complying with design, construction and operations requirements. Accurate MEP coordination also defines the location of MEP components in cramped and congested spaces to avoid clashes and interference and to comply with design criteria. Employing specialty contractors for different trades (e.g. process piping, HVAC piping, WAC ductwork, plumbing, electrical, fire protection) decentralises design responsibility but increases the need for effective coordination. MEP systems must satisfy design, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance specifications. Some of these specifications for systems design include:

• Spatial (avoiding interferences) specifications
• Functional specifications within a system (flow or gravity drainage)
• Adjacency or segregation parameters
• System installation details (layout dimensions, space and access for installation productivity)
• Testing parameters (ability to isolate)

Trade contractors create building systems based on design documents. The contractor needs to produce shop drawings, or fabrication drawings, which includes detailed information. This information includes joint types, member sizes, material types, connection mechanisms, top elevations, bottom elevations, supply contents and exact location references. At this point, value engineering can contribute to the research and final decisions taken regarding cost-effective components of good quality.

Generally, in construction practice, specialised contractors are responsible for MEP coordination. Therefore, after the creation of the design drawings, the MEP coordination process begins. Locations of different systems are decided, and conflicts are acknowledged. Components, such as conduits, pipes, HVAC ducts, etc., are sized, building services calculations are made and schematic drawings are updated. HVAC and piping systems are sized, followed by electrical and fire protection systems. At this point, the 3D M&E (MEP) coordination begins and preliminary routing systems are discussed and viewed. Constraints to routing, such as corridors, shear walls, fire walls, major equipment locations, ceiling types and interstitial spaces, are discussed. Value engineering practice can involve minimising branch lengths, minimising the number of fittings, choosing optimal locations for components and finding the shorter routing to support points. This is then represented in MEP coordination drawings and MEP shop drawings.

Outsourcing these MEP coordination services to offshore companies, that have extensive experience in this field of expertise, will contribute significantly to the benefits of value engineering. These companies provide a large pool of technically qualified staff with varied project experience and clear understanding of the benefits of value engineering. Outsourcing these services integrates into the value engineering process itself, as such services are both cost-effective and quality-effective.

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Source by Kuldeep Bwail

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Are you wasting money on paper and toner from SPAM faxes and your colleagues time to look at them? A Fax Receiver Appliance could be the answer to saving cost and speeding up workflow.

The era of the fax machine is coming to an end, but not so quickly. Fax machines are still used to receive faxed orders or requests from customers.

Instead of having to maintain a whole PC with virus checker, an uninterruptible power supply that has to be replaced every few years and other support costs, a Fax Receiver Appliance connects directly to a phone line and to the Ethernet Network, converting incoming faxes directly into a PDF email sending it to a mailbox of a mail server.

A Fax Receiver Appliance reduces direct waste significantly and often produces a return on investment of less than a year. This is based on approximately 20 SPAM faxes a day @ 0.08 cents per page for 365 days a year totals a direct saving of US$584 per device.

Indirect savings from personnel no longer looking and evaluating advertising in the fax machine is likely to be even higher.

Faster workflow as the documents no longer need to be collected from the machine but arrives immediately in the administrators email inbox. Email servers can be set up to copy more than one person, so emails may be picked up while on the move.

A Fax Appliance may be located more securely in the Telephone or the Computer Room, away from everyday hazards or mal-intent.

Each page is an attachment in the email that can be easily re-distributed or used for input into other applications.

Further saving come from the device’s very low power consumption and high reliability as there are no moving parts to be maintained or paper to be supplied. On average only 20% of business communication in electronic format is actually printed out which brings further savings.

A one-time setup of the fax appliance will run for a lifetime without maintenance unless you change the email server address. Parameters are stored permanently in Flash Memory and the power-up sequence is less than 10 seconds. Remote management via Telnet with login and password protection allows management in any networked environment such as Windows®, Unix® or Apple®.

A Fax Receiver Appliance is always ready, not dependent on operating system upgrades, virus checkers like a PC based or Multi Function Copier based Fax solution that require maintenance and a lot of power. When your company has mainly incoming faxes and does not want to rout a fax line to every Copier / Printer a Fax Receiver Appliance is the most cost efficient solution.

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Source by Klaus Bollmann

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In any size operation where warehouse goods are concerned, the finance department should be weary of escalating warehouse labour costs and the ownership of excessive inventory. An inventory control system in its simplest form creates efficiencies around receiving, putaway, picking and the shipping of goods. It enforces cost-saving work-flows at the point of labour through purpose-built logistics software. Through the use of wireless technology and rugged scanning devices, bar-codes both on the product and the slot locations are scanned to enforce an efficient warehouse process. Modern warehouse management software can provide a new level of product tracking and validation that becomes essential in the management inventory.

From a risk management perspective, inventory control solutions can help provide the kind of labour efficiencies and audit trail that provide a CFO with key information during reporting periods. A bar-code based warehouse management system can offer a sophisticated level of detail that is important when financial departments are looking to state inventory assets as a dollar value on the balance sheet.

Having tight controls on warehouse inventory is important because excess cash will be spent on warehouse inventory that is not turned, shipped or sold. These scenarios can reduce the overall opportunity costs for a business looking to invest its dollars wisely in other investments (not just inventory) and realize a positive net present value for alternate proposals.

Depending on your industry, most systems permit the tracking of expiry dates, re-order points and provide analytics on which stock items move the most and generate the most profitability. There is a general rule that 80% of sales or profit comes from 20% of ones inventory. This kind of information can be calculated easily by a warehouse management system. Another important result of having a system control your inventory is having a snap-shot of inventory that is 99.9 percent accurate; this means that the dollar value of inventory assets is also very accurate. This high-degree of accuracy is accomplished through a continuous process of bar-code validation as material handlers pick and pack products. The usual labour-intensive cycle-counting process is automated by the warehouse management system, as it continually updates the product information in the warehouse, from what is picked to what is held in a slot or bin location. Full inventory cycle counts, which can use many man-hours of labour and take days to complete also become redundant. The confidence in inventory accuracy does away with the need to schedule a large yearly inventory count. Finally, with a softare interface this data can update the host ERP (like SAP, Infor, Sage, Navision etc) and provide company-wide visibility. Updating the host system will enhance the efficiency of real-time transactions and improve the business processes that rely on timely and accurate inventory data.

One can only begin to analyze inventory numbers and movements effectively with an inventory control system. Accuracy rates in warehouses without any form of automated tracking can be as low as 70%. Automation can bring product count accuracy to 99.8%+ levels.

Inventory control should be of particular interest to businesses that are growing rapidly and have a much more critical view of cash-flow. During bursts in production, there is a tendency to over-stock and this ties up cash in inventory. Inventory positions should be carefully examined in any cash-flow analysis. Even a low-cost, entry-level warehouse management system can begin to de-risk a company’s exposure to excessive labour costs and inventory. It is a given that most small business owners do not want an excess of their company’s cash sitting in storage.

Another side potential side benefit may be a reduction in business insurance if excessive inventory can be eliminated and events such as dead inventory or expired inventory can be managed. Inventory control systems may also help reduce damages because items are properly located and put-away in well-marked or designated areas of the warehouse. The occurrence of theft may also be reduced if staff realize that a tight process exists for monitoring the whereabouts of inventory and that missing items may be detected quickly.

In summary, inventory is subject to risk exposures of various kinds and in itself carries a cash value which needs to be monitored like any other corporate asset. An inventory control system may help to mitigate this risk and bring greater certainty overall to the business.

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Source by Irvin Kovar