Inventory management system
Introduction
Information management systems have been on the rise. With computer use and automation on the rise, the need to have information systems has been seen to be one of the greatest trends in the world. Inventory management is a significant information system that helps to track stock in an organization. Most of the users and people who install inventory management systems want to achieve the need to have an understanding of the flow of stock in their organization. This paper will focus on an inventory system that will be used in a clothing store. The system is to be developed using a small budget (Bauer, Campero, Rasband, & Weel, 2012).
For the inventory management system to be fully in place, there is a need to have the necessary equipment so that it will be possible to run the system that has been set in place.
Desktop computer
It is an equipment that will be used as a server and the client computer. The desktop computer will be used to install the inventory management system. It is the same place where the server system will be used. It will be necessary to have the desktop computer because the expandability aspect of the system will be easy to manage. When the owner will want to have new devices, the devices will get the connection from the desktop computer.
Printer
It is the device that will be used to print the reports that will be necessary for tracking. The device will help in ensuring that the stock flow in the organization is in order and that the necessary changes have been put in place.
Modem
It will be necessary to have some internet connection. The modem will be used to access the internet. It is necessary to access the internet. The internet connection will also help to have web-based systems in place.
Point-of-sale software
It is the system which will be used to record the sale of an item from the counter. One of the requirements for this system is that all the goods that will be sold will have to go through the point-of-sale system. The system will record the sale of the item and then it is recorded in the system that there has been sale of the item from the company. The sale will help to come up with the necessary reports that will show how the items have been sold in the company (Tirinato et al., 2014).
Network cable
The network cables will be used to connect the internet devices with the computing devices which will be used on the network. It will be necessary to have the connections that have been stated and have a way in which the connections will be enhanced within the network.
Router
The router will be used to manage the traffic of the small network that will be formed. The router will also be used to manage the traffic as the network will expand in the future.
Switch
The switch will be used alongside the router and the modem. It is a significant device which will be used to manage the connections. As the network increases, it will be necessary to have ways in which to manage the connections.
Access points
There will be the use of mobile devices in the small organization. As the owner is constrained financially, it is necessary to have mobile devices being used on the network. The mobile devices will have to access the network that has been put in place in the network.
Costs involved
While creating the inventory management system, there are costs that are involved in the entire process. Some of the costs include:
Hardware costs – it will be necessary to have costs that will be used in the acquisition of the system. Some of the hardware with which the owner will meet the expenses include:
The approximate cost of the setup is US$1295. The cost of mobile computing devices have not been included in the cost because it will be already there. The users who will make use of these devices can use them to access the network at the same time. There will be no cost that will be incurred in acquiring new systems in place (Ozguven, & Ozbay, 2013).
Maintenance tasks that will be done
There will be maintenance that will be done on the system. There will be the need to ensure that the processing power of the desktop computer will be effective and reliable. The processors will be upgraded when necessary. As the company grows, there will be the need to have more processing power in the entire computer system. Utility programs like antivirus software will also have to be installed in the system. They will have to be updated from time to time (Gomez et al., 2015).
The routers will also be maintained so that they are able to direct the traffic reliably. The small system will grow with time and there will be subnetworks that will be created. These subnetworks will need to have some configurations for the switches and the routers.
The inventory system will also be maintained from time to time because of the changes that will be obtained with the use of the system. These changes will be as a result of updates that will be created by the developers.
The working of the system
When new stock will arrive on the company, the system will be used to record the stock. The system will record the supplier who will bring the goods to the company. The price of the system will also be captured in the system. It will help to show the needed requirements and how the system will be achieved in the entire working of the system. The stock will be recorded with the use of bar-code scanners.
The stock will be fed to system. When an item is sold out of the system, it will be recorded on the point-of-sale terminal. The point-of-sale terminal will be used to check the sales of the goods and will send the report to the system. When the owner will want to check the progress of the sales, they will get this information from the generation of reports.
Conclusion
The system is necessary to record the stock and have an analysis of the workflow of the system. It will help to show what can be improved and what needs to be done to have a competitive advantage for the owner of the business. It is important to have these issues put in place in the entire working of the system.
References
Bauer, D. G., Campero, R. J., Rasband, P. B., & Weel, M. D. (2012). U.S. Patent No. 8,321,302. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Gomez, A. T., Quinn, J. G., Doiron, D. J., Watson, S., Crocker, B. D., & Cheng, C. K. W. (2015). Implementation of a novel real‐time platelet inventory management system at a multi‐site transfusion service. Transfusion.
Ozguven, E. E., & Ozbay, K. (2013). A secure and efficient inventory management system for disasters. Transportation research part C: emerging technologies, 29, 171-196.
Tirinato, J. A., Zelin, M. P., Gibson, P. A., Zaltsman, L., & Davis, G. (2014).U.S. Patent No. 8,831,983. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
