Inventory control is the process of keeping the right number of parts and products in stock to avoid shortages, overstocks, and other costly problems.

Inventory control focuses on cutting the number of slow-selling products a company purchases while also increasing the number of high-selling products. This saves businesses time and money because they don’t have to spend lots of man-hours reordering and receiving goods that they don’t really need. Plus, they avoid devoting precious warehouse space to hold those products, which cuts down on carrying costs and affords more room for faster-selling products.

By using inventory control, you are able to protect against making rash decisions and you also avoid the pain and expense that come from overstocking on inventory. As its name suggests, inventory control helps you maintain control over your inventory levels so that you make the best use of your resources and avoid product spoilage and obsolescence.

The ultimate goal of your inventory control should be to maximize your organization’s use of inventory. When you maintain proper inventory levels, you can rest easily knowing that your capital is not unnecessarily tied up in your inventory. If you are in manufacturing, inventory control also protects production if there are problems with bottlenecking or the supply chain.

Typical benefits of a computerized inventory control system include…

• Increased profitability
• Having enough stock on hand so that you don’t run out
• Barcodes and inventory control labels to track inventory efficiently
• Reduction or elimination of inventory write-offs
• The ability to conduct audits more quickly and efficiently

Inventory management is how you track and control your business’ inventory as it is bought, manufactured, stored, and used. It governs the entire flow of goods — from purchasing right through to sale — ensuring that you always have the right quantities of the right item in the right location at the right time.