Disadvantages Of Inventory Management Software

The main disadvantages of Inventory Management Software are its cost and complexity.

Expense

Cost can be a major disadvantage of inventory management software. 

Many large companies, such as small businesses can find it difficult to afford 

it. Barcode readers and other hardware can compound this problem by 

adding even more cost to companies. The advantage of allowing 

multiple employees to perform inventory-management tasks is 

tempered by the cost of additional barcode readers.

Complexity

Inventory management software is not necessarily simple or easy to 

learn. A company’s management team must dedicate a certain amount 

of time to learning a new system, including its software and hardware, in 

order to put it to use. Most inventory management software includes 

training manuals and other information available to users. Despite its 

apparent complexity, inventory management software offers a degree of 

stability to companies. For example, if an IT employee in charge of the 

system leaves the company, a replacement can be comparatively 

inexpensive to train compared to if the company used multiple programs 

to store inventory data.

The cost of maintaining the inventory management software   is based on the number of items managed, how many transactions are performed, and whether the inventory control system is tied to a resource planning system. The ICS is a module within many Enterprise Resource Planning software applications.

Inventory Diversity Drives Up Costs

Businesses with 100,000 products require about ten times as many database entries as a business with only 10,000 products. This fact alone drives up the set up cost of an inventory management software . Furthermore, more types of items in inventory results in greater costs to maintain the inventory management software . This disadvantage of an inventory management software  may be mitigated by bulk loading of part data into the inventory management software  database. However, the information on those parts must still be reviewed, verified and kept up to date.