Messy inventory records are an evergreen problem for lumberyards. One that gets worse with time. Because there is rarely a consistent system for creating items, sales staff can\u2019t find products in the system and routinely create new item codes on the spot. It\u2019s not unusual for a product to have two or three item codes.<\/p>\n
Not only do inconsistent item codes and duplicate records make it more difficult to find products, but they also distort key reports. For example, a popular item may look unimpressive if its sales data is spread across multiple item records. Purchasing staff assume the different codes represent different products, none of which looks like top sellers, so they don\u2019t see a need to reorder. The result: high-demand items aren\u2019t in stock.<\/p>\n
DMSi Software tackled this challenge with a new feature in their Agility ERP, an integrated inventory management system. Agility\u2019s Item Builder is a seamless system for creating consistent item codes. If a user can\u2019t find an item in the system, they simply enter the product\u2019s attributes in the Item Builder. If the item exists, Item Builder will find it and alert the employee. If the product truly isn\u2019t in the system, Item Builder will create an item code based on a formula defined by the business. (For example, the business may determine that all lumber inventory needs to indicate the species, grade, and thickness within the code itself, or they may require the vendor name, color and style in the item code for all their countertop material, but the width, length should be indicated in the description of the item record). This provides a two-fold benefit, reducing duplicate records and keeping product codes consistent so it\u2019s easier for people to find them.<\/p>\n
The Item Builder is only the latest addition to Agility\u2019s lumber-specific features. To learn more about the ways Agility helps lumber yards, stop by booth 400 at the NHLA Annual meeting this October in New Orleans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Messy inventory records are an evergreen problem for lumberyards. One that gets worse with time. Because there is rarely a consistent system for creating items, sales staff can\u2019t find products in the system and routinely create new item codes on the spot. It\u2019s not unusual for a product to have two or three item codes. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n