emman's blog

In today’s busy world, businesses in every sector rely on different types of inventory goods. Products, materials, components, and even cleaning products and packaging, are all classed as controllable physical assets within a modern inventory stream, and understanding how to manage them all is a critical part of day-to-day operations.

Inventory takes many forms and, as technological advancements continue to transform logistics and infrastructure, there are almost certain to be new types of stock in the future. Here, we take a look at four main inventory types from raw materials to safety stock.

1.Raw Materials Inventory Management

Accrued at the beginning of the inventory management cycle; raw materials are items used to manufacture and produce final products. A business may purchase raw materials to manufacture or assemble its products or else sell them to third-party organizations that then transform them into a finished product.

Raw materials are among the most essential stock items in an inventory chain. They dictate manufacturing rates and productivity, so effective and timely procurement is essential. Businesses should use an appropriate inventory management platform to track, manage and store their raw materials inventory.

2.Maintenance, Repair & Operations Inventory Management

Maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) goods are those which are used as part of a manufacturing supply chain. They are the essential items that a business needs as part of its day-to-day production operations, including things such as PPE and safety equipment, parts and manufacturing equipment, cleaning supplies, and batteries.

Many businesses overlook MRO stock as part of their inventory management strategy. But it’s important to remember that such goods may play a vital role in everyday operations, aiding personnel in all aspects of the manufacturing cycle. Such items will also need to be stored, logged, and ordered in an effective, timely way so as to avoid overstocking or wastage.

3.Work-in-Progress Inventory Management

Work-in-progress inventory refers to the goods that are no longer in their raw-material state, and aren’t yet complete but ready for sale. Examples of this include a door or window that hasn’t finished its whole design and a car that hasn’t yet had its engine installed or a scented candle without a wick.

WIP stock is easy to overlook because it’s often part of a complex production cycle, whereby goods are moving through various manufacturing stages. A modern cloud ERP software can help monitor such stock, with real-time tracking and smart inventory management controls.

4.Packing Materials Inventory Management

Packing materials inventory refers to all the items required as part of logistics, warehousing, and delivery operations. It includes goods and materials that are used for both shipping items to customers and as a means of protecting stock in the warehouse, think boxes, packaging, paper, bags, and bubble wrap.

As with MRO stock, packing materials are regularly left out of a formal inventory management strategy. But, just as with Personal Protective Equipment and cleaning goods, packing materials are an essential part of day-to-day operations and need to be accounted for particularly if you want fiscal reports, Cost of Goods, and turnover to be as accurate as possible.

Essential Things for an Accurate Inventory Management Software

Managing inventory may seem straightforward. But with lots of moving parts and a cash flow to maintain, it’s a business function that requires commitment, investment, and a considered approach.

Below are four essential things that accurate erp inventory management software must have. These things can be applied to all types of inventories, whether that’s raw materials or MRO.

1.Stock Prioritize – Some stock will fly off shelves while other items sell more slowly. Prioritizing your inventory will help you order the materials and goods you need to retain cash fluidity.

2.Product Tracking – Tracking product information throughout a supply chain is fundamental to effective inventory management. Cloud ERP software can facilitate accurate batch tracking, which is useful for grouping inventory items by barcode, lot number, and country of origin.

3.Inventory Auditing – Regularly auditing your inventory is a powerful way to avoid common management issues such as under or overstocking or product tracking inaccuracies. Performing regular stock checks is essential throughout the supply chain, reducing the likelihood of problems and backlogs further down the line.

4.Easy analysis of SCM operation – However tightly you control your inventory, inefficiencies, delays, or inaccuracies within the wider supply chain can have a negative impact on day-to-day operations. That’s why it’s critical to periodically analyze and review the performance of your supply chain; what works and what doesn’t. And do any of your suppliers regularly cause problems (late deliveries, missing items) that have a knock-on effect within your organization?

Why would anyone want to start their own business? To be their own boss. There are perks in doing so, as well as challenges along the way. Efficiently managing different processes like sales, operations, inventory, shipping, invoicing, packing, purchasing can be difficult. What if we told you that, with an erp solution like Averiware at your disposal, you can streamline your business activities and concentrate on the one thing that matters most, and that is, achieving your business goals.

Top reasons that small businesses choose to implement Cloud ERP software include:

• Reduce frustration and improve efficiencies

• Improve business performance for KPIs

• Support growth

• Gain advantage over competition through technology

• Save costs

Today, when you buy business technology, you are not just purchasing software. You’re buying outcomes. It’s been harder than ever to start and scale a business.

Growth isn’t easy, but ERP can help. Organizations that use ERP experience benefits including:

· Reduction in costs by 50% or more

· Accelerated financial close by 20% to 50%

· Reduced audit preparation time by 50%

· Reduced invoicing costs by 25% to 75%

You have a vision, a great vision. And we at Averiware want to help you grow smarter and faster.

Why Averiware?

At Averiware, we combine best-in-class services with a holistic operational approach from infrastructure to innovative solutions and end-to-end managed services. We deliver leading next-generation technology solutions that go beyond customer expectations while providing highly talented resources to support our clients across functional areas of the organization.

Advanced technology must serve a purpose, whether that purpose is added features and functions, better visibility of the business or easier communication. Averiware helps you in each and every step of your entrepreneurial journey with our round-the-clock support and understanding of your unique business operations and needs.

ERP is the next big thing! Want to take your business to the next level? Click here to know more about how to grow your business with Averiware.

In our competitive digital marketplace, buyers of cloud-based ERP software have hundreds of systems to choose from, but the comparison process can be daunting. That’s why we’ve analyzed the solutions out there, and created the most reliable ‘Top 4 Cloud ERP Systems’ report. This list highlights the vendors that our business experts have found to be strong in functionality across a variety of industries, including the distribution industry, software, and services companies, supply chain industry, warehouses and more.

To know what these cloud ERP solutions have to offer, here is an overview of each vendor:

1. Microsoft

Microsoft continually develops new data centers to support its cloud capabilities, including its Dynamics 365 suite. Microsoft’s D365 solutions have been gaining market share, which is in part due to the solutions’ wide variety of pre-configured processes. The systems featured in the report include Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. But, if you are looking for an affordable cloud ERP package, the third vendor on this list might be more suitable.

2. Oracle NetSuite

Oracle provides a set of core applications and industry-specific applications that can be leveraged in basic and advanced ways. In 2016, Oracle acquired NetSuite, an application that was born in the cloud and provides solutions for businesses of all sizes and industries. The featured Oracle systems include Oracle Cloud ERP and Oracle NetSuite. But, if you are a small or medium-sized business owner who is looking for a cost-effective cloud ERP solution, the cloud ERP solution listed below is a better option.

3. Averiware

Averiware is an all-in-one cloud ERP software solutions company providing comprehensive business management solutions for small- and mid-sized businesses. With operations spread across the USA, Canada, Europe, and Southeast Asia, and development centers based out of India and the USA, Averiware strives to change the way every business works. Averiware has deployed business-specific cloud ERP systems at many enterprises and SMEs and has proven its expertise in implementing industry-ready cloud solutions with tailored features that leave no aspect of your business operations uncovered. Averiware cloud ERP software systems have successfully migrated with many business industries around the globe and are still running without any problems.

If you are an SMB owner, then you can save time, money, and resources and get unprecedented visibility into your whole business operations by utilizing this all-in-one cloud ERP system with an affordable pricing package without any hesitation.

4. SAP

While most of SAP’s solutions can take a relatively long time to implement, the vendor does offer out-of-the-box processes built specifically for an organization’s needs. Both enterprise-sized and midmarket companies take time to integrate their business entirely. So, if you are looking for an easy to migrate and white-label cloud ERP software system for your business, then our suggestion is the third one in the list.

Conclusion

If you are with a distribution company, software company, service company, or wholesaler seeking to make the shift from conventional methods to modern processes, look no further. With Averiware’s all-in-one cloud ERP solution, you get access to all the cloud ERP modules to use as you need, unlike other offerings.

In our current digital world, people are at ease when it comes to the usage of conversational AI and virtual assistants to do everything from booking their flight tickets to setting up an appointment with a doctor. Yet, despite this consumer-driven craze, one industry that is left largely in the dark is the IT help desk chatbot Surprisingly, for many enterprises, even something as basic as wanting to reset your password still requires opening and waiting for a ticket to be serviced.

How does a chatbot work for an ITSM (IT service management) help desk?

Let’s begin by exploring how a chatbot augments traditional IT service desk communication channels. Instead of filling out forms, composing emails or sending out a text message, a customer describes their queries or makes a request in natural language to the chatbot. If the chatbot requires any further clarifications or detects a negative sentiment in the speech tone of the customer, it will guide the customer to a live agent or ask multiple questions for additional information.

The chatbot draws knowledge and continuously learns from a variety of data sources in order to respond to the customer. These data sources continuously improve based on customer interactions. The chatbot will either resolve the customer’s query or request, resulting in a zero-touch resolution, or escalate the problem to a human agent. Even the best chatbots will occasionally require human intervention. If a human agent is unavailable, the chatbot will automatically create, categorize, prioritize, and assign a ticket.

How does a chatbot enhance an IT help desk?

1. Equipment Requisition

Chatbots in IT help desks allow employees to request and/or provision IT goods and services 24/7, regardless of location. For instance, a remote sales employee reports that their laptop is slow and needs to be replaced. Instead of calling the service desk and trying to get through to someone, the employee can state or type that they need a laptop. The chatbot submits a request to the manager for approval. Along the way, the chatbot can answer questions about software requests, company policy regarding devices, timelines for delivery, and specifications.

2. Password Reset Request

Password reset is the most common ticket for the service desk. Agents spend a lot of time resolving this transactional query. With the introduction of virtual assistants, password resets are easily handled without any manual intervention.

3. Provision of Access

Chatbots can understand the type of request, requester job title, and department, and send the information to the relevant management so the employee can be granted access to the relevant application. Similarly, chatbots can automate de-provisioning for users.

4. Answering FAQs

Chatbots can be used to answer both tech support and end-user questions by integrating seamlessly with the knowledge bases of your organization – including information contained within FAQs, websites, and wikis, regardless of format.

5. Onboarding/Offboarding Employees

Today, service requests like employee onboarding are either manually coordinated by technicians or based on predefined automations. Chatbots can handle this task easily, guiding new or leaving employees with what they need to do and which forms to fill.

Top Benefits of Implementing Chatbots in ITSM

1.Reduce Costs

Since labor costs dominate IT service management expenses, minimizing human intervention without sacrificing service quality is essential. Driving adoption of self-service technology to minimize the gamut of tickets has been at the forefront of the ITSM agenda for several years. Chatbots can interact through text voice and answer the most common queries, freeing IT staff to work on business growth initiatives.

2. Better Customer Satisfaction

Chatbots automate tasks, such as customer follow-up, status updates, and recurring service requests, freeing up time for support analysts who can then work on more interesting projects that generate direct business value. This eliminates drudgery, and ultimately helps employee retention.

3. Enhancing decision-making and IT support

By combining previous data showing the success rate of similar situations in the past, the chatbot can greatly improve the decision-making process of an organization. Prediction of future trends in the IT sector can also greatly benefit from the use of chatbot in ITSM. It can estimate the necessity for IT personnel in the future and the need for support according to the requirements of the field.

Rattle Tech has an expert team developing intuitive chatbots. Get in touch for a free demo today!

A smart city is one that leverages IoT technology to increase efficiency and improve the quality of services and life for its residents. Smart city initiatives can cover anything from power distribution, transport systems, street lights, to even rubbish collections. The idea is to use data and technology to make everyday life easier and better for the people who live and work in the city, while maximizing the use of resources.

More and more of us are living in cities. The UN predicts that 68 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050. And this means our cities are facing growing environmental, societal, and economic challenges. By making cities smarter, we can overcome some of these challenges and make cities better places to live. One report by McKinsey Global Institute found smart city technology can improve key quality of life indicators – such as the daily commute, health issues, or crime incidents – by 10 to 30 percent.

This is all possible thanks to a “perfect storm” of technology trends – trends that allow us to create spaces in which humans and technology interact in a more connected, intelligent, and automated way. Think of trends such as artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and autonomous vehicles. Combined, advances like these are changing the world and how we live in it. Our cities are no exception.

1. Keeping traffic flowing

Traffic is the bane of many a city-dweller’s life, but technology offers some promising solutions. For example, public transport routes can be adjusted in real-time according to demand, and intelligent traffic light systems can be used to improve congestion. In the Chinese city of Hangzhou, an AI-based smart “City Brain” has helped to reduce traffic jams by 15 percent.

2. Using city resources more efficiently

Mobile and broadband company Telefonica has been investing heavily in smart city technology in its home country, Spain. In one example, sensors are attached to refuse containers to report, in real-time, how full they are – which means refuse collectors don’t have to waste time traveling to bins that are only half-full. It also means KPIs can be more closely tied to bottom-line impact, such as how many bins are close to overflowing and won’t be emptied within the next few hours. This is far more meaningful than measuring abstract factors, like how many waste collection trucks are out on the road.

3. Improving energy efficiency

As well as investing in clean energy sources, smart cities also use technology to help closely monitor real-time energy use and reduce energy consumption. For example, in Amsterdam, homes are being provided with smart energy meters that are designed to incentivize reduced energy consumption, and the city of Schenectady, New York is upgrading its street lights to LED technology, which allows the lights to be adjusted or dimmed based on real-time data.

4. Making cities safer

Thanks to the vast spread of Wi-Fi connectivity, IoT technologies, and CCTV cameras, cities are able to harness technology to improve resident safety and boost incident response times. In New Orleans, for example, real-time video data from Bourbon Street is analyzed in order to better track and allocate resources on the ground, and improve public safety.

5. Encouraging greater collaboration with citizens

One of the really exciting things about smart city technology is that it encourages residents to get more involved. Common examples include apps that allow citizens to report local issues more easily, or community networking platforms that allow neighbors to connect and share resources. In another example, a low-cost environmental testing kit is encouraging residents to collect local environmental data. The Smart Citizen Kit can be placed in locations like balconies and window sills to gather data on the local environment, including air pollution and noise. The data is streamed to an online platform, effectively creating a crowdsourced map of data from all over the world.

Looking to build a smart city mobile application? Book a free consultation with our team of experts!