How does your tech stack, stack up?

Working in supply chain or inventory management can be busy and stressful. Keeping on top of your to-do list, building supplier and customer relationships, and tracking orders and deliveries is challenging even for the most organized and efficient inventory manager.

We all use apps in our personal life. Whether paying using our phones, watching TV on the go, ordering in restaurants, or booking a taxi, they make our life easier. Apps can also support our working lives, replacing or enhancing processes.

The right software or tech stack can improve supply chain functionality, productivity, and profitability, ultimately making your job easier. Many apps have free options or team discounts, so they won’t involve adding significant numbers to your already tight budgets.

In this article, we share some of the supply chain and inventory management apps that the EazyStock team comes across regularly and that we believe could help make your life easier! As Apple said, “there’s an app for that.”

Tablet and phone on a table showing supply chain and inventory apps to make life inventory manager's life easier

Warehouse management

Warehouse management systems (WMS) help streamline and optimize warehouse operations.

Tasklet Factory is a great mobile WMS that connects with standard Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC/NAV and Microsoft Dynamics 365 FO/AX. Its user-friendly interface is easy to customize, and it works off or online, so you don’t have to worry if your WiFi doesn’t reach all corners of your warehouse.

The mobile WMS app scans barcodes to collect data via handheld devices and sends it straight to your ERP.

We love Tasklet Factory as it helps Microsoft ERP users increase their product flows while reducing error rates and improving efficiency and warehouse processes.

Inventory optimization

Inventory management has many facets. One especially tricky task is ordering the right stock levels to ensure you can meet demand without over-stocking. Calculating demand forecasts and replenishment parameters can also be very challenging and time-consuming without software.

An inventory optimization app focuses on optimizing stock levels – reducing the risk of stock outs while ensuring you don’t over-invest and carry too much excess.

EazyStock is a cloud-based inventory optimization tool that uses advanced algorithms to improve demand forecast accuracy, accounting for stock items’ position in their product lifecycle, seasonality, demand trends, and promotions. It can also automatically calculate and adjust reorder points, order quantities, and safety or buffer stock levels.

The result is that it systematically reduces excess and obsolete stock levels to lower operational costs while increasing the availability of your faster turning, more profitable items.

With easy API integrations with many Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools, inventory managers can automate procurement and replenishment processes.

Logistics tracking

If your business system, ERP, or WMS doesn’t give you a complete overview of shipments and delivery information, a logistics tracking app could help.

Link Tracking Solutions can provide complete visibility and control over all your shipments and deliveries in a web or mobile app. The real-time end-to-end tracking means you know where all your items are, from pick up to delivery.

Alerts and notifications will let you know of any issues so that you can rectify them as quickly as possible. As the need for businesses to focus on their environmental impact increases, it can also help you monitor your carbon footprint to find areas for improvement.

Semi Truck on a Highway logistics supply chain

Delivery truck logbooks

One of the most flexible trucking apps is Hawk Eye. The trucking logbook app frees up time completing paperwork by tracking GPS locations, making this app the easiest way to stay compliant, track GPS, and find your truck routes.

The app’s chat function even allows you and your team to share text and images.

Online file and document storage

As remote working became a necessity, we have all adapted our systems to make it easier to collaborate. A popular solution for many businesses has been using Microsoft SharePoint and Teams to save documents and files online.

However, if Microsoft isn’t your thing, there are alternatives, such as Evernote.

We think Evernote is one of the best apps for organizing important files, images, and documents. The voice recording functionality means you can capture essential memos when you’re away from your laptop or can’t spend time typing out notes. Perfect for when you’re running between your desk and the warehouse or on the move.

The free-to-use app will drastically improve planner productivity and ease of document management on the go.

Task management

Everyone has a way- of managing tasks and to-do lists, from paper lists to checklists in email apps. These make shared tasks and other collaboration challenging to track and manage.

Task-management apps, such as OmniFocus, allow your business to improve productivity by seamlessly integrating into your workflow.

You can capture your tasks from anywhere, adding all activities while you’re on the go, knowing they’ll sync across your devices.

Once your tasks are in the app, you’ll get notifications when you need to switch to another task, so you don’t miss any deadlines.

Customer issue management

We don’t live in a perfect world, so there will always be issues that need your attention. Delivering good customer service means you need to respond to and rectify problems quickly. When customers contact you via different channels, it can be hard to keep track of everything.

Zendesk is a customer issue management app that provides a complete insight into issues via a shared combined inbox, regardless of channel. It lets you, your team, and customers track issue resolutions in real-time.

We particularly like the analytics and reporting features that highlight trends in issues so you can identify business improvement opportunities. You can also review team performance via KPIs and identify any training needs.

The mobile app means you can collaborate easily, building and maintaining strong customer relationships.

Driver time management

Admin of any sort usually goes to the bottom of the to-do list, so the least amount of time spent filling in driver timesheets and documenting routes and arrival times, the better.

GoCanvas have created a Daily Route Tracker mobile app for documenting driver and customer details, arrival and departure times, fuel consumption, and more from a smartphone or tablet.

The fully customizable daily timesheet template app automatically calculates the time spent at each stop. You can also run reports and export them as digital and printable PDFs.

Map with string and pins showing routes. Adventure, discovery, navigation, communication, logistics, geography, transport and travel theme concept background.

Route planning

Sat navs are readily available for free – how many of us have Google Maps on our phones? However, their functionality is often limited to providing journey routes, not considering whether they’re truck-friendly, and don’t share any feedback data.

Route planning apps, such as CoPilot Truck, provide truck-legal navigation, including routes that avoid low bridges or unsuitable roads.

CoPilot also offers a post-trip analysis of the route taken against the originally planned one. This allows you to review fuel and operating costs to find the most cost-effective route for next time.

The app provides improved customer service by providing delivery ETAs based on real-time road conditions.

Advanced barcode scanning

When you’re trying to work quickly, you need software and equipment that you can rely on. You don’t need the added frustration of barcode scanners that only scan when the conditions are perfect.

Scandit is an advanced barcode scanning app that can scan barcodes even when they’re difficult to access. If you’re dealing with bad lighting, damaged labels, or unusual barcodes, Scandit can help.

Scandit isn’t a WMS, but it brings additional functionality to your existing systems by integrating it into mobile or web apps.

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