In this guide-

+ Background on inventory software
+ Features and functions of inventory software
+ How to find the best inventory software for your organization

This short guide was created to help you understand the basics of shopping for inventory software and to help you choose the right inventory software for you. We do not sell any inventory software ourselves, so you can be assured that all of the information in this guide is independent and unbiased.

Background on inventory software
Whether yours is a small organization or a Fortune 500 company engaged in manufacturing, warehousing, distribution or anything that requires inventory, tracking and controlling your inventory effectively can lead to better control on spending, reduced inventory costs, and increased productivity- all of which go right to your bottom line. The right inventory software can help your organization keep up with order fulfillment, let internal and external customers check on the status of an order, manage the proper level of inventory, organize your inventory, manage vendors, and much, much more.

The good news is that regardless of the size of your organization, your budget, your support requirements, or your technical expertise, you are most likely to find an inventory software system that will work well for you. The bad news is that navigating your choices and finding the best inventory software can be complicated, to say the least. This guide will give you some background and points of comparison so that you can cut through some of the marketing hype and find the inventory software that's right for your organization.

Features and functions of inventory software
Inventory software can be very complex and sophisticated software with hundreds of features and functions, but starting with the more obvious features will help you narrow down your choices to a smaller group of inventory software products. That way, you can quickly exclude or include different inventory products to your 'prospective' list. From that list of prospective inventory software service, you can get further into the detail of the features and functions of each product. Here are some of the features that should be a starting point in your search:

Stand-Alone or Integrated- one of the first decisions you'll need to make when evaluating your inventory software needs is to what degree you'll need the inventory software to integrate with other software programs. Many inventory software programs come in either flavor, but in some cases you'll need to choose. Other software maker offer inventory software as an integrated part of an ERP software package. Often, you'll