Products > Inventory Management

Real-time Inventory Visibility and Control

The automated flow of real-time inventory and sales data from distributor stores back to the carrier reduces the resources and time required to process information and provides a reliable method for forecasting and decision-making.

As inventory moves through the normal sales process, the MMS system tracks this activity. MMS can adjust subsequent inventory ordering requests based on rules configured within the software. The MMS product catalogue provides configurable, multi-departmental categorizations for all product offerings.

On-line multi-store tracking provides up-to-the-moment inventory position. User-defined inventory types separate stock into categories such as RMA, avails, and rentals.

Enterprise Inventory Management

The MMS product catalog provides configurable, multi-departmental categorizations for all product offerings. On-line multi-store tracking provides up-to-the-moment inventory position. MMS employs not only the capability of tracking multi-branch inventory in real time, but adds support for sixteen configurable logical locations within each branch profile. Each location can be configured independently for vital behavioural elements such as:

• Consideration for re-order
• Serialized specific cost or average cost
• Cost-class grouping
• Ability to transfer stock into saleable or non-saleable

This multi-dimensional ability to manage inventory allows for real-world operational benefits such as tracking returned stock separately from primary sale stock. Staff can qualify product before returning it to the sales floor, which in turns mean customers are not purchasing goods which may have already been returned once (or twice) as defective or DOA. Inventory integrity increases, and customer satisfaction is not harmed by loose tracking or poor visibility to returned stock.

Inventory Integrity and Serialized Unit Tracking

The lifecycle of all serialized inventory from manufacturers (incl. handsets and sims) is tracked across all movements. Attached to each serial number is:

• Unit cost
• Receipt dates
• Location
• Status
• Selling price
• Margin
• Product History
• All clerk involvement

Visibility into unit history provides for more accurate financial reporting while supporting fraud prevention initiatives.

Inventory is “held” when added to a transaction. Movement of inventory, and adjustment of cost of goods, occurs only when transaction is completed. Store staff can search inventory purchase history by customer or SKU number.

Activity of serialized stock is journalized at a serial-specific level, resulting in accurate reporting and tracking of costs and ownership. Access to inventory functions such as stock transfers, purchase orders, and other sensitive functions are tightly controlled by granular access permissions.

Product Lifecycle Management

The MMS POS Inventory module has many tools to optimize lifecycle management of products. Some of the key features include:

Integrated purchase order capability - Inventory items can be added to a purchase order, and then the PO can be reviewed or automatically submitted to suppliers. When the stock arrives, receiving the items automatically updates inventory levels. This streamlines the ordering process.

Automated Purchase Order Generation – POs can be automatically generated based on a variety of factors. These include:

• Sales velocity (based on an item-specific number of tracking weeks)
• Supplier-specific order lead time
• Min/max
• Units sold since last order

This automated order creation results in significant time savings and applies rules around initial ordering, which offer the best possible original order point.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) - This technology (when supported by vendors) empowers the user to submit purchase orders directly to the vendor electronically without paper, email, or web-portal order creation. Systems not supporting EDI technologies often rely on double entry of data into a vendor web portal, then into the inventory management system. With MMS, inventory orders can be generated electronically for a range of orders and automatically delivered to the vendor. Accuracy is recognized through the ability to reconcile actual vendor shipments against the originally submitted order.

The resulting flexibility and nimbleness on the part of the retailer is key; now empowered with the knowledge of inbound stock, existing stock can be more effectively managed, or other suppliers leveraged for shortages. From this, optimized turns and increased customer service and satisfaction are natural by-products. MMS can also automatically balance inventory between stores and have items on POs pre-assigned to specific stores for drop-shipping or easy transfer on arrival to warehouse.

Product Price Plan Matrix

MMS recognizes that there is a huge burden for carriers to maintain and execute correct handset pricing and plan/feature code information at the store-level.

MMS has developed a Product Price Plan Matrix (PPPM) that allows the carrier to create and maintain a carrier template for handsets, termed handset pricing, post-paid and prepaid plans and features, bundles and any other service offerings. This insures the POS is capturing and executing all transactional data accurately. The result is the automatic adjustment of handset to the correct price every time.

PPPM allows creation of a price plan matrix of all extended contract plans that are used to determine the price points for each class of activation at the time of sale. This is individually mapped out behind each active and discontinued handset by the PPPM administrator. This is where all the hardware subsidies, spiffs and till prices are maintained in MMS though various bulletins and files that are utilized by the carrier.

Based on plan/feature/term combination, MMS can produce accurate promotional handset pricing.

Store Level Inventory Management

MMS provides comprehensive inventory management at the store level enabling store staff to locate, order, and receive stock easily. Functionality is governed by defined user access rules in order to provide protection of company information and assets.

Key features that can be accessed at the stores level include:

• Real-time inventory quantity by location
• Stock Transfers
• Receive Stock
• Inventory Counts (including blind counts)
• RMA
• Create Purchase Orders
• Order Entry for items not currently in stock