{{Short description|Software used to track inventory levels and stock movement}} {{More citations needed|date=April 2026}}
'''Inventory management software''' is software used to record, track, and manage inventory levels, orders, sales, deliveries, and related stock movements.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lesonsky |first=Rieva |title=Tracking Inventory |url=http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/operations/inventory/article21852.html |publisher=Entrepreneur Magazine |year=1998}}</ref><ref name="Mada2024">{{cite journal |last1=Madamidola |first1=Olugbenga Ayomide |last2=Daramola |first2=Oladunni Abosede |last3=Akintola |first3=Kolawole Gabriel |last4=Adeboje |first4=Olawale Timothy |title=A Review of Existing Inventory Management Systems |journal=International Journal of Research in Engineering and Science |volume=12 |issue=9 |pages=40–50 |year=2024 |url=https://www.ijres.org/papers/Volume-12/Issue-9/12094050.pdf}}</ref> It is used in fields including retail, warehousing, distribution, and manufacturing.<ref name="Mada2024" /> In manufacturing environments, such software may also be used alongside production-planning systems to support work orders, bill of materials, and related planning records.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jacobs |first1=F. Robert |last2=Berry |first2=William Lee |last3=Whybark |first3=D. Clay |last4=Vollmann |first4=Thomas E. |title=Manufacturing Planning and Control for Supply Chain Management |publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-07-175032-5}}</ref> Inventory management software is intended to help organizations reduce stock shortages and limit overstocking by maintaining more systematic records of stock and stock movement.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Operations research: Resource allocation, optimization, and modeling |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/operations-research/Resource-allocation |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref>
== Functions == Inventory management software typically includes functions for monitoring stock quantities, recording receipts and issues, and supporting replenishment decisions. Common functions include maintaining stock records across one or more locations, tracking goods as they move between suppliers, warehouses, and retail sites, and supporting warehouse activities such as receiving, picking, packing, and shipping.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Zwass |first=Vladimir |title=Information system: Operational support and enterprise systems |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/information-system/Operational-support-and-enterprise-systems |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref>
=== Reorder point === Many inventory systems support the use of a reorder point, that is, a stock level at which replenishment should be initiated.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Operations research: Resource allocation, optimization, and modeling |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/operations-research/Resource-allocation |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref> Reorder-point methods are part of broader inventory-control practice concerned with determining when to replenish stock and in what quantity.<ref name="BritannicaReorder">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Operations research: Resource allocation, optimization, and modeling |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/operations-research/Resource-allocation |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref>
=== Product identification and tracking === Inventory systems commonly identify items through barcodes, serial numbers, lot numbers, or similar markers. More recent systems may also use radio-frequency identification (RFID), networked sensors, and other automated identification technologies to improve traceability and reduce manual data entry.<ref name="Mada2024" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tejesh |first1=B. Sai Subrahmanya |last2=Neeraja |first2=S. |title=Warehouse inventory management system using IoT and open source framework |journal=Alexandria Engineering Journal |volume=57 |issue=4 |pages=3817–3823 |year=2018 |doi=10.1016/j.aej.2018.02.003|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Zwass |first=Vladimir |title=Information system: Computer software |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/information-system/Computer-software |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref>
== History == The Universal Product Code (UPC) was adopted as a standard in 1973, and the first retail scan of a UPC-marked product took place in June 1974 at a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Brown |first=Stephen A. |title=A History of the Bar Code |encyclopedia=EH.Net Encyclopedia |editor-last=Whaples |editor-first=Robert |date=14 August 2001 |url=https://eh.net/encyclopedia/a-history-of-the-bar-code/ |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Weightman |first=Gavin |title=The History of the Bar Code |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |date=23 September 2015 |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/history-bar-code-180956704/ |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The History of GS1 Barcodes: First Scan to QR Code Future |url=https://support.gs1.org/support/solutions/articles/43000734073-gs1-historical-timeline |website=GS1 GO Customer Service Portal |publisher=GS1 |date=8 July 2025 |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref> The spread of barcode systems made machine-readable stock records more practical for retailers and later for other sectors.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Brown |first=Stephen A. |title=A History of the Bar Code |encyclopedia=EH.Net Encyclopedia |editor-last=Whaples |editor-first=Robert |date=14 August 2001 |url=https://eh.net/encyclopedia/a-history-of-the-bar-code/ |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref>
The increasing availability of personal computers and business software in the early 1980s also made computerized record-keeping more accessible. Database, spreadsheet, and other business applications became more widely available on relatively inexpensive hardware, making software-based inventory records increasingly practical for firms that had previously relied on manual systems.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Operations research: Computers and operations research |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/operations-research/Computers-and-operations-research |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref>
More recent inventory management systems have incorporated technologies such as barcode scanning, RFID, and the Internet of things (IoT), while also facing integration challenges in multi-location and enterprise settings.<ref name="Mada2024" />
== Use in manufacturing == In manufacturing, inventory management software is often used together with production planning and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Such systems may support material planning, bills of materials, production activity control, and related functions used to coordinate raw materials, work in process, and finished goods.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jacobs |first1=F. Robert |last2=Berry |first2=William Lee |last3=Whybark |first3=D. Clay |last4=Vollmann |first4=Thomas E. |title=Manufacturing Planning and Control for Supply Chain Management |publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-07-175032-5}}</ref>
== Deployment and integration == Inventory management software may be installed locally or delivered as software as a service. In larger organizations, inventory functions are often integrated with wider transaction-processing or ERP systems that link sales, production, warehousing, finance, and logistics.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Zwass |first=Vladimir |title=Information system: Operational support and enterprise systems |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/information-system/Operational-support-and-enterprise-systems |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Zwass |first=Vladimir |title=Information system: Computer software |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/information-system/Computer-software |access-date=2 April 2026}}</ref>
== See also ==
* {{Annotated link |Document automation}} * {{Annotated link |Enterprise resource planning}} * {{Annotated link |Inventory control system}} * {{Annotated link |Operations management}} * {{Annotated link |Supply chain management}} * {{Annotated link |Vendor-managed inventory}} * {{Annotated link |Warehouse management system}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inventory management software}} Category:Inventory Category:Logistics Category:Manufacturing software