Inventory Management in Microsoft Dynamics NAV

What is the inventory Management?

In any business or organization, all functions are interlinked and connected to each other and are often overlapping. Some key aspects like supply chain management, logistics and inventory form the backbone of the business delivery function. Therefore these functions are extremely important to marketing managers as well as finance controllers

Inventory management is a very important function that determines the health of the supply chain as well as the impacts the financial health of the balance sheet.

Inventory Management process help you to increase operational efficiency, which will help you in improve following things:

• Customer Service
• Reduce Inventory Cost
• Reduce Distribution Cost
• Increase Automation and Item Tracking
• Improve Inventory Accuracy, etc.

Features Available in Navision for Inventory Management

Inventory Costing:

Item costing through your Purchase, production, overheads, break down cost according to categories such as material, capacity, subcontracting, Work In Progress (WIP), Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), to help efficiently manage sales and purchase prices and line discounts with customers and vendors. 

Automated Frequency Data Collection System (ADCS):

ADCS help to increase the accuracy and efficiency of you warehouse management – Pick and put away, physical Item Journal, bin-to-bin movement.

Order Processing:

Provide customers with accurate item availability and deliver on time with support for available – to- promise and capable to promise insight.

Return Management: 

Purchase return and account for additional costs. Automatically organize credit memos, replacement goods, returns to vendors, and partial or combined return of shipments or receipts. Exact cost reversal helps increase inventory accuracy.

Item tracking:

Trace item through lot or serial numbers to quickly determine where items were purchased, processed, or sold.

Item substitution:

NAV have an option to Offer customer’s alternative items when those they want are out of stock.

Internal pick/put-away:

Pick or put away items and debit or credit inventory records independently of purchase Receipts, sales, or other source documents to help maintain accurate inventory. 

Multiple Locations and Responsibility Centers:

NAV Provide an option to customers who request non-stock items with immediate quotes. System automatically create non-stock items and process them in the same way you process stock items.

NAV manage items individually location wise. By grouping items into stock keeping units, items can be described and managed individually location wise including replenishment methods, safety stock, and costs.

Warehouse management system:

WMS module help you in reduce costs through effective warehouse processes such as directed pick and put-away and automatic bin replenishment.

Cycle Counting:

Determine the counting frequency per item or stock keeping unit to help increase inventory accuracy and meet shipping deadlines.

Inventory Notifications:

Generate e-mail messages to alert your people, suppliers, or partners to changes in critical inventory levels, order status, or replenishment needs.

About the Author:

Kunj Bihari Agrawal is a senior functional consultant for Microsoft Dynamics Navision. Kunj has a rich experience of over 11 years in finance domain & India statutory in MSD NAV. He has a passion for exploring possibilities of easing the entire ERP migration for corporate and is currently working with various government and private focus groups in ironing out the creases & roadblocks for GST migration on various technology platforms. He can be reached at: [email protected]