How St. Patrick deals with clover inventory management

Contrary to popular myth, successful management of clover inventory is not dependent on luck, 4-leaf clovers and educated guesses. Early on, St. Patrick recognized that establishing and maintaining a precise inventory valuation is crucial for any product based business to thrive; and that the importance of having a solid, reliable inventory management system in place cannot be overstated. While he was blessed with good fortune, he also realized that because 4-leaf clovers are such a precious commodity, tracking and managing them couldn’t be left to chance, or luck.

So how did he do it? Was it always this efficient? Was the sun always shining on his face, with the wind at his back?  Or, were there a few hiccups along the way to efficient inventory management and sainthood? Truth be told, when St. Patrick launched Four Leaf Clover company, he relied heavily on good old fashioned hard work, diligence, and frequently occurring manual inventory counts. And sure, when Four Leaf Clover was only shipping from a single location in Dublin, to a wee handful of customers who needed an extra helping of luck, the manual counts sufficed. But when Four Leaf Clover expanded to add distribution hubs in Belfast and even Boston’s Irish community, the stakes got a lot higher. St. Patrick saw firsthand that when counts are off, or otherwise unreliable, a whole host of problems arose, and a negative ripple effect ensued.  

More than just disappearing rainbows and lost pots o’ gold, inaccurate inventory levels led to…

Delayed and missed delivery times

Components of finished products are unavailable at your main site or assembly plant 

You’re Four Leaf Clover company, dealing with precious inventory. A lost leaf or an incomplete clover doesn’t cut it. After all, when is the last time a customer willingly shelled out $19.95 for a bouquet of 3-leaf clovers? Sure, you thought you had that 4^th leaf in stock, and you were looking forward to filling that huge seasonal order for your valued customers, in time for your big day. But instead, you saw one cancelled order after another because you couldn’t fill them on time, and customers weren’t happy.

Not knowing what’s already been promised, set aside, or otherwise allocated

This led to confusion and disarray. You had an employee pulling items or components from stock for an order that just came in, while another employee already allocated a large portion of the same item for another order. The result: you missed the rainbow on multiple orders.

Ordering for product or components you already have?

Now you have too much of an item, you’re at the mercy of your vendors to crank out a rush order, and you paid a lot more for a smaller quantity. Now you’re chasing after phantom inventory, on the phone with your clover growers in Wexford and Castlebar, hoping for an early shipment.

Inaccurate inventory counts lead to customer dissatisfaction

With product(s) unavailable, your customers have gone elsewhere, not just this once. You may have lost them for good, because there’s no guarantee they’ll take a chance on you again. After all, why would a great customer, who’s ready and willing to pay, give your business another try, when your competitor, all bright and shiny, is guaranteeing on-time delivery?

If you’re dealing with the ripple effects of inaccurate inventory levels, your problems could stem from any number of poor management practices. If you’re relying on multiple manual counts, complete with clipboard and pencil in hand, you’re headed for a gloomy holiday of inaccuracy. If you have multiple team members pulling product and promising those same items for multiple orders, your problems will multiply exponentially.  And if you’re failing to record transfers of products or components from one site to another, you’re in for it.

Thankfully, St. Patrick still had a little luck reserved for a rainy day. He was hoping and praying for

• a precision-based inventory management

• the elimination of multiple manual counts.

• a reliable accounting system in place, one that not only tracks inventory of every item at every location, but effectively manages counts, transfers, and allocations.

No, there was no pot of gold waiting for St. Patrick at the end of his rainbow, but perhaps something even better: a cloud-based accounting solution ready for implementation. St. Patrick found Gravity Software^® (Gravity), and he leaped out of pure joy because he knew he’d never lose another leaf, clover, order or most important, another customer due to lost or mismanaged inventory.

Not just Irish luck – great inventory management

Even St. Patrick realized that you don’t need to rely on luck and guesstimates when it comes to your inventory. With the right system in place, your counts remain not just accurate, but precise. Once implemented, St. Patrick saw his inventory from every angle Four Leaf Clover ran more efficiently than ever. He knew he made the right choice with Gravity because it provided his business with all of the following:

• Intuitive management capabilities to reduce and eliminate the need for manual inputting processes.

• Real-time visibility into his inventory with secure access anytime and anywhere to critical information and updates.

• Seamless integration with demand planning, financials and logistics.

• Promotion and maximization of efficiencies from start to finish of the inventory

Written on the Microsoft Power Platform (aka Dynamics 365), Gravity provides businesses with true multi-location inventory tracking capabilities. You're able to track, control and manage your products wherever you do business. From Belfast to Boston, each location can control its own pricing, reordering and stocking characteristics. With FIFO, LIFO, Weighted Average, Standard and even specific item costing; you get a precise profit analysis on every sale.

By utilizing the Microsoft Power Platform, Gravity makes it simple for businesses to track and analyze multi-location inventory from anywhere, at any time without all the startup costs associated with other accounting applications. Learn more and schedule your online demo so you realize the possibilities with Gravity. Gravity Software, the technology just works!

Gravity Software

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