22 Questions to Ask When Buying An

Inventory System
by admin

When looking to invest in an inventory system, there are a plethora of

questions you should ask internally and to potential vendors about their
products and services. This is because you are evaluating complete
solutionssoftware, hardware, mobile app, support, etc.and cannot afford
to simply test drive a few free trials and pick one without doing your due
diligence. Its a considerable long-term investment and strategic vendor
partnership for most businesses.
While there are some differences between industry use cases and company
sizes, most inventory management pain points and applications remain
similar. Based on internal research and customer feedback spanning 30
years, we put together a list of the 23 questions every business should ask
to find the right inventory system solution.

The Inventory System Basics

1) Are we tracking unique or quantity-based items?

The first fork in the road when doing research on these solutions is
determining if you need to track stock inventory or asset inventory. If your
inventory consists of uniquely tracked items and equipment, you will most
likely be looking for an asset tracking system, not an inventory system. If
your inventory is made up of supplies, materials used up in a production, or
goods sold to customers, then youre in the right place.

2) Do our quantity-based items need to be tracked by serial, lot or

batch numbers?
Since the software functionalities are more complex for tracking items with
serial, batch, or lot numbersno just simple addition or subtractionnot all
systems can handle it. If you own raw materials or medical supplies, for
example, you probably require a high level of traceability and should test
drive software with this advanced feature.

3) Do we require an on-premises or cloud-based inventory system?

Data security and management has been a hot topic the last few years,

making this decision another important fork in the road. The good news is
that if you arent sure which to choose, there are several resources that will
make the decision of on-premises vs. cloud clear. Think about how sensitive
your inventory information is to your company, how youd like to access the
data, and how much IT resources your company can afford to allocate to the
system.

4) Do we need a barcode or RFID-based system for data collection?

Look over the advantages and disadvantages of barcodes or RFID for
inventory management data collection. After youve made that decision you
should obviously narrow your research to only systems that support that
form of data collection.

5) Do we require Point of Sale, eCommerce or mobile payment

functionalities?
Under the umbrella of inventory management software are systems that
specialize in either location-based, P.O.S, or eCommerce inventory
management functionalities. Its critical that you understand the distinctions
between each type of inventory software, as their capabilities differ in very
specific ways.

6) Do we have any critical industry-specific requirements?

Its common to be looking for an inventory system that can provide visibility
and traceability in accordance with regulatory compliance standards (e.g.
OSHA, DOT, FDA, etc.). Before you demo any software, it makes sense to
review any specific inventory-related standards that affect your job and
determine what exact functionalities you will require to meet them.

Evaluating Vendor Offerings

7) Does the vendor offer live software demonstrations, on-site

demonstrations, and/or video tutorials?
While the online, vendor guided software demonstration is most common,
some stakeholders find it more efficient to just view video demonstration.
Yes, you probably shave off about 15 minutes of time going with this option,
but then you miss out on the critical interactive element. Its more valuable to
start off by meeting with a product expert that could narrow the focus of the
demonstration, apply helpful product customizations for your team, and
answer any questions you might have.

8) What type of support packages do they offer and what is

included?
The majority of inventory software vendors provide free support in the form
of FAQs, live chat, email, webinars and sometimes phone calls. These will be
your go-to resources for additional product training and to resolve minor
software issues. However, paying extra for support packages and pay-percall options can be more accommodating if you expect your system will be
complex, or if you prefer more prompt responses and personalized
consultation from the support team.

9) Are there guaranteed response, resolution or turnaround times

for Support cases?
Response times from Support typically depend on the severity level and
business impact of the issue. For example, a complete system crash could
have a major business impact, and would warrant a very quick response and
resolution time. You might be able to filter out vendors with low-quality
Support by asking about the initial response times for a variety of potential
issues, and if any overall resolution guarantees exist.

10) What do vendors charge for onboarding and training?

Just like support, training types and costs vary from vendor to vendor. Freeof-charge eLearning training options often include video tutorials and
training manuals, which might not be engaging enough to get teams
technically ready and up to speed in a timely manner. The alternative is to
go with custom training at a rates typically between $99-$300 per hour.
Find out if training hours are included with the system, and if not, it might be
possible to negotiate their inclusion into the deal.

11) Are clients required to use internal IT resources in order to

implement the software?
Especially for on-premises systems, installation and initial configurations can
be more involved than advertised, and could require time from your own IT
team. Check with the vendor to see if they can at least guide you through
the implementation over the phone or via screen-share.

Comparing The Bells and Whistles

12) How do we feel about the UX (user experience)?

Its important to put yourself in the shoes of a daily user during your trial
period and answer basic usability questions such as: Are the navigation
options and UI elements intuitive? Would it be easy for a new user to
accomplish a simple inventory task? Are specific workflows in the system
easy to remember and repeat? Is it easy to make an error, and if so, is it easy
to correct? Get a sense of how different team members interact with the
interface and ask for objective and subjective feedback.

13) Does the interface provide standard ribbon, tree and/or

lifecycle-based navigation? Which do we prefer?
Yes, Ive included more user experience questions because of how critical
this factor is in the modern-day software evaluation process. You should
like using the software. The navigation is the core tool for finding
everything youll need to accomplish your objectives. If you have trouble with
the flow or organization of the overall infrastructure, the software might not
be a good fit.

14) Is the software modular-based, tiered, or pre-packaged? Can it

be customized?
Youll be lucky to find a pre-packaged solution that includes the features to
meet your companys exact needs. Hence, modular solutions have become
popular because they provide the freedom to purchase only the features
that you need. The benefit is that you can piece together your own puzzle
instead of settling for a puzzle that will require custom work down the road.

16) How efficient is the system? Does it streamline our specific

workflows?
Test out various click paths in order to accomplish specific inventory tasks,
such as performing physical inventory, creating a report, or receiving in
SKUs. This exercise will make it evident if the system is going to alleviate or
cause headaches.

17) Are you able to configure the interface to meet your tracking
requirements?
Basically, does the system allow users to add, rename or hide data fields and
forms as you wish? This is a luxury that makes it easier for your team to
adopt a new system, since you can use your own terminology and define
what exactly needs to be tracked.

18) Does the software provide built in reports in addition to custom

reporting options?
You absolutely need to ability to report on all inventory transactions, history,
counts/levels, etc. These are the mainstay reports that should be built into
every inventory software. If there are other must-have reports that arent
built into the system, youll need the ability create new ones. Find out what
reports are included and if custom reporting is available (and what it costs).
If the system is user-friendly and allows you to customize reports, then all
stakeholders should be satisfied.

19) What integrations are built-in? Can this software talk to other
software?
Everyone is busy, so integrating oft-used systems has become
commonplace in todays business environment. For example, connecting
inventory and accounting solutions makes a lot of sense with how important
it is to state accurate inventory on the books. Solutions such as ASAP
Systems Passport comes with built-in QuickBooks integration. For cloudbased systems, take a look at the API guide to know which software
components can interact with the system you are looking into.

Determine the True Cost

20) Will the system satisfy our needs out-of-the-box or will will we
require customizations?
Buying custom software comes with its own set of potential mishaps
delivery deadlines, quality, labor hours, to name a few. Avoid the hassle by
evaluating configurable or modular solutions instead of placing reliance on
custom work.

21) Is pricing based on concurrent users, total users, or total

installs?
Comparing inventory software pricing models is not like comparing apples to
apples. For example, some software is subscription based (i.e. SaaS) and
offered in tiers based off number of users, SKUs and features. Others
charge you for each user, according to their definition of a user, or they sell
the system in a pre-made bundle intended for a set of users. Each option
has its pros and cons to weigh out.

22) Does the vendor meet our needs and approved budget?
Be aware of tall company-wide challenges, set expectations and make sure
your team is aligned. Once everyone is on board with the benefits and ROI of
an inventory system it will be easy to justify the investment. We have built a
handy ROI calculator to help you see how much you could save.

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