Any kind of manufacturing operation is almost impossible without the support of software. Custom designed software packages meant for all sorts of applications in the production industry are very common. Inventory control is a very important part of the manufacturing process, and it is extremely essential to check what is moving where, current stock levels, supplier details and seller details to ensure proper compliance with the entire process. This becomes enormously arduous without the proper tools and the right software packages.

An ideal inventory control software is easy to use, flexible, powerful, and able undertake all kinds of inventory control activities such as: serial number tracking, checking the minimum stock levels, reordering quantities, assemble items, disassemble items, FIFO/LIFO cost tracking, item sales history, billing of materials, and real-time adjusting stock levels. It also accommodates customer information, vendor/supplier information, sales, and purchases and generates reports for all categories. It can identify in-stock items, out-of-stock items, and sales quantities by item, customer balances, invoice balances, purchase order details, detailed sales lists, sales tax reports and outstanding order details.

Today, there are many inventory control software packages available. Each of them performs most of the basic functions apart from providing additional services like printing barcode labels, barcode scanning, printing vendor mailing labels, printing item pricing labels, printing customer mailing and shipping labels, locating purchase orders, generating purchase orders automatically, searching for invoices by field name, ability to track serial numbers for items, weight tracking, image association, calculating discounts, tracking non-depleting items, filtering only requested information, and printing invoices and purchase orders. The packages also have better database support to keep vendor and customer information and inventory statistics at the fingertips.

There are also customizable inventory control software packages that can be personalized. They also have user-friendly, multi-user interfaces for easier interaction. Many allow complete remote access when connected to the Internet. The minimum system requirement for installing an inventory control system is a Microsoft Windows operating system (95 or above), 32 MB RAM and at least 24 MB of hard disk space. Some of the popular brands of inventory control software packages are: iRenaissance SCM, Track-It!, TRAX, CoreIMS, NetSuite, InveTrak, and Integrated Inventory Management Software. When choosing inventory control software, consider a few important aspects such as the cost, the functions, integration with the current software systems and long-run maintenance costs. Software packages are available from just $199 onwards. Most companies also allow free download of the trail version for a limited period.