Many types of inventory software exist. The complexity ranges from extremely simple to systems that include forecasting, EDI and AI (artificial intelligence). Although alternatives exist, barcoding is still the most popular choice amongst businesses who keep a serialized inventory.

Barcode inventory software has become very popular and is offered by a variety of software developers. Most inventory software is generic, meaning it is created once then sold to hundreds or thousands of companies in the exact same form. The weakness of this model is that the software must be generic enough to work for many different businesses. If a business is unique, this type of implementation of this software is rarely successful. Some companies purchase custom barcode inventory software for this reason.

Custom barcode inventory software can conform to each business’s procedures, but it is generally costly. What’s the reason for the high price tag? Custom software usually takes between 6 months to 2 years to develop. Another disadvantage of custom software is that it is very difficult to upgrade. Given the shortcomings of both out-of-the-box and custom software, companies are often wary of choosing between the lesser of these two evils.

An alternative that is gaining popularity is configured software. Configured software has all the advantages of both generic and custom software with hardly any of their undesirable characteristics. Tailored software is agile, it can be conformed to suit each business’s needs, but it can be upgraded easily. Less costly than a custom system due to a shorter development period, this type of software can be implemented within a few months or even a few weeks. Barcode inventory software that is configurable is difficult to find. Here are a few software companies that offer it: www.Tuppas.com - www.ShopFloorReporting.com. Shop Floor Reporting offers software for all industries, but specializes in software for manufacturers. They offer a variety of software beyond inventory applications.