When most people think of analytics, they think of marketing. However, the field of inventory analytics is a growing industry—providing unmatched advantages to the businesses that utilize this new and innovative technology. For example, companies can use detailed reports generated by Fishbowl’s inventory management software to explore specific avenues of their operations. Manufacturers can check the Available to Build report to see how many finished goods they could produce given their current number of raw materials. Retailers can look at the Historical Part Cost report to see what a certain item has cost them to obtain in the past using FIFO, LIFO, average, or standard costing methods. Wholesalers will find the Sales Order Summary report particularly useful in spotting trends over time and checking the status of orders that are either open, in process, or fulfilled. While it may require an investment in new hardware and the implementation of new software, the benefits far outweigh the costs. (more…)