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Fishbowl Inventory System

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Submitted By americanrubles
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Pages 4
Fishbowl Inventory
Peter Ruble
QRB/501
06/06/11
Dr. David Pardo

Abstract
The following paper will describe the Fishbowl Inventory Software system which is used by small, medium and large businesses to manage their inventory data. It will explain how the system works and what employees need to know in order to use it effectively. It will also explain the advantages and disadvantages of using the software.

As a result of the Fishbowl Inventory System, Macy’s gross margin of 39.94% has increased 13 points year after year (Lockard, R. 2010). This inventory system, which integrates with QuickBooks, has helped Macy’s maintain a precise inventory count over the different holiday seasons. With this streamlined inventory system, Macy’s is able cut down on overstocked equipment and wasted material. As a result of having their inventory in place at the right time, they are able to avoid having to cut prices in order to move their products. For every sales and purchase transaction that is scanned through a mobile barcode scanner, Fishbowl transfers the invoice and vendor bills to the QuickBooks software which handles accounting. The mobile barcode scanner allows you to collect data based on serial numbers, lot numbers, revision levels and expiration dates. Inventory is automatically updated so you now exactly how much space you need in your warehouse. With the Fishbowl software, you can create auto-reorder points which will automatically place orders based on past successes and future projections. Data can be inputted based on locations. One you have inputted your preferred vendors into the software, Fishbowl will automatically make a purchase order once the inventory count has reached its reorder point. Fishbowl also has a “Quick Find” feature to locate an image and price of a particular product and the quantity. Once you select an item using the Fishbowl module, you can quickly find information about your products including back orders, products on order, allocations, etc. To help determine how to price products based on how they’re packaged, Fishbowl allows a user to set up a measurement equation to store inventory that comes in the form of pallets, boxes, etc. For example, if there is a discount on an item if it’s purchased in bulk, the seller won’t have to worry about pricing each item individually.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Fishbowl The first advantage is that it integrates with QuickBooks. Most businesses use QuickBooks to organize their business data. With Fishbowl, it takes it to another level by automating some of the business transactions, such as reordering. Fishbowl makes businesses more efficient. With Fishbowl, employees don’t need to spend time manually updating inventory records into QuickBooks. This is done automatically with Fishbowl. There is also no need to worry about counting inventory, as the barcode scanning process takes care of that. Fishbowl has a creative team that is always looking for ways to update its software. With Fishbowl Inventory 2011, the sales order data is directly linked to the data about the manufacturer. Also, delivery and payment information can be imported and exported. If you don’t have an association with a vendor, Fishbowl’s software can create a “default vendor”. This saves time since you don’t have to manually add the vendor data after inputting the sales order data. Social media is the most powerful tool for Internet marketing today. Fishbowl offers the advantage of a customized, automated internet marketing system using platforms such as Face book and Twitter. Many Fishbowl users are restaurant owners who enjoy Fishbowl’s automated marketing program. Fishbowl has a Face book application that allows a business to place a button on their business homepage allowing millions of Face book users to join the “guest” program. Members of this program are provided with regular email updates which give guests an opportunity to refer a business to their friends and relatives by using the Face book sharing button. Fishbowl Face book and Twitter icons allow customers to receive the latest discounts and promotions offered through email opt in lists and comments on Face book fan pages and Tweets to Twitter followers. A disadvantage that Fishbowl has it that it is constantly being updated. This means that employees must be continually trained and retrained on how to use the software. It is a very powerful tool that can streamline a business; however, a business can become so dependant on Fishbowl that if there is ever a glitch in the system, or an employee has not been properly trained on how to use Fishbowl, the entire business can be affected. Also, if a business isn’t using QuickBooks, they will not be able to integrate the Fishbowl Inventory system. Fishbowl also has specific requirements in regards to operating systems. They do not run on Macintosh operating systems or any operating system earlier Windows 2000.
Conclusion
There are many different types of software that can help a business be more efficient. This requires a lot of training time and staying up to date on newer versions of software. Also, with the explosion of social media, businesses have a new virtual territory where they must remain competitive. The Fishbowl Inventory System is a great system that combines everything a company would need for inventory data and social media marketing into one system. It also saves precious time by automating inventory data collection.

References

Fishbowl. (2001-2010). QuickBooks Inventory Management. Retrieved from http://www.fishbowlinventory.com/ Lockard, R. (2010). Inventory System Software Blog. Inventory System Software. Retrieved from http://inventorysystemsoftware.wordpress.com .

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