With inventory scales and sensors, distributors can manage more customers with fewer site visits and less labor.
Lack of visibility can lead to stockouts, rush orders, and higher operational costs. Mobile apps and sensors are a better way to do data-driven MRO inventory auto-replenishment.
I wish more distributors would appreciate how much better it is to do cycle counting versus ordering when they set up their new vendor-managed inventory (VMI) app to manage point-of-use (stockroom, clinic, jobsite, vehicle, etc) inventory for customers.
To stay competitive, distributors and the companies they serve are turning to leading solutions like artificial intelligence (AI) and inventory sensors to gain near real-time visibility, streamline replenishment, and make smarter, proactive decisions.
A vendor-managed inventory app is used by an industrial or medical distributor to facilitate the VMI process of replenishing onsite inventory at the customers' point-of-use location (where the customer uses the inventory in the course of conducting their operations, as opposed to selling the inventory). VMI apps help distributors and customers share inventory data seamlessly and make replenishment decisions collaboratively. Learn about important features of a VMI app here.
The Amazon Smart Shelf was a cool little wireless weight pad for replenishment but alas... it is discontinued. Luckily, for companies that absolutely cannot stock out of inventory, there are still other inventory sensor technologies that can automate replenishment.
A smart inventory management system leverages the latest technologies to make inventory management more accurate, efficient, and cost-effective.
Explore key inventory management and replenishment techniques for consumable supplies and discover how to strategically implement cycle counting.
Introduction to Advanced Inventory Management Trends in 2025 (The Evolution Towards AI Inventory Management and Sensor Technology)
Are you still counting and replenishing point-of-use inventory in an “Old School” Manual way? While many are, perhaps now is the time to learn more about the efficiencies there are to be gained from auto-replenishing, and the variety of new smart devices there are to automate the cycle counting and replenishment process.
