Inventory Management vs Warehouse Management

What is the difference between warehouse management and inventory management? Basically, it comes down to specificity. What do I mean? I’ll show you by comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences of warehouse management and inventory management below:

Similarities

Both warehouse management and inventory management involve:

• Monitoring product quantities.
• Cycle counting (checking the quantities of some products, but not all, at one time).
• Often using barcodes to track parts and products.
• Picking, packing, and shipping items.
• Managing multiple locations.
• Receiving orders into inventory.

Differences

• Warehouse management divides warehouses into many compartments and bins while inventory management takes a broader approach to tracking inventory by location.
• Warehouse management allows you to find specific items in a warehouse while inventory management simply informs you that they are somewhere in that warehouse.
• Warehouse management is often connected to inventory management software, but it’s not a standalone service because of its supportive nature.

Both processes are necessary to keep the supply chain management running smoothly. Any interruption in the supply chain would decrease customer demand and mess up other processes in logistics management. Do you need to update your warehouse management system or inventory management system? If you’d like to start using powerful inventory management software and warehouse management software, sign up for a demo of Fishbowl Inventory and also see what Fishbowl Mobile can do for you.