Software Advice speaks to thousands of companies looking for inventory management software. This report is an analysis of those interactions.

1. Software Advice BuyerView:
Inventory Management Report
Insight into today’s software buyer

2. In 2013, we talked to thousands of businesses considering an inventory
management software purchase. We tapped into a subset of the data to
determine two things:
• What are the predominant current methods being used by prospective
inventory management software buyers?
• Which inventory management features are most popular among prospective
buyers?
Abstract

3. Buyers’ Current Inventory Management Methods
The majority of buyers are evaluating inventory management software for the first
time. Less than five percent are replacing existing inventory management software.
4%
96%
First-time buyers
Current IMS users

4. Accounting software
Excel or other spreadsheets
Other software
Manual methods
No inventory managament
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Buyers’ Current Inventory Management Methods
Thirty-six percent of buyers are currently using accounting software to track their
inventory. Another 35 percent are using spreadsheets to manage inventory.
Percent of buyers

5. Buyers’ Integration Requirements
Seventy-three percent of buyers are interested in a “best-of-breed” solution only.
Twenty-six percent are interested in evaluating an integrated suite.
1%
73%
26%
Integrated suite
Best-of-breed
Multiple products

6. Basic inventory control
Barcoding and scanning
Demand forecasting
Quickbooks integration
Lot tracking
Kitting
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Top-Requested Inventory Management Features
Fifty percent of buyers are looking for basic inventory control. Thirty percent,
however, are interested in “barcoding and scanning” features.
Percent of buyers

7. Buyers’ Integration Requirements
Sixty-three percent of buyers are either business owners, C-suite executives or
high-level business managers. Only 7 percent of buyers are IT professionals.
30%
7%
63%
Business leaders
IT professionals
Other

8. Need more modern solution
Automate and organize processes
Need more functionality
Growth of business
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Buyers’ Reasons for Evaluating Inventory Management Software
Thirty-five percent of buyers are evaluating inventory management software
because they want a modern solution for their inventory management needs.
Percent of buyers

9. Buyer Size by Employee Number
The majority of buyers we spoke to are from companies with 50 or fewer
employees.
1%10%
10%
80%
0-50
51-100
101-500
501 +

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11. Software Advice is a trusted resource for software buyers. The company's website,
www.softwareadvice.com, provides detailed reviews, comparisons and research to
help organizations choose the right software. Meanwhile, the company’s team of
software analysts provide free telephone consultations to help each software buyer
identify systems that best fit their needs. In the process, Software Advice connects
software buyers and sellers, generating high-quality opportunities for software
vendors.
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