Excel Inventory Management Techniques

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Although Excel is not a dedicated inventory management solution, it does offer powerful features that can help you stay organized and efficient. Let's walk through, step by step, how to create an inventory spreadsheet in Excel:

Step 1: Create an Excel spreadsheet for inventory
Open Excel and start with a blank workbook. A workbook is a file that contains one or more worksheets. Just launch Excel, click File , point to New , and choose Blank Workbook .

You now have a blank canvas to create your inventory tracker.

Excel spreadsheet for inventory: How to manage inventory in Excel

via Excel

Step 2: Add the necessary product categories as columns
Set up clear, easy-to-navigate columns for your inventory. Label the first column as Product it directors managers email list Name or Item Description. Next, create other essential columns like SKU (Stock Keeping Unit), Stock Levels, and Reorder Points.

Pro Tip: You can save time by using one of Excel's built-in inventory templates .

This is what a typical inventory looks like in Excel:

Inventory in Excel: How to manage inventory in Excel

via Excel Make your spreadsheet as informative and functional as possible to quickly sort and filter your data.

Step 3: Adjust quantities as you make sales
Accurate inventory management is vital for capacity planning . You need to accurately determine the resources, such as inventory and storage, needed to meet current and future demand without overwhelming your operations.

As you make sales, keep your stock levels up to date. This prevents stockouts as well as resource overload.

To update your stock, find the item in your spreadsheet and adjust the quantity in the appropriate column. You can use simple Excel formulas to automatically calculate totals and apply conditional formatting to highlight items that are running low, helping you control your inventory and prevent stockouts.

Excel Formulas: How to Manage Inventory in Excel

via Excel Pro Tip : If you’re looking for more advanced procurement features, tools like SAP Ariba and Coupa offer seamless integration with Excel. These procurement management software allow you to manage procurement processes such as order tracking and mass updates.