Guide / problems and answers
Inventory management solutions: name the problem first
A solution is only a solution to a named problem. Here are the inventory problems that actually cost product businesses money — and what solving each one looks like.
The short answer
- Overselling → allocation from live stock, with negative-inventory guardrails.
- Re-keying → one record from order to pick to invoice, with the accounting handoff designed in.
- Blind purchasing → reorder and par levels that turn demand into purchase orders.
- Mystery quantities → movement history and counts from any phone.
- BSimple solves these on one record — from $180/month (AUD) with a free trial — and refuses to claim the problems it does not solve.
- 01The short answer
- 02The four problems worth paying to solve
- 03The problems BSimple does not claim to solve
- 04Where BSimple fits
The four problems worth paying to solve
Overselling — promising units that are already promised. The solution is allocation against live quantities plus negative-inventory guardrails, so the record physically refuses the second promise. Anything else — vigilance, weekly counts, apologies — manages the symptom.
Re-keying — the same data typed into a second system. The solution is one record: the order the warehouse picked becomes the invoice the customer receives and the entry the accountant reconciles. Every "integration" that is really a nightly export is a re-keying pipeline with better manners.
Blind purchasing — reordering from memory and shelf-glances. The solution is reorder and par levels enforced by software, purchase orders raised from demand signals, and goods receipts that update stock the moment cartons open.
Mystery quantities — numbers nobody can explain. The solution is a movement history behind every quantity, plus counts cheap enough to run often — phone-based, in the aisle — so the record is defended continuously instead of audited annually.
The problems BSimple does not claim to solve
Honesty about "solutions" includes the negative space. BSimple does not solve HR and payroll — different category entirely. It does not do MRP scheduling — production planning beyond recipes, runs and batches is ERP territory. It does not replace the accounting system — compliance stays in Xero or MYOB. It does not run offline — cloud and browser-based, and says so. It is not a POS — the till belongs to the till.
A "solutions" page that lists only strengths is an advertisement; the boundaries are what make the strengths credible. If your named problem is in the first list, the second list does not matter; if it is in the second, no amount of feature pages should have wasted your afternoon.
Where BSimple fits
We build BSimple, so weigh that. It is one record for stock, orders, purchasing, invoicing and a customer portal, built for small-to-medium wholesale, manufacturing, distribution and trade businesses — with batch and lot traceability and production runs included where making is part of the job. Plans start at $180/month (AUD), and the free trial is how a named problem meets a real answer: run your worst workflow through it for a week.
For the category context, the inventory software types show where these solutions live, and the inventory management overview shows the record they share.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common inventory problem?
Overselling — or its twin, the stale quantity. Both come from records that disagree, which is why allocation against live stock is the first solution worth buying. The other problems on this page are close behind, and they tend to share the same root cause.
We only have one problem — do we need the whole system?
Maybe not — name the problem honestly first. A single blind spot (say, counting) may suit a lighter tool. But the four problems above travel together, because they all come from the record: solving one while the others live beside it usually means buying the rest within a year. BSimple prices the whole record from $180/month (AUD), which makes the whole answer affordable.
How quickly does a "solution" show results?
The first week, if it is the right one: allocation stops oversells immediately, receiving updates quantities the day cartons open, and the first count explains quantities that had been mysteries for months. What takes longer is the habit layer — and a solution that needs nobody to change anything is usually not solving anything.
How do we know a vendor actually solves the problem?
Make them demonstrate yours: the oversell scenario, the partial shipment, the reorder trigger, the count variance — with your data, in the trial, not in their demo set. The vendor evaluation guide lists the tests; the honest ones pass them in front of you.
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