Are you wondering if a landscaping inventory system will be useful for your lawn care, landscaping or nursery business?

Most landscaping service companies think of them as complex tools that are only meant for large-scale operations. But as supply chain issues continue to worsen, these systems have become indispensable solutions for landscaping businesses of any size.

The good news is the global pandemic has created a positive shift toward outdoor living trends. It has heightened the demand for landscape and plant care services. The industry has also shown a consistent annual growth rate of 8.2% in the last 3 years.

If you want to boost your operational efficiency, maximize your resources, and make your inventory system more organized, landscaping inventory systems are key.

What Is a Landscaping Inventory System?

A landscaping inventory system is a software solution that helps landscaping businesses manage their inventory better. It helps them track and utilize inventory items, such as plants, trees, tools, equipment, and other materials required for landscaping projects, more systematically.

From keeping records of items in stock to monitoring their usage, inventory systems like Nest Egg allow businesses to gain greater control over their inventory processes. Let’s take a detailed look into the benefits these systems provide to landscaping businesses.

Benefits of a Landscaping Inventory Management System

Landscaping inventory systems streamline parts of your business’ workflow. If you’re running a landscape service or other plant care business, here are some valuable benefits of landscaping inventory systems:
 

1. Quick and Easy Inventory Tracking

A landscaping inventory system allows you to add items to your inventory quickly and more efficiently. All you need to do is scan their barcodes to build your inventory.

Once all your inventory items are in the system, you can track their location, movement, and status from the software. Searching for a piece of equipment doesn’t require you to waste labor or time, just look up the product in the system. You can also keep track of an item’s lifecycle with records of purchases, repairs, etc.

In addition, these systems enable you to monitor details of your inventory such as stock levels, prices, vendor/supplier contacts, etc.

Reordering items and running audits also become a lot easier. Instead of a weekly manual audit, you can simply check your system to check on safety stock levels and issue reorders accordingly. So, you can schedule complete audits less frequently and allocate less manpower toward the task.
 

2. Reduces Equipment Loss

Retail theft resulted in losses worth $112 billion in 2022. Considering how expensive landscaping equipment and machinery can be, even minor shrinkage can be a huge blow to a landscaping business. Moreover, tax authorities such as IRS expect businesses to track inventory shrinkage and failing to do so may result in higher taxable income for your business.

When you track every check-in and check-out of equipment using a landscaping inventory system, you bring accountability into your operations. Every employee is encouraged to act more responsibly and use equipment more efficiently.

This results in fewer lost and forgotten tools at the project location while reducing the risk of theft. Your crew can also use your inventory system to make sure they have all the required machinery before going to the project location. This helps them use their time more wisely and reduces multiple unnecessary trips to the shop.
 

3. Enables Informed Decision Making

Thanks to inventory tracking, you gain more visibility over your inventory. And since there are fewer manual processes, errors are reduced and data becomes more accurate.

With more visibility and accuracy, you’re in a better position to make informed decisions. This includes the decisions you make regarding recording frequency and schedule, minimum stock levels, etc.

You’re also able to identify problems early on and provide more accurate project estimates. If a piece of equipment is missing or undergoing maintenance, you’ll know about its status when taking an order. If a client requests quotes for a project, you can make more accurate calculations when you know which equipment you might need to purchase or lease.
 

4. Lowers Operational Costs

A landscaping inventory system helps you reduce different operational costs, thereby improving your cash flow.

For starters, you’re no longer hiring extra labor because you’ve automated a bunch of your inventory tasks. You’re also able to use your human resources more efficiently. To put this benefit into perspective, labor costs account for 70% of an organization’s operation costs. That’s a huge percentage that goes toward manpower.

Secondly, you’re no longer suffering from inventory shrinkage. It reduces the extra capital you might have to spend on purchasing new inventory and equipment. Plus, you don’t have to buy items at a markup, which is usually the case for last-minute orders.

The third reason for reduced costs is you’re only purchasing inventory when it’s needed.
 

5. Features Secure and Reliable Cloud-Based Data Storage

A landscaping inventory system is cloud-based and offers a more secure and reliable way of storing your data. This significantly reduces any risk of data loss. Even better, it also gives you access to real-time inventory data from any location and device whenever you need it.
 

6. Tracks Product Warranties, Bills, and Payments

Landscaping inventory systems allow you to store documents, pictures, and other details of your products. This is of huge help to businesses.

For example, you want to claim insurance for vegetation that suffered from disease. Having your warranty documents, purchase dates, vendor/supplier agreements, guarantee information, etc. can ensure you’re covered for damages and make claims easier.

Since you’re tracking each item in your inventory, you can easily trace which projects used the vegetation and remediate the situation more quickly.

Another benefit of tracking data is you can be aware of approaching deadlines on warranties and such.
 

7. Offers In-Depth Reports

Many landscaping inventory systems offer inventory reports for deeper insights. You can drill down the information to gain in-depth details on stock levels, user history, sales trends, high-demand equipment, etc. For example, inventory valuation, which is typically a big contributing factor in calculation of cost of goods sold (COGS) for landscaping industry, is much easier with replacement cost or other kinds of reporting.

You can also download and share these reports with other departments, or use them when making strategic business decisions.
 

8. Improves Customer Service

A landscaping inventory system stores a wealth of information that can be used to forecast demand fluctuations. These predictions allow you to make data-driven decisions on when to stock more or fewer items.

Apart from solving your cash flow problems, landscaping inventory solutions empower you to have adequate stock levels so you can meet market demand promptly. This improves overall customer satisfaction while reducing customer service inquiries.

If you receive customer inquiries about a product’s history, you can easily answer them using the information stored in your inventory system.
 

9. Boosts Bottom Line

One of the main reasons businesses find it difficult to maintain positive cash flow is inventory issues but a landscaping inventory system can be an immense help in this regard.

By reducing labor costs, equipment loss, and human errors, these systems can help boost your business’ efficiency and profits. Ultimately, these improvements can make a significant difference to your bottom line.

How To Successfully Set up a Landscaping Inventory System

Managing a landscaping business’ inventory is different from managing other business inventories. Not only are you in charge of plants and trees but you also have to deal with machinery and equipment. Here are some suggestions that will help you set up a landscaping inventory system more easily:
 

Create a Tracking Schedule

Make a list of all the instances when you want to track inventory. Include items such as check-in, check-out, repair, equipment condition, additional notes, etc.

Then, add all the parameters you want to record such as the time of check-in/check-out, the name of the employee who’s using the machinery, what it’s being used for, fuel levels at check-in/check-out, etc.

Create a schedule with categories to track every important detail of your inventory and make sure all your employees follow it.
 

Tag Your Equipment

With so many different assets to track, itemizing them can be challenging. That’s where asset-tracking solutions come in!

Barcodes and QR codes are the most popular options. They’re inexpensive and easy to print. Plus, attaching them to items is a breeze. When taking inventory, they save time and reduce manual errors.

RFID is another popular asset-tracking solution that works through scanning. They’re ideal for more valuable equipment because of their higher cost.

These solutions are compatible with most landscaping inventory systems. Connect the system to your scanners and you’ll be ready to sync your data with a simple scan.
 

Update Inventory Records

While there’s no need to conduct inventory audits every week for restocking purposes, you still need to check the accuracy of your data.

Make sure to cross-check your inventory records on file against your physical inventory. Do it every year or more frequently to reduce inaccuracies and prevent miscalculations.
 

Inspect Equipment When It’s Checked In

Inspect every piece of inventory that is checked in once a project ends. Make sure any repairs and replacements are noted down and acted upon at the earliest to ensure that your equipment is ready to go out for the next project.
 

Set Reminders for Delayed or Missing Equipment

Set reminders to get alerts on equipment that have been gone for extended periods. Use these alerts as a basis for sending out requests to return the equipment or to ask for updates on their status.

Boost Profitability and Efficiency With a Landscaping Inventory System

With a simple landscaping inventory system like Nest Egg, you get multi-faceted and far-reaching benefits. While the initial set-up may take up a bit of your time, the benefits are all worth it, especially in the long run.

You can save on manpower and wages, provide more accurate cost estimates, gauge your bandwidth more quickly and efficiently, and know the status of your inventory at all times.