We have all used, "It's like finding a needle in a haystack.' to describe something that is hard to find. The idea, of course, is that the needle is so small that it would be impossible to find in a giant file of other long, thin things.
That would certainly be true if someone else put the needle in the haystack. Even if you did it yourself, who knows where it would end up after gravity and other forces got a hold of it? It's too bad since the needle is very different from everything else in the stack. It is shiny, pointy, and made of metal. It's useful for all sorts of things that hay just won't help with.
The problem here, is not that the haystack is too big or that the needle is too small. It is that the haystack isn't indexed. Much like a fact that you know, but can't quite retrieve, you are missing a handle or sign pointing to the right spot.
Keeping track of inventory can feel like this without an inventory management system. A good system will provide these handles or signs so you can find what you need easily. Stockpile from Canvus Apps is a free online inventory management system that can organize your items with:
1. SKUs: Enter a unique Stock Keeping Unit for each of your items.
2. Areas: Put each item in a category with similar items.
3. Locations: Track where your inventory is physically. Transfer items from one location to another.
4. Labels: Tag an item with any number attributes that may want to search for later (you know, like: shiny, pointy, metal!)
Our inituitive catalog screen will let you filter on any of these attributes and find exactly what you need.
One answer to the haystack problem is to have a smaller haystack. We'd rather you pile one as high as you need. With Stockpile, you'll alway find what you are looking for.
Signup today, it's free!
