Fishbowl Inventory

Oval Brand Fire Products, a fire protection equipment company, was facing challenges in tracking how materials were being used in their manufacturing process. They were using QuickBooks for their backend operations, but it did not provide sufficient insight into their inventory management. The company was also looking for ways to reduce costs associated with excessive paperwork. The company needed a solution that could provide detailed visibility into their manufacturing process, track the movement of materials, and streamline their operations.

Beachport Liquid Minerals, a manufacturer of liquid supplements for livestock, was facing significant challenges with their existing ERP inventory and manufacturing program. After using the system for nine months, it became clear that the software was not meeting their requirements. The software was rigid, the financial reporting was difficult to use, and the ongoing costs of the software and user support were becoming a burden. The business needed a solution that would be less time-consuming, more user-friendly, and cost-effective to implement and maintain.

Miakomo, a manufacturer of respirators, facemasks, and filters, faced a significant challenge in keeping up with the high volume of sales triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company needed a solution to increase their manufacturing efficiency. They decided to implement Fishbowl software, a tool familiar to one of their co-founders, Chandler McFarland. The implementation process involved integrating ShipStation, Shopify, and QuickBooks Online with Fishbowl, deciding on the necessary manufacturing tools in Fishbowl to align with their processes, handling their fulfillment process and integrating with their third-party logistics (3PL) warehouse, and scheduling training for their personnel.

KidWind Project Inc., an educational organization, was facing several challenges related to inventory management and operational efficiency. The company had ill-defined job roles for employees and limited inventory-tracking capability. They were holding too much inventory in stock, leading to losses and inefficiency. Their existing system, QuickBooks, couldn’t handle their inventory and light manufacturing needs. Additionally, they needed inventory management software that integrates with QuickBooks and Magento, their online shopping platform. The lack of an effective inventory management system led to misplaced products, unnecessary expenses, and operational chaos.

YV Packaging, a national fruit and produce packaging business based in Yarra Valley, was facing significant challenges with its inventory management. The company was using Reckon Accounts, an accounting software, which was not specifically designed to handle inventory. As a result, the company had to rely heavily on manual stock counting. Glenn Barker, the Managing Director, noticed large discrepancies between the latest count and previous ones, which were attributed to human error. This was a significant issue for the company as it affected the accuracy of their inventory data and could potentially impact their ability to fulfill orders.

Everten Group, a family-owned kitchenware shop in Australia, was facing challenges in managing its warehouse operations. As one of Australia's first online kitchenware retailers, Everten had to ensure seamless order fulfillment both nationally and internationally. The company had a wide range of products to cater to commercial, professional chefs, and home cooks. The Everten Group also housed several businesses that relied heavily on efficient warehouse management for online order fulfillment. The challenge was to manage purchasing, stock management, and sales order processing effectively for all these businesses. The company needed a solution that could serve as a central nervous system, managing orders from their websites and integrating them into their shipping software.

Backyard Adventures, a Texas-based company that allows customers to design customized playsets for their children, faced a significant challenge in managing its inventory due to the large number of product configurations and parts to track. The company also needed to create custom work orders and standardize incoming product orders from its nationwide network of 65 distributors. The distributors required the new inventory solution to integrate with their QuickBooks® accounting software. Both Backyard Adventures and its distributors needed an accurate picture of inventory levels. Some distributors also needed to manage and track the parts inventories of multiple locations, and Backyard Adventures wanted a standardized way for dealers to place orders when their inventories ran low.

Teas Etc., a specialty tea importer and manufacturer, was facing challenges with its inventory management. After a decade of using QuickBooks, the company found that it was unable to keep up with their growing inventory needs. They needed a solution that could help them know when to reorder base teas, which are used in more than 200 SKUs, and be able to track locations and quantities of those teas. Often, they only discovered they were out of a particular tea after an order had come in for it. This led to delays and other serious customer service problems. The company's orders, inventory load, number of customers, and regulatory requirements were too great for their current inventory management system to handle.

TETON Sports, a company selling outdoor gear and clothing, was facing challenges in managing its inventory. The company was using Excel spreadsheets for inventory management which was time-consuming and inefficient. The warehouse layout was not optimized for the picking process, causing delays. Moreover, orders from Amazon had to be manually entered into their inventory records. The company was in need of an inventory solution that would integrate with QuickBooks.

Victory Parts, a rapidly expanding company supplying aftermarket outboard parts within Australia, was facing significant challenges with their inventory and accounting system, MYOB. The system was slow and lacked the necessary reporting capabilities for a company dealing with over 5500 different parts. The process of reordering and outputting these parts was cumbersome and inefficient. Additionally, tracking orders was a manual and time-consuming process, involving writing tracking numbers in an exercise book and constantly chasing parcel locations for customers. The company also relied heavily on their EFT machine for transactions, which required manual input of numbers, waiting for processing, and printing receipts to attach to sales orders. This process was not only slow, taking between 5-10 minutes per transaction, but also inconvenient for customers who had to wait for their receipt and tracking number.

Dingo Australia, a leading manufacturer and supplier of unique earthmoving machines and attachments, faced a significant challenge in managing its inventory, warehouse distribution, and manufacturing processes. As a company that operates not only as a manufacturer but also as a distributor of whole goods and spare parts across multiple branches in Australia, it was crucial for them to find a solution that could integrate all these components into a single, user-friendly system. Additionally, they needed a cost-effective financial package to replace their existing software, which also contained their financial requirements. The new financial system had to be user-friendly and capable of meeting their specific needs.

Green Beacon Brewing, a Queensland brewery and Brewpub, was facing significant challenges in managing its production, inventory, sales, and distribution across two manufacturing sites in Brisbane. The company was unable to accurately track its raw materials, leading to frequent over-ordering. The locations of finished goods were not clearly identified, and the costing of inventory was largely based on guesswork. Furthermore, distribution was a manual process heavily reliant on paper trails, making it inefficient and prone to errors. The company was in dire need of an inventory system that could address these issues and streamline its operations.

Industrial Engine Service (IES) was struggling with a legacy inventory system that was riddled with errors and required numerous workarounds. The company was frequently losing and mismanaging parts, and employees found it difficult to keep track of all the separate parts going into each project. The old DOS system was confusing for many employees and processes were not under sufficient control. IES recognized that to compete at the level they wanted, they needed more control over their inventory and manufacturing processes. However, their complex processes couldn't be handled by a simple inventory system.

Niche Bakers Corp., a Canadian bakery, was facing a challenge of tracking individual ingredients and orders due to its rapidly growing product range. The company had to trace every ingredient put into a product for quality assurance purposes. When a supplier reported an issue with a lot of product, the company had to be able to find that within minutes. The company's products had become quite complex to track as they expanded from cookies to cakes, bars, haystacks, and different products.

In 2009, Steps To Literacy, an educational resource catalog company, faced many logistical challenges. They serve schools and teachers across the country, but their inventory management system couldn’t ship or order products fast enough to keep up with demand. With warehouses and offices located in Bridgewater, New Jersey, Steps To Literacy manufactures exclusive products and creates specialty book and classroom resource collections for elementary schools. They offer custom products and solutions to their customers to meet specific classroom and school district needs. Because of their focus on customization, Steps To Literacy uses more than 7,000 bill of materials configurations. The continued growth of this company required an inventory management system that could handle such a vast enterprise.

In 2008, Crossroad Distributor Source (CDS) realized that it was outgrowing QuickBooks as an inventory management solution. The company needed distribution centers in other cities, and QuickBooks as a standalone was not an option. Other issues were identified, such as customer- and volume-specific pricing models, key performance indicators, such as on-time delivery, fill rate, and traceability recordkeeping that had to be satisfied. Additionally, CDS had made a decision to bring in house all of its kit assembly, and needed a robust software package to address all these concerns. The biggest challenge was cost. Many of the accounting and inventory management software systems used in the industry were costly, often costing a minimum of $15,000 before you actually got what you wanted. At this point in the young company’s history, that sort of expenditure was impractical.

Red-X Medical, a rapidly expanding pharmaceutical distributor, was in need of an inventory software that could integrate with QuickBooks and streamline their day-to-day processes. It was crucial for the software to track lot numbers to comply with industry standards. The company also required a system where sales representatives could view real-time inventory and accomplish all daily tasks in one place. Furthermore, Red-X was looking for a software that allowed third-party integration to comply with Pedigree laws and input necessary pedigree documentation for each product.

Pics Peanut Butter, a New Zealand-based company that manufactures and sells peanut butter globally, was facing significant challenges in managing its inventory. The company imports peanuts primarily from Australia and caters to both local and international markets. The existing inventory management system was heavily reliant on multiple Excel spreadsheets, which made it difficult to manage inventory across various locations. This system required a lot of manual entry, leading to countless hours spent on rectifying errors and making corrections. The company also lacked a robust purchase order system and controls around cost.

Coastmac Trailers, a reputable trailer manufacturer with 17 years of experience, faced significant business challenges that hindered its growth potential. The company was struggling with outdated systems that limited productivity, operational efficiency, and scalability. Additionally, Coastmac had issues with inventory control, leading to stock management problems and potential customer dissatisfaction. The company's accounting system provider was also demanding a hefty sum for an upgraded solution. To address these challenges and meet its business needs, Coastmac needed modern, integrated systems to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and provide real-time visibility into inventory, production, sales, and finances.

Durmaz Pty Ltd, a specialist Importing and Wholesale entity, was facing significant challenges with its inventory and warehouse management. Despite using Reckon Accounts, a powerful accounting tool, the company found it insufficient for their rapidly expanding business. The lack of a dedicated inventory software solution was hampering their supply chain process and reducing the service levels they could provide their customers. This inefficiency was leading to large costs for Durmaz, as it was unable to keep up with the ever-changing consumer trends and styles. The company needed a solution that could streamline its inventory management, improve service levels, and reduce costs.

Enzed Albury, a franchise for Parker Hannifin (Australia) Pty Ltd, has been in business for 30 years, providing 24/7 hydraulic hose replacement, supplying hydraulic and pneumatic components, and offering repairs and component testing. However, their business was heavily reliant on an outdated DOS system for managing their stock, debtors, and creditors. This posed a significant business risk as it was becoming increasingly difficult to find an IT team capable of maintaining the system. Additionally, the accounting team had to manually input transactions into Reckon Accounts, leading to potential inaccuracies and unreliable reporting. The need for a system change was urgent, considering the company had 17,000 parts, 400 suppliers, and 3000 customers on file, and the risk to this data was substantial.

Husk Distillers, a family-owned distillery in Northern NSW, Australia, was facing significant challenges in managing their stock. As the creators of Australia’s only Agricole rum and the internationally renowned Ink Gin, the company was experiencing rapid growth. However, their existing systems, which relied heavily on spreadsheets and their accounting system, were proving inadequate for their needs. The lack of usability and accuracy in their stock management was a major issue, potentially hindering their growth and brand development. They needed a solution that could not only address these issues but also support their business at every stage of growth.

Spark R&D, a company that designs and manufactures splitboard-specific bindings, was facing challenges with its inventory and order fulfillment system. The company was struggling to keep track of its inventory and fulfill orders on schedule. The existing system was informal and closed, with only one person having access to the inventory spreadsheet. This lack of visibility and communication between departments was causing delivery problems. The company was unable to get products out the door until well past their target date. They needed a system that could provide visibility across departments and handle the increasing complexity of their operations.

BEX, a Las Vegas-based manufacturer of sunglasses and other accessories, was struggling with inventory management. They were manually tracking sales and inventory in Excel spreadsheets, which was time-consuming and prone to errors. Different departments within the company were acting independently without communicating inventory needs, leading to inefficiencies. Physical inventory checks and counts were a painstakingly long process. The company initially tried Fishbowl Manufacturing, an advanced inventory management system, but found it a bit beyond their needs as a young startup. They switched to a more watered-down solution, but soon realized that it was limited and not meeting their needs.

Chung’s Gourmet Foods, a leading producer of Asian entrées and snacks in the United States, was facing several challenges due to outdated technology. Their existing systems were running on DOS and Excel spreadsheets, which were unreliable and required everything to be checked and rechecked before distribution. The company's annual closing cycle took about a month to complete and the system did not allow for retrieval of prior period information. All of Chung’s systems from purchasing to receiving payments were manual. Only one person in the company knew how to fix the DOS system when it went down, and he only worked three days a week. To keep up with rapid growth, Chung’s needed to either continually hire new employees or find a program that could automate processes and reduce the need for additional labor expenses.

Pacific Valley Dairy, a producer and distributor of ice cream mixes and related supplies, faced a significant logistical challenge. With over 400 locations throughout the Midwest and as far south as Florida, the company needed a way to manage and track its raw materials, finished products, and distribution. The company had been using QuickBooks for its day-to-day business operations since its inception three years ago. However, they quickly realized that QuickBooks alone did not have the capabilities to manage the company's inventory and distribution requirements. They needed a stronger system that would integrate well with QuickBooks.

Arrowhead Electronic Healthcare, a company that leases PDAs to customers with their in-house software, was facing challenges in tracking customer shipments and their respective serial numbered merchandise. They needed to know who has what part and when it was shipped. They were also struggling to keep track of inventory consumed within their own company. Their existing system, which involved home-made excel spreadsheets and a long string of paper trails, was prone to human error and cumbersome. They needed an inventory management program to solve their inventory crisis.

Quality Pet Products, a wholesale distributor of pet foods, faced a fourfold business challenge. They needed to cut operations time and expense, develop processes and procedures to become AIB certified, streamline multiple warehouse/inventory software packages, and create a Web-based order entry system. They wanted to achieve all these while staying on the Intuit® QuickBooks® accounting solution. The company needed software that would streamline its warehouse processes and keep track of bin or picking locations, create bills of lading, calculate weight, and handle date codes, serial numbers and other inventory management items. They also needed to make their warehouse AIB certified as a top manufacturing partner required them to have the certification. Quality Pet Products had the additional challenge of setting up a Web site that could take its wholesale customer orders and drop them directly into his inventory management system.

Sole Envy, a new retail shoe store catering to women, needed an inventory management system that could help track all shoe orders and sales. The challenge was to develop a system that could track inventory down to the color, size, and number in stock. This was crucial in increasing the store's buying power and knowing what brands and styles of shoes were selling best. The system also needed to be easy to use for all employees, provide a powerful POS interface, allow for expansion to other locations, and integrate easily with QuickBooks. Additionally, the founder wanted to make the store processes as environmentally sound as possible.

Stego Industries, a leader in below-slab moisture vapor protection, was struggling with an outdated inventory control system that was not able to handle their growing needs. Their order processing was slow and difficult, leading to inefficiencies and long working hours for their order entry and fulfillment team. They attempted to solve these issues by upgrading to a new version of QuickBooks, but it failed to address their order management problems. The company was in dire need of a solution that could streamline their inventory processes, eliminate double data entry, and provide access to detailed inventory data.

Trimex Medical, a wholesale medical, dental, and hospital supplies distributor, was facing challenges due to its large volume of operations. The company was at a crossroads, needing an effective inventory management system to sustain their competitive position and increase output. The medical supplies industry required allocation of inventory dispersed into many non-traditional stock locales, including consigned inventory, leased inventory, and inventory sold with RMA tracking detail. Additionally, much of the product maintains lot and serial tracking codes. Product liability was detrimental to the success of the company. Knowing exactly what they have and where they have it was fundamental to Trimex’s business model. They needed a solution that was priced at a fraction of an in-house-built solution cost and that wouldn't require them to abandon the familiar QuickBooks accounting software.

In 2009, Wholesale Boutique decided to move the bulk of their business online, launching their website www.wholesaleboutique.com. This decision introduced a new layer of complexity to their operations, as they could no longer handle the increased order volume using QuickBooks as their only application. During their peak season, they spent up to two hours just getting the orders out of QuickBooks Enterprise to process them. Their Shipping Department was nearly unmanageable because of the fact that QuickBooks had limited integration with UPS. They had to manually enter drop ship orders and other shipping information. The company needed to drastically change the way they processed orders if they wanted to keep up with all of their new business. They set out to find an order management system that would integrate with both QuickBooks Enterprise and the company’s eCommerce platform.

FilterFiller.com, an online air filter supply business, was facing challenges in tracking more than 200 SKUs and managing all the purchasing, picking, packing, and shipping required by the company. They needed an easy-to-use inventory system that could integrate with QuickBooks. Additionally, as a new company, they needed help in the design and layout of their new website. The company was also looking for a solution that could handle their light manufacturing needs and integrate with Magento.

The Mending Shed, an online store selling a wide variety of replacement parts, was struggling with its inventory management system. The company was constantly dealing with overages and shortages on inventory, leading to customer dissatisfaction when orders had to be put on back order. The lack of inventory tracking also resulted in misplaced items, leading to a significant amount of unrecoverable inventory. The company was spending more than six hours per day to create purchase orders for all of their vendors. The process of picking each order individually was time-consuming and inefficient, taking two hours per every 100 orders picked. Employees had to memorize where each item was stored in the warehouse, leading to long training periods before they became proficient in picking and processing orders.

Reptile Industries, a large reptile breeder in Naples, Florida, was facing significant challenges in managing its inventory and shipping processes. The company did not have an automated system to keep everything labeled and organized. They used to manually import orders into QuickBooks and hand-write labels for each item on the invoice. This process was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. As the number of orders increased, the company found it increasingly difficult to manage their shipping and inventory processes efficiently.

Endodontic & Periodontic Associates, a large multi-specialty dental practice, was facing challenges in tracking and managing their inventory. They were not tracking their inventory on a usage basis, either by patient or by office. This lack of information made it difficult for doctors to know if they were being efficient with their supplies and what they should do to increase their efficiency. The office staff would visually check their inventory levels at the end of each month and then order however much they needed to bring inventory back up to the desired levels. But the actual levels were frequently guessed at, which often resulted in higher-than-necessary inventory or even stockouts at each office. Sometimes they would even run out of items required to perform procedures efficiently. Those procedures would have to be postponed and the missing materials had to be rush-ordered at great expense. But the amount of that added expense was difficult to determine without accurate inventory tracking information.

Following Hurricane Katrina, the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) discovered that its emergency warehouse needed drastic improvements due to new federal mandates and the limitations with its current inventory management system. They found that they were greatly lacking in their ability to efficiently respond to public health and healthcare facilities’ needs, and to appropriately manage inventory to prevent asset loss. During disasters, the greatest challenge MSDH faces is the ability to rapidly and safely provide antibiotics, antivirals, chemical antidotes, antitoxins, life support pharmaceuticals, vaccines, intravenous administration supplies, airway maintenance supplies, masks and medical/surgical items to communities in Mississippi.

The IT Network Division of Santa Barbara County, California, was tasked with monitoring all IT asset warranties while keeping track of all purchased and consumed assets across 250 locations. The existing asset tracking system, a customized Access database, was incomplete and difficult to use. It only performed basic tracking and organizing, and lacked the ability to generate different views or lists unless customized by a programmer. The division needed a user-friendly, customizable solution that could efficiently track assets, manage warranties, and generate estimates for new assets.

Tunaskin Aquatic Apparel, a company that designs clothing for aquatic sports, was in need of a powerful inventory management solution that could keep up with their comprehensive operations. The company manufactures, wholesales, and also operates brick-and-mortar stores and an online platform. They were looking for a system that could grow with them and help manage all these aspects of their business. They wanted to have a system in place that could help them track their finished goods and know the right times to restock.

Mary’s Medicinals, a leading manufacturer and wholesaler of cannabis-based nutraceutical products, was facing challenges with their inventory management. They had to manually count inventory each week, which was causing problems when it came to accurately forecasting material and production needs. The company needed a tool that could automate this process and provide accurate forecasts. Additionally, they needed to track the potency of the cannabis oil they used in their products, not just its volume.

Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery, one of Virginia’s oldest and largest wine producers, was facing significant challenges with its existing systems. The company was using QuickBooks, which was inadequate for their needs, particularly in managing multiple warehouses and bill of materials. The company was also facing procedural problems, such as all manufacturing inventories being expensed upon purchase, then looped back to cost of manufacture at a later date. This practice, along with other workarounds and estimates, resulted in meaningful financial statements but only months after the year was over. The company was also struggling with inventory accuracy, stockouts, and the inability to produce timely, accurate cost-to-manufacture information in-house.

SanaCare, an international distributor of medical products, was facing challenges in managing its inventory and meeting FDA requirements for traceability of medical goods. The company had grown significantly since its inception in 1995, and the existing manual processes for inventory management were no longer sufficient. The company needed a solution that could automate the process of capturing product information, including lot number and serial number, and inputting it onto the patient's record. This was crucial to comply with FDA regulations and maintain good customer relations.

Boxes R Us faced significant challenges due to outdated practices and manual processes, which led to a lack of visibility and warehouse overflow. The company, which provides gift and promotional packaging solutions for small businesses, often found itself holding a large variety of stock in significant quantities. This situation was exacerbated by the manual recording of stocktakes on a whiteboard, a practice inherited from the previous owner. The manual management of stock levels posed risks such as holding too much stock, not maximizing cash flow, and inefficient business operations. The absence of a robust inventory management system was a critical issue, leading to potential financial losses and operational setbacks.

The business, originally named Buderim Bucket Company, started small back in 2018, but as they grew more successfully with social media, the company grew rapidly and it became obvious that the business needed a better way to take control of stock and their ordering process.

COYO faced significant challenges in managing their inventory efficiently, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought erratic shifts in demand and supply. The company was heavily reliant on spreadsheets, which often led to stock outages or excessive stock levels, impacting their ability to meet customer demands effectively. Additionally, traceability for compliance was a critical factor that needed addressing. The lack of a robust inventory management solution resulted in inefficient workflows, making it difficult for COYO to maintain the high standards of customer service and innovation they are known for. The need for a centralized system that could provide full visibility and traceability was paramount to overcoming these challenges and ensuring compliance with industry standards.