The budget for public schools is constantly shrinking. More and more teachers are leaned on to provide their own materials for the classroom, limits are placed on the amount of copy paper that can be used, and text books are becoming increasingly outdated as schools are unable to purchase new products.
That is why it is becoming all the more important for schools to understand what resources they have and where they are being dispensed.
A government inventory management system can help you track if and where resources are being lost or misused, you can better address the drains that are being placed on your already tight budget. Here are just two examples of how:
Books
When you think of books in a High School, you might think of a school library. Fortunately, most school libraries have their own way of inventory tracking. But that system does not often apply to text books.
If your school has a freshman class of 450 students who are all required to read Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel, Speak, during the month of September, then you need to store and track 450 or more copies of this novel.
Should several copies of the novel disappear each year, then it will not be long before you have an insufficient number of copies for all of your students. If you used an inventory tracking system to tell you where these books were assigned, not only would you have been able to address the shortage before it became an issue, but you might have been able to convince the guilty students to return their book.
Gym Supplies
Basketballs, baseballs, dodgeball and more. These are the tools in the Physical Educator’s arsenal. What distinguishes gym supplies from other common tools for schools is their incredibly rough treatment.
A hockey stick can snap if you strike the ground too hard, a soccer ball might spring a leak, a baseball can be hit over a fence and lost in the surrounding bramble. These represent losses similar to a stolen book, but sometimes you can see the damage coming.
Are your basketballs wearing thin? Is a particular gym mat reaching the end of its life? A good software system will allow you to track the life cycle of your equipment, which can help you budget better for predictable costs.
It might be tempting for a poorly funded public school to implement their own inventory tracking system, but that leaves open the opportunity for mistakes to be made. In a study, Warehouse management systems increased inventory accuracy by 20%.
Inventory tracking software allows you to quickly and easily manage your school’s assets, and better understand the immediate needs of your students.
If you have any questions on government inventory systems, please call our dedicated team at ASTS today!
