Read this if you never quite trust your stock figure
In plain words: inventory management software is the system that keeps an accurate, valued picture of what stock you hold, where it sits, and what it is worth — and records every movement that changes it. A few terms you will see below: an SKU is one stock item or product line; a GRN (goods receipt note) is the record that brings stock in; a lot or batch is a group of stock received or made together with its own expiry; FEFO means first-expiry-first-out, issuing the nearest-expiry batch first; a reorder level (or min/max) is the stock point that should trigger a purchase; ABC sorts your items by how much money they tie up; and the stock ledger is the tamper-proof line-by-line history of every movement. Fast Inventory does all of this in one system.
Most “best inventory software” lists rank tools with stars that mean little for an Indian business. This page does something more useful: it tells you, in plain words, which type of buyer each tool is really built for — so you stop comparing an online-seller app against a factory store’s needs.
Is this you?
What you get with the right inventory system
- One accurate, valued stock figure per item and store, updated at every receipt, issue and transfer.
- Batch and expiry tracked lot by lot, with FEFO issue so the nearest-expiry stock leaves first.
- A reorder-level dashboard that flags items at or below minimum before you run out.
- Physical stock taking that shows book-versus-counted variance, reconciled with a clean adjustment.
- ABC and non-moving reports that show exactly where your money is stuck on the shelf.
- An immutable stock ledger, so any batch can be traced forward and backward in minutes.
Why Fast Inventory
Built for manufacturing & distribution SMEs
Item and material master, goods receipt, material issue and return, stock transfer and gate pass, lot and FEFO, physical stock taking, ABC, reorder and valuation, all in one system — not a billing app with a stock tab bolted on.
One immutable stock ledger
Every movement writes a tamper-evident ledger row, so your stock is a running balance you can trust and audit — not a figure someone can quietly edit. Trace any batch forward and backward from one screen.
On-site India support & training
It is built in Pune (Nigdi) by Improsys, and the same team sets it up, imports your opening balances, trains your storekeepers and answers your support calls — hands-on, in your time zone.
Affordable, scoped pricing
Priced for Indian SMEs — per user, per store, or a flat fee — scoped to the modules you actually run, rather than an enterprise licence-plus-consultant model. Itemised written quote within 48 hours.
Grows into a full plant on one platform
It shares one item master and movement engine with Fast Production (bill-of-materials consumption), Purchase, Billing and Planning, and the Fast WMS superset — so you add capability later with no rip-and-replace.
Works with what you already run
Fast Inventory integrates with your existing systems, including Tally — movements can post as stock journals with godown mapping, so physical stock and your books finally agree without double entry.
How the options compare
The tools below are all real, capable systems used by Indian businesses. The honest question is not which scores highest — it is which one matches how you hold stock, your industry and your budget. Here is where each fits.
| Software | Best for | Pricing model | Stock-control depth (lot/FEFO, ledger, cycle count, valuation) | Support | Deployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Inventory Software | Indian manufacturing & distribution SMEs wanting real stock, batch and reorder depth with hands-on local help | Per user, per store, or flat fee — scoped and quoted for the Indian SME market (ask for a quote) | Deep — item master, GRN/issue/return/transfer/gate pass, lot & FEFO, cycle-count variance, ABC, reorder, valuation, immutable ledger | On-site setup, opening-balance import, training & support from the Pune team that builds it | Cloud and on-premise |
| Zoho Inventory | Online and multichannel sellers on marketplaces and e-commerce | Cloud subscription with a free starter tier (confirm quote) | Order-and-inventory focus; lighter on shop-floor material issue and on-premise store control | Online / global support | Cloud |
| Vyapar | Small shops, retailers and traders wanting cheap GST billing with stock | Low-cost subscription (confirm quote) | Billing-led; stock follows invoicing rather than a full movement engine with lot genealogy | App / online support | Mobile & desktop |
| TallyPrime | Businesses that want accounting-first books with built-in stock | Perpetual on-premise licence plus annual TSS (confirm quote) | Solid godown stock; lighter on FEFO issue discipline and cycle-count variance workflow | Partner network | On-premise (cloud via partners) |
| Unicommerce | E-commerce and omnichannel order fulfilment operations | SaaS subscription (confirm quote) | Built around order fulfilment, not factory raw-material / WIP / finished-goods control | Online support | Cloud |
| Sortly | Simple visual inventory, supplies and asset tracking on mobile | Cloud subscription with a free tier (confirm quote) | Easy photo/QR tracking; not built for manufacturing valuation, ledger and multi-store depth | Online support | Cloud / mobile |
| Marg | Pharma distributors, chemists and retail billing | Licence-based (confirm quote) | Strong distribution billing and stock; distribution-led rather than manufacturing store control | Partner network | On-premise |
How we compare: this table uses each vendor's own public positioning and documented focus. We do not score, rank or give star ratings — we simply describe which type of buyer each tool fits best. Features and pricing change, so confirm the current details with each vendor before you decide.
Best for Indian manufacturing & distribution SMEs that want real stock, batch and reorder depth — lot/FEFO, cycle-count variance and an immutable ledger — with on-site support at an affordable price.
If you run a factory store, a distribution warehouse or a spare-parts store — and you care about accurate valued stock, batch and expiry discipline, reorder control and an audit trail you can trust — Fast Inventory gives you the depth of a serious stock system with the local, on-site support a growing Indian business actually needs. The other tools are genuinely good; they are simply built for online sellers, billing-first shops or accounting-first books.
Proof, without the marketing
Fast Inventory is a Fast Technology product, built in Pune (Nigdi) by Improsys — a company whose name is short for “improvement in systems,” which began as a systems-improvement consultancy for SME manufacturers across Pune and Maharashtra. It is one of 12 products on a single shared platform, and Improsys carries ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2013 and CMMI Level 5. Its reference deployments span manufacturing, engineering and distribution stores, and the same stock engine serves pharma, food and beverage, chemical, dairy, retail, spare-parts and 3PL / warehousing operations across India and worldwide, cloud and on-premise.