Read this if you run a factory store
In plain words: inventory software for manufacturers is the system that keeps accurate, valued stock of your raw material, WIP (work-in-progress, the half-made stock on the line) and finished goods — and records every movement between them. A few terms below: a GRN (goods receipt note) brings material in; a material issue takes it out to production; a BOM (bill of materials) is the recipe of parts that go into a finished product; a lot or batch is stock received or made together, with its own traceability; FEFO means issue the nearest-expiry batch first; a reorder level is the stock point that should trigger a purchase; and the stock ledger is the tamper-proof history of every movement. Fast Inventory does all of this in one system.
A factory does not have the same problem as an online store. You are not shipping parcels — you are issuing steel, resin or components to a line, returning what is left, transferring between stores, and reconciling a physical count. Most “best inventory” lists ignore that. This page is honest about which tools are built for the shop floor and which are not.
Is this you?
What a manufacturer's stock system should do
- Separate, valued stock for raw material, WIP and finished goods across as many stores as you run.
- Material issue to production and returns, each writing a ledger line you can reconcile.
- Lot and batch traceability with FEFO issue, for material a customer or auditor can ask about.
- Reorder levels and non-moving reports so lines never starve and money is not stuck on the shelf.
- Cycle counting and physical stock taking that flags book-versus-counted variance for a clean fix.
- A path to bill-of-materials consumption on a work order when you are ready, on the same platform.
Why Fast Inventory for manufacturers
Built for the shop floor, not the checkout
Goods receipt, material issue and return, stock transfer between stores, gate pass, lot and FEFO, cycle-count variance, ABC, reorder and valuation — the movements a factory store actually makes, on one engine, not an online-seller order tab.
Raw material to finished goods, valued
Hold separate valued stock for raw material, WIP and finished goods across your stores, so you always know what you have, where, and what it is worth — on cost price or lot rate.
One immutable stock ledger
Every receipt, issue, return, transfer and adjustment writes a tamper-evident ledger row. Trace any batch of material forward and backward, and reconcile consumption instead of guessing it.
Grows into full production on one platform
It shares one item master and movement engine with Fast Production, so bill-of-materials consumption against a work order, plus Purchase, Billing and Planning, add on later — no rip-and-replace, no integration project.
On-site India support & training
Built in Pune (Nigdi) by Improsys; the same team sets it up on your plant, imports opening balances, trains your storekeepers and answers support calls — hands-on, in your time zone.
Affordable, scoped pricing
Per user, per store, or a flat fee, scoped to the modules and stores you run — not an enterprise licence-plus-consultant model. Itemised written quote within 48 hours, implementation included.
How the options compare for a factory
The tools below are all real, capable systems — but they are built for different buyers. For a manufacturer, the question is whether the tool controls a store the way a plant works. Here is where each fits.
| Software | Best for | Manufacturing stock fit (material issue, RM/WIP/FG, lot, reorder) | Pricing model | Support | Deployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Inventory Software | Indian manufacturing SMEs wanting real shop-floor stock control with hands-on local help | Strong — RM/WIP/FG stores, material issue & return, lot & FEFO, reorder, cycle-count variance, valuation, ledger; grows into BOM consumption via Fast Production | Per user, per store, or flat fee — scoped for Indian SMEs (ask for a quote) | On-site setup, opening-balance import & training from the Pune team that builds it | Cloud and on-premise |
| Zoho Inventory | Online and multichannel sellers | Order-and-inventory focus; light on material issue to production and store transfers | Cloud subscription, free starter tier (confirm quote) | Online / global support | Cloud |
| TallyPrime | Accounting-first books with godown stock | Godown stock and valuation; lighter on FEFO issue and cycle-count variance workflow | Perpetual licence plus TSS (confirm quote) | Partner network | On-premise |
| Vyapar | Small shops and traders wanting cheap GST billing with stock | Billing-led; not built for RM/WIP/FG separation or material issue | Low-cost subscription (confirm quote) | App / online support | Mobile & desktop |
| Unicommerce | E-commerce order fulfilment and warehouses | Fulfilment-led; not built for factory raw-material and WIP control | SaaS subscription (confirm quote) | Online support | Cloud |
| Marg | Pharma distributors, chemists and retail billing | Distribution billing & stock; distribution-led rather than plant store control | Licence-based (confirm quote) | Partner network | On-premise |
| Sortly | Simple visual asset and supplies tracking | Easy tracking; not built for manufacturing valuation, ledger and multi-store depth | Cloud subscription, free tier (confirm quote) | Online support | Cloud / mobile |
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 SMEs that want raw-material-to-finished-goods stock control, material issue to production, batch and reorder depth — with on-site support at an affordable price.
If you run a machining, fabrication, casting, plastics, chemical, food or engineering plant, Fast Inventory gives you a store that works the way a factory works — issue to a line, return the rest, transfer between stores, trace a batch, reconcile a count — with local on-site support and a clear path to full production on the same platform. The online-seller and billing tools are good at what they do; they are simply not built for your shop floor.
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 and engineering stores, and the same stock engine serves chemical, food and beverage, pharma, dairy, spare-parts and 3PL / warehousing operations across India and worldwide, cloud and on-premise.