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About Uml Diagram :
UML means Unified abbreviation Modelling Language. UML is an approach to modelling and documenting software. In fact, it’s one of the leading business process modelling techniques.
It is based on diagrammatic representations of software components. As the old proverb says: “a picture is worth a thousand words”. By using visual representations, we are able to better understand possible flaws or errors in software or business processes.
History of Uml diagram:
UML was created as a result of the confusion revolving around software development and documentation. In the 1990s, there were several different ways to represent and document software systems. The need get up for a more unified way to visually represent those systems and as a result, in 1994-1996, the UML was developed by three software engineers working at Rational Software. It was later adopted as the standard in 1997 and has remained the standard ever since, receiving only a few updates.
What is the use of UML?
Mainly, UML has been used as a general-purpose modeling language in the field of software engineering. However, it has now found its way into the documentation of several business processes or workflows. For example, activity diagrams, a type of UML diagram, can be used as a replacement for flowcharts. They provide both a more standardized way of modeling workflows as well as a wider range of features to improve readability and effectively
Uml diagrams for stock maintenance:
Example:
What is stock maintenance:
Stock maintenance is all about managing the flow stock through your organization. Stock maintenance helps you better understand which stocks are doing well and which stocks are just eating up your shelf space. The key is to order the inventory as much as needed, not too little and not too much. There are 4 main types of stock that your business could use
Ways to categorise your stock:
Raw materials – components that are ready to be used when producing goods
Work in progress – unfinished goods that are still in the production process
Finished goods – final products that are ready to sell
Consumables – items that are used daily for the running of business operations e.g. fuel, stationary etc.
It is important to divide your stock into categories so it’s easier to organise and keep track of what needs replacement.
You can also rank the categories in order of value to fund the most important one first when you are limited on cashflow.
How to manage stock effectively:
- Set minimum stock levels
- First In, First Out (FIFO)
- Having a good relationship with your supplier
- Have a contingency plan
- The importance of accurate forecasting
- Quality control is everything
- Use a cloud-based stock management software
Advantages of stock:
- Improves business cashflow
- Good stock management is important because stock is a business asset that ties up cashflow.
- Stock is an asset that your business would have already paid for. If you aren’t selling it and getting cash back, it’s just sitting in your warehouse taking up space and not being turned into cash for your business to use.
- By managing stock effectively, it will allow the business to free up cashflow to be used in other aspects of business operations.
- This is why stock management is very important for cash flow management.
- To be efficient, you should be able to track how much stock you currently have, when you’ll run out based on forecasted sales and when to replace stock. Doing this will ensure that you have more cash set aside that isn’t tied up in stock.
- So remember, better stock management leads to an improvement in cashflow!
- 2. Saves you money
- Another important reason for efficient stock management is that it cuts costs for your business.
- Your business should be able to accurately predict and forecast the demands of your product. This is essential for making sure that you have enough stock to meet customer demand.
- With effective stock management, you can avoid situations where you lose money from products being out of stock or when too much money is spent on excess stock that is taking up space in the warehouse.
- Stock management also helps saves you money by avoiding product spoilage. If your business is selling products that are perishable and has an expiry date (e.g. food, drinks or makeup), then it can go bad if not sold on time.
- You will lose money from these spoiled products as they cannot be sold anymore.
- You can also avoid losing money on dead stock, which are products that cannot be sold because it has gone out of season, style or has become irrelevant.
- In short, good stock management saves you tons of money!
Use case Diagram:
Active diagram:
