Well, this can be answered in several different ways. The first and foremost question is, are they willing to spend money? This may seem a cavalier thing to ask, but it encompasses many subjects:
1. How big is the business?
2. How many users?
3. How much business volume?
4. Do they already have a network and/or database servers?
5. Do they have other applications they use for other stuff?
6. Is it more realistic to buy some pre-packaged software or to build their own?
If it's a small business with few (or one) users, you could probably use Google (or your favorite search engine) to find some inexpensive or free software to do this. Just search for inventory programs, logistics and distribution control programs, that sort of thing. Load it on a secretary's desktop machine and let everyone ask her for reports.
If it's a medium-sized business with a few users and a few offices and a central location, you may want to contact smaller vendors that have client/server apps to do inventory control...perhaps web-based but definitely designed for multi-user. Costs more, but usually fairly quick to implement.
If it's a big business with lots of users scattered over a wide geographic area, you may want to think about large software vendors like SAP or Oracle Apps. Very expensive, and takes a long time to implement right.
Last, if you want to build your own, and you're not a programmer, be prepared to either spend a lot of money on programming talent or a consulting firm, or take a long time to implement.
Back in the day, my dear old dad gave me the best programming advice ever:
"Good, Fast, Cheap...choose two."
Hope this gives you some ideas to proceed with.
