The Ails & Prescriptions of Inventory Management

This post is contributed by Tiana, the Marketing Coordinator at ecomdash, an inventory management system for multi-channel ecommerce companies. She writes for the ecomdash blog, and enjoys finding creative ways to help online retailers achieve their goals.

We know working with ShipStation means you’re in good hands. For many sellers, that’s all it takes to run and maintain a successful online shop. Sometimes though, inventory issues can arise that can throw you for a loop and send you scrambling to dial 911. Having an inventory management system can help you get organized and update your marketplaces quickly and accurately. Here are some of the top symptoms and warning signs that it may be time to check out an inventory automation solution, and not wait for an emergency situation.

Diagnosis & Symptoms: Growing Pains

• Looking to test another marketplace
• You want to add a new product line
• Creating a new website for new product

Prescription:
A multichannel inventory management tool will help you stay on top of things across all your sales channels, save time, and help increase sales overall. After starting to use an inventory tool, we’ve seen sales increase by an average of 23% per quarter. It will automatically checks your sales order status in real-time and update inventory quantities across all sales channels to reflect a purchase. You can also get inventory quantities auto-updated across channels when you receive a purchase order or add more stock directly from supplier catalogs. Inventory software can even help you easily list products for sale (in volume). You can simply push your products out onto the marketplaces from the supplier catalog, or send the inventory you currently sell on one channel to also populate on different channel. Forget uploading product info more than once. Use a tool that can manage and list products for you.

Diagnosis & Symptoms: Overselling Intolerance

You’ve experienced an overselling situation that really burned you.

• Inventory quantities on Amazon weren’t adjusted fast enough after an item sold out on eBay
• Had to contact each customer individually to tell them a product was backordered
• Got a few negative reviews, seller rating plummeted, and you lost sales

Prescription:
An inventory management system can keep track of sales order status in real time, and keep everything organized and in once place. Get a fast order-check process and the ability to recognize multiple product identifiers for the same item. It should update your inventory, across all sales channels, immediately after a purchase. Make sure you look at the pricing for your software; it should have a monthly price based on a simple variables – like the number of orders processed per month or number of SKUs in your library. You’ll want to steer clear of an inventory system that would cut heavily into your margins depending on your business style. Find one that brings you peace of mind and remains in budget. Never oversell again.

Diagnosis & Symptoms: SKU Schizophrenia

You are a firm believer in spreadsheets – but they’re starting to make you crazy.

• Each year that went by you planned to really get inventory organized, but you never did
• Can find information you need in your excel docs, but it’s taking forever
• Need to hire someone to help you organize inventory and keep track of quantity levels

Prescription:
You need inventory management technology that provides extra help when it comes to getting your inventory setup in a new system. Ask for some hands-on help getting everything setup if needed. We’ve seen ecommerce companies save hundreds per week after they no longer had to hire part time resources to manipulate and move data around from one place to another.

Make a list of your non-negotiable integrations, functions and features, and narrow down which software meets your needs at the best-value price. Talk to your peers to find out what they recommend. Then, you have to do the hard work – ask the right questions and test. Once you find the right tool, it will be a huge relief for you. Then, you’ll be able to finally grow and scale your business in an increasingly smarter way over time.

Inventory management companies serve a wide range of clients, from small and mid-size businesses to enterprise corporations. Running an online business takes a great deal of dedication, but it’s also very rewarding when you get it right. Enlisting the help of an inventory software company can give you the extra time, automation and peace of mind you need.