Ecommerce Inventory Management the Right Software is Key
Sales in e-commerce depend on two main factors, price and delivery time, the first factor depends on the suppliers you deal with, and the second depends on your management of the inventory itself, so there is great importance to managing ecommerce inventory, and e-commerce companies rely heavily on effectively managing ecommerce inventory So you can know when to order more inventory, how much to order, where to store it, etc. In this article LOGSTIAT will give you all the details on how to effectively manage ecommerce inventory, ways to enhance that management and what are the best ecommerce inventory management software.
What is ecommerce inventory management?
ecommerce Inventory management refers to the processes of storing, tracking and shipping products, and it is one of the essential aspects of managing online stores, whether large or small.
Inventory management helps e-store owners know how much inventory is available, when they have to renew it, estimate the cost of storage, and more.
As for the concept of ecommerce inventory management, it means the organized approach through which the sources of e-commerce inventory are determined in terms of storage, tracking, and shipping.
A successful ecommerce inventory management is one of the sources of strength and efficiency for e-commerce companies, through which they will be able to increase efficiency and reduce operational costs.
How to grow your ecommerce store?
Preparing ecommerce inventory
The most important step before starting ecommerce inventory management is to prepare your inventory for the unexpected.
So that your inventory is prepared for any future conditions related to future demands and customers and their aspirations, here are a number of important information on how to better predict future orders:
1. Inventory financing
Inventory is one of the most valuable assets that a company owns, and it needs to have sales before it can be invested in.
Inventory financing helps you achieve the continued growth of your business.
Therefore, you need to provide a suitable source of financing along with a suitable plan in the event of a gap in your cash flow.
2. Inventory forecasting
Inventory forecasting will help you easily meet future requirements, and you can forecast using your historical sales data as well as other trends.
Also, one of the most important advantages of inventory forecasting is the possibility of reducing the required inventory in addition to increasing sales while reducing employment.
Thus achieving more efficient and effective production cycles.
How Inventory Management Enhances Your Ecommerce Strategy
Strategic inventory management can greatly enhance e-commerce, as it effectively helps in:
- Fixing errors associated with inventory management and thus avoiding a lot of huge costs and losses.
- Giving your business a significant competitive advantage.
- Knowledge of purchasing behavior and a new understanding of where your products are in their lifecycle.
- Strengthen the relationship with your customers and suppliers.
- Handling e-commerce inventory efficiently.
All of these things will work effectively in enhancing e-commerce operations, thus increasing revenues, growing companies, and maintaining or gaining their reputation in the market.
Why do eCommerce stores need this level of inventory control?
Online stores spend more on shipping than the value of the products themselves, and this is a big problem for online stores all over the world.
So the costs of inventory management issues globally are well over a trillion, and this is a very huge cost, so there is a lot of importance to inventory management and control.
All e-commerce businesses need this level of inventory control system to verify that the e-commerce business has the correct inventory levels.
Correct stock levels are meant to be those levels needed to fulfill all customer orders on time.
Therefore, inventory control is a vital process that helps in improving inventory clearly, as it works to keep the most important units of products without spending a lot of money.
Features for in good ecommerce inventory management software
These are the core features that business owners and finance directors will want. If you’re considering an inventory solution that lacks one or more of these features, then look elsewhere.
Although it is difficult to have e-commerce inventory management software that includes all the features at the same time and the features differ according to the nature of the establishment that works in e-commerce,
However, there are a number of basic features that a good e-commerce inventory management software should have, and the following are the most important ones:
1. Real-time inventory tracking
Which shows you what you have in stock at the moment. It is one of the most important features of good e-commerce inventory management software that you will rely on.
2. Real-time inventory value
which will help you determine the current value of your inventory, as it provides a live display of the value of your inventory and can track variable costs efficiently.
3. Reorder points and low stock alerts
Which will provide you with automatic alerts when critical stock is low, as well as the ability to quickly create a purchase order to process the order in real time.
4. Purchase and supplier management
Which works to control inventory and purchases as well, by storing all your suppliers’ details centrally, as well as the ability to create and fill your purchase orders automatically.
5. Unlimited SKUs
Which is one of the most important features of e-commerce inventory management software, as it helps you add an endless number of products, giving you a better chance for your business to grow.
6. Proper inventory reporting
The reporting feature should be available automatically on a monthly basis without the need to generate it manually,
Which will make your operations more efficient by providing periodic reports that tell you more about your inventory, such as:
- Turnover and average days of sale per SKU.
- Inventory lifetime.
7. Barcode scanning and serial number tracking
Which will help make the data entry process easier, and thus systems update with the click of a button. Effectively scanning the barcode and tracking the serial number helps in moving faster as well as visibly reduce errors.
Also, scanning the barcode and tracking the serial number works efficiently in tracking products and thus knowing their path until they reach their final destination, as it provides all historical data on the products.
8. Adaptability
One of the most important features of ecommerce inventory management software is the ability to adapt, so that it better suits your business needs and is constantly renewed.
Is inventory management software right for eCommerce SMEs?
Some believe that inventory management software is not important for small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses.
In fact, this is a misconception, as the inventory management software is suitable for small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses.
But if small and medium-sized e-commerce establishments are able to organize the order without software and are also unable to afford the e-commerce inventory management software, then there is no problem.
This is because most SMEs are unable to afford to invest in programs of this quality.
But what is inescapable is the importance of inventory management software for large e-commerce establishments, but at the same time small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses can benefit from it.
It helps them in providing better inventory control as well as fulfilling customer orders faster and more efficiently, and it will also make them save a lot of unnecessary expenses.
