Why Inventory Management for Ecommerce Sites Is Important

Inventory management software has become an integral part of eCommerce sites. As the demand for inventory management software has doubled in the past five years, many will wonder what the benefits of such a change are.

Simply put, the advantages inventory management offers to eCommerce businesses are hard to ignore. The automation of mundane everyday tasks, the minimization of human error, as well as the improvement of customer experience, are some of the many assets of this implementation.

Let’s see why inventory management software would be beneficial to eCommerce Sites.

1. Automation of Simple Procedures

A great benefit of inventory management software is that you can avoid procedures like inventory taking which require time, human resources, and funds. Doing a stock count with pen and paper has a high error rate and you might need to redo the whole process if not done correctly.

An inventory management software will keep track of your stock numbers, while some have the option to automize the restock of products once they are below your desired amount. Furthermore, an ERP will automatically update stock numbers when an item is sold, returned, shipped, or received. You will know when to restock and how many items you need, putting your capital to good use!

2. Cut Storage Costs

Problems like overstocking and dead stock will cost your eCommerce a lot of money. A surplus of products will force you to have bigger warehouses so that you can store them, as well as spend money to maintain them in sellable conditions.

An inventory management system will help you avoid this issue. You’ll have exactly what you need in your warehouse, cutting down the amount of money spent on it. It will make it easier for you or your employees to navigate it and find what you need in less time, while you’ll also have the ability to take advantage of the now free space in your warehouse. Especially in the eCommerce industry where purchases and orders are done online, inventory management is of utmost importance. Knowing what your stock consists of and the number of items available will help you fulfill orders accurately, efficiently, and quickly.

3. Transparency

Inventory management can help eCommerce sites be more transparent. At all times, you could know where your items are, how many orders came in, what is shipped, what is returned, and if you need to restock. You will also know who is handling each product at a specific time. This can help you in case an item gets lost or damaged. You could track it back to the last person that handle it and figure out what went wrong.

Moreover, transparency and inventory management will result in an organized warehouse. Imagine having to search through a hectic warehouse to find items to fulfill multiple orders at the same time. Botton line, you’ll need more time to do so, thus affecting your client services and income.

4. Increase Customer Satisfaction

Excellent customer experience is the cornerstone of a successful business. Using an ERP will increase customer satisfaction and build trust between your business and clients. You will be able to turn one-time customers into loyal ones that will choose your business for future purchases. Subsequently, you’ll build a broad client base and increase your profit.

5. Right Amount of Stock

One of the most common problems an eCommerce business will face is running out of stock or having too much of it. This can happen in cases where inventory isn’t monitored correctly, or when restocking isn’t done in time. Having too much or too little will affect your company in a negative way. Either you won’t have enough to meet customers’ needs, or you’ll have an excess amount of items that you’ll need to spend money to store in your facilities.

Excess inventory can also lead to dead stock. Dead stock is when a company has kept products in its warehouse for a long period of time and is highly unlikely to sell them. All the above scenarios will result in your business losing revenue. Implementing inventory management software will help you to face problems like overstocking and understocking, while you’ll be able to use your money towards any other procedure of your eCommerce business!

6. Reduce Human Error

Tasks like inventory taking can be very demanding and tiring for your employees and it is very common to make a mistake. This, combined with doing things the traditional way, with pen and paper, will slow down your business’ operations. Some eCommerce businesses opt to keep inventory manually by updating Excel sheets, but that also involves the risk of employees making mistakes.

Setting an inventory management software in effect will minimize the possibility of human error. Everything will be automatically updated in your system, enabling your business to work unhindered.

7. Multi-channel Order Management

Keeping track of inventory and orders is difficult enough for most retailers when selling on a single platform. This venture becomes more challenging for eCommerce stores that sell their products on multiple platforms and channels. As we’ve established above, knowing your inventory throughout is of vital importance for your business’s welfare.

Instead of worrying about inventory management, multichannel inventory management solutions allow you to concentrate on growing your business. Artificial intelligence (AI) powers today’s cloud-based solutions, which use automation to streamline workflows. They make it simple for businesses to track, manage, and organize inventory sales, purchases, and production across multiple channels.

Wrapping Up

An inventory management solution like Megaventory will significantly benefit your company from an operations point of view as well as from a financial and sales one. However, choosing the one that fits your business needs is a difficult task. That is why we’ve composed this article to help guide you in making the best decision according to your company’s needs!