In today’s world of fast fulfillment, instant delivery, and quick processing, inventory and warehouse compatibility cannot be compromised. Even the slightest errors or loopholes can lead to overstocking, leading to dead inventory, and overselling, leading to lost customers. None of the mentioned situations favour the business, acting as barriers to growth. Now, the challenges do not stop here; when the inventory and warehouse are not aligned for business scalability, error-free delivery is like walking on a rope. In order to skip all these challenges, sellers need to plan, prioritize, and prepare their business for what’s coming up. This blog is going to explain how you can fix your inventory and warehousing issues. 

The Game Plan to Control Inventory and Warehousing Simultaneously 

There are certain ways in which sellers can fix the loopholes in their stock and warehousing, and here’s a comprehensive list: 

1. Minimize Manual Work 

Manual work takes forever and messes up easily. Avoid counting the inventory manually. Use sensors, wearable devices, and RFID tags to keep track of stock without the hassle. These automated solutions in the warehouse allow sellers to keep a hold of every unit smartly. 

2. Cycle Counting Rounds 

With cycle counting, sellers can break inventory into chunks and check them bit by bit to spot any mismatches. Important tip: Count the pricier stuff more often. One solid way to do it is with the ABC classification:

  • Sort the items by value: Group them into A (high-value stuff making up 80% of your inventory dollars), B (mid-tier at 15%), and C (low-value at 5%).
  • Set counting schedule: Hit A items monthly, B every couple of months, and C maybe twice a year.
  • Do the counts: Stick to the plan and tally a small batch each time while matching it against your records.

3. Maintain the Best Sellers in Stock 

Best sellers are the maximum profit makers for any online business. Keeping them stocked up at all times should be the priority at all times. Maintaining a buffer for the same is yet another great plan. 

4. Utilize Demand Forecasting 

Demand forecasting means digging into past sales data to guess what's coming next and keep stock from running low on products. Sellers look at trends, patterns, and stock accordingly. 

Take seasonality into consideration, as it makes SKU velocity (how fast each item moves in a given time) swing up and down. 

5. Watch Out Expiration Dates 

Keep an eye on expiration dates, so you can move stock before it goes bad. To get rid of stock with close expiry dates, slash prices or run deals to clear it out fast. For example, do Buy One Get One on those items or set up a clearance sale with 20-50% off to push quick sales.

6. Use the Inventory Management System 

An inventory management system is designed to track every unit stored in the warehouse, rather than in warehouses located in different places. A compatible system will be able to centralize stock for sellers, bringing them together on a centralized dashboard. Cherry on the cake would be a buffer inventory management system that gives a foolproof solution to overselling. 

7. FIFO and LIFO

FIFO (first in, first out) means selling your oldest stock first to keep things fresh and make room for new arrivals. LIFO (last in, first out) flips it by selling the newest stuff first, which bumps up the cost of goods sold (COGS) and can save on taxes. Quite well known in the online selling world, this technique is a no-miss. 

MUST Have Features for an Inventory Management Software 

Since the section above mentioned an inventory management system, let’s figure out the features that need to be there in the tool: 

  • Real-time Inventory Tracking: It allows the sellers to keep up with units and their numbers. Sellers can keep a consistent track of inventory to avoid stockouts and dead inventory. 
  • Automation Support: Automation support is a must to avoid errors and maintain consistency. It automatically syncs the data to fulfillment partners and ERPs for easy delivery. 
  • Multi-Location Inventory Management: It is not possible to store stock in a centralized location at one place. More often than not, sellers store stocks in different locations, which is very difficult without such a feature. 
  • Multi-Channel Integration: The tool should be able to integrate multiple sales channels into a central platform so the inventory can be synced for the fulfillment of multiple sales channels. 
  • Buffer Inventory: Managing inventory is one thing, and having a safety stock in the form of buffer is another. Buffer gives the seller that safety, where customers always get whatever they want. 

In a Nutshell…

Managing inventory and the warehouse is a very critical part of handling an online business. Only the right inventory management software, like MapMyChannel, can solve these issues. It comes with all the features mentioned above, along with 3PL/ERP integration for all-around business automation. The software is designed to help sellers solve their day-to-day problems and scale and enhance the flexibility of their e-commerce business. Integrate your business into the automation software for effortless business growth.