E-commerce Inventory Management

PROJECT OBJECTIVE

The company needs to find an effective way to turn the aged inventory that wasn’t selling in their retail operation, but didn’t have the resources to do so and enable the client to streamline their huge inventories of items, manage wholesale operation and procurement services and also a drop shipping process.


OUR CLIENTS

We support globally different Marketplaces like Walmart, Amazon, eBay, jet, Sears, Shopify, Wish, Etsy, Overstock, Rakuten.


FEATURES/KEY FUNCTIONS OF ECOMMERCE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT:-

An inventory management system supports the activities of purchasing products, reading sales and results and on -hand inventory and liquidation of product for e-commerce, retail and omnichannel companies.

  • Key functions or features while considering the replacement of your current scenario of your inventory management followings things should be reconsidered: -
  • 1)Improved Inventory Control and forecasting: - How will this system assist in managing and controlling inventory?
    • a) How robust is the SKU item master file? What will be the data available, product cost and methodologies?
    • b) System forecast demand at the SKU level over a time horizon and calculate when it will out of stock based on selling plans or projected demand from vendor lead times
    • c) For business which is multichannel, what will the procedure provided for a channel view of shipped sales and customer demand.
    • d) How streamlined is the analysis and purchasing functions for placing purchasing orders.
  • 2)Barcode and Scanning: - barcode function may provide to support the inventory system
  • 3)Improved Inventory analysis: -There are number of data elements in inventory management system. What is the key USP does it provide to fit your needs of inventory management methods? Whether the system is providing the key metrics there to measure inventory
  • 4)Actionability: -Given sheer number of products and SKUs many companies aver number of merchandising and purchasing departments , often they don’t have time to handle it at one go and one point, how approachable are third data dashboards, and have efficiently they work and support and perform ?Whether the system point the purchasing agent or inventory manager to which products to take action on (i.e. potential stock outs , calculating recommended purchase orders and candidates for liquidation.
  • 5)Configurability: -This system allows systems to be successfully implemented across industries and merchandise without customization.
  • 6) Integration and Interfaces: -If your needs are not fulfilled /or you are not receiving the auctionability from a single source, what add on systems needed or key integrations/interfaces required which include as: -
    • a) Master /slave data relationship between the inventory management system when two different inventory systems are collaborated and used.
    • b) Support for customer facing or selling applications such as retail post or website integrations.
    • c) An interface to corporate accounting systems, including the aggregated value of inventory in a general ledger system, methods include retail, an average cost and layered first i, first out (FIFO).
    • d)Different Interfaces such as Merchandise Planning Systems, Data Analytics, Dimensional Weight systems and Product barcodes .
  • 7) On Premise v/s Software as a Service/Cloud: In many Companies cloud based subscription services have made full-function information systems such as inventory management more affordable than installed software because they provide you more detailing and information.
  • 8)Developing Right Inventory Strategy: - Implementing the right inventory management system is one of the most crucial elements of an inventory strategy that can help you increase sales and improve the customer experience without being overstocked.


challenges


  • 1) Demand Fluctuation: - Most of the online retailers have to account for the demand fluctuations which caused due to season ability and product popularity. Online retailers should equip themselves and be capable of handling all such situations by having a new foresight
  • 2) Reverse logistics: - Reverse logistics is one of the greatest tat online retailers’ vet to manage to enhance the customer satisfaction and generate more business., because of the high challenge of high product returns, the categories to see if they can be reused or distributed into smaller pieces to see if their components can be reused in different products.
  • 3) Stockouts: - Sometimes the online retailers carry to lesser inventory to reduce cost and the benefits of lower inventory are widely acknowledged also, but such policy increases the risk of stockouts. stockouts can negatively affect online retailer in many ways. Retailers who experience stockouts face declining sales and customer satisfaction, customers might switch to competitors and there would be back-end costs
  • 4) Managing SKU: - This challenge is mostly faced by the online apparel retailers where they have the problem of managing inventory information for various SKU's for each product shown on the website. This is mainly because each product can have several sizes and colors.
  • 5) Multi Channel Shoppers:- inventory control is more challenging than ever because of the evolution of customers into multichannel shoppers. consumers now browse, research, purchase and return products through multiple mediums
  • 6) Managing Risks: -Following are some of mitigating strategies for inventory management by online retailers
  • 7) Pre purchase stock: -If in advance the retailer s efficient inventory management, customers are happy because they get to know the products are available which they want to purchase and in turn be delivered quickly. on the other hand, the retailers take all inventory risk
  • 8) Take Stock after customer buy: -This limits inventory risk, but can lead to longer delivery times. This model does however mean closer working ties with suppliers in that the online retailer need to work with them on an almost daily basis to ensure supply can meet likely demand


Solution

1) Demand Fluctuation:-Most of the online retailers have to account for the demand fluctuations which caused due to season ability and product popularity. Online retailers should equip themselves and be capable of handling all such situations by having a new foresight

2) Reverse logistics:-Reverse logistics is one of the greatest tat online retailers’ vet to manage to enhance the customer satisfaction and generate more business., because of the high challenge of high product returns, the categories to see if they can be reused or distributed into smaller pieces to see if their components can be reused in different products.

3) Stockouts:-Sometimes the online retailers carry to lesser inventory to reduce cost and the benefits of lower inventory are widely acknowledged also, but such policy increases the risk of stockouts. stockouts can negatively affect online retailer in many ways. Retailers who experience stockouts face declining sales and customer satisfaction, customers might switch to competitors and there would be back end costs.

4) Managing SKU:- This challenge is mostly faced by the online apparel retailers where they have the problem of managing inventory information for various SKU's for each product shown on the website. This is mainly because each product can have several sizes and colors.

5) Multi Channel Shoppers:- inventory control is more challenging than ever because of the evolution of customers into multichannel shoppers. consumers now browse, research, purchase and return products through multiple mediums.

6) Managing Risks:-Following are some of mitigating strategies for inventory management by online retailers.

7) Pre purchase stock:-If in advance the retailer s efficient inventory management, customers are happy because they get to know the products are available which they want to purchase and in turn be delivered quickly. on the other hand, the retailers take all inventory risk.

8) Take Stock after customer buy:-This limits inventory risk, but can lead to longer delivery times. This model does however mean closer working ties with suppliers in that the online retailer need to work with them on an almost daily basis to ensure supply can meet likely demand.

"Business Benefits"

Perhaps the biggest and most crucial benefit is that it makes the process of managing the whole ecommerce inventory management easier, efficient, and approachable.
Due to fluctuations in market, stocks too fluctuate and these helps inventory management system helps to avoid human error by automating your key business processes.
Overselling is major challenge, but it can be overcome by synchronizing your orders and inventory across each of your online market paces and ecommerce platforms that stock levels are adjusted each time you make a sale
It not only helps you to alienate your inventory costs, but you can benefit from further cost savings topicals’ allows you to reduce excess obsolete stock not to mention the subsequent costs incurred, by establishing your par levels and calculating your safety stock.
When it comes to managing your inventory is important, thus with this system you can track low stock levels and identify re-order points for each product, in turn to avoiding the occurrence of stock outs.
With this you will have facility of batch tracking, product traceability and subsequently be able to access valuable information allowing for potential negotiations and suppliers. with this specifically the business owner will obtain a far better understanding of which suppliers are benefitting form your business the most and require improvements, with this information you will be better equipped to negotiate more favorable trading term’s and deals.
It is more visible for your customers which help to avoid shift in customer
This system incorporation in business will help provide invaluable sales data, allow to forecast sales trends by detailed understanding of demand and supply giving it a more competitive edge, with its re [porting features and inventory metrics it will help you make important strategic decisions. additionally, with the ability to work out your inventory turnover rate, you will be able to identify opportunities for reducing inventory you are holding in your warehouse unnecessarily and lowering your inventory carrying costs.