Any successful eCommerce business relies heavily on inventory management. This is especially true for eCommerce business owners juggling multiple sales channels.
By managing inventory, you will be aware of stock locations at any given time and know exactly what quantities need to be addressed. Manually managing your inventories, however, could spell disaster: it’s tedious, it takes a lot of time, and you always need to double-check everything.
Investing in an automated solution will ensure your inventory can be updated automatically, saving you countless hours, all while having a real-time view of your stock and addressing any challenges right away.
Especially if your business is looking to scale, automated inventory systems can be a great solution. Your business operations can be scaled up by reducing time and eliminating error risks with these systems.
5 must-have features for your inventory management system
1. Product lookup
2. Warehouse management
3. Smart forecasting
4. Reports and dashboards
5. Automated order management
Top trends to watch
When picking your Inventory Management Solution, you should consider the following technology trends:
Automated equipment
With automated equipment, inventory management can be radically improved, and you can save time and effort by efficiently navigating warehouse processes. Make sure that your inventory management system supports an automated equipment solution.
AI capabilities
Look for a system that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning if your budget allows it. These tools provide expert recommendations by analysing data from every area of the supply chain.
Scalability
Keeping a budget is important, but system performance and reliability should take precedence. In the short term, don't sacrifice scalability to save money, as doing so could cost you later on.
Analytics
There is a wealth of actionable information in the data. Increasingly, businesses rely on data and analytics to make intelligent decisions, and data can provide insights that can further enhance sales. So use data analytics to get a perspective you wouldn't have otherwise.
Cloud vs on-premise
Cloud-based inventory management systems are usually more cost-effective than on-premise solutions. Deploying and maintaining an on-premise system can take more time and effort, and it can be difficult to update.
Making the right decisions
You don’t want to choose your supply management system in haste, especially now, when the market is fierce. The success or failure of your business depends on it. When choosing the right solution, think about your specific needs: the products you sell, the volume of orders you process, your budget restrictions and your growth plans. Once you make a decision, it’s crucial that you regularly re-evaluate it to make sure it’s continuing to meet your business needs as you scale.
Interested in learning more about inventory management systems? WonderLane, a Trust Payments company, specialises in designing, building and delivering commerce platforms for next-generation shopping journeys.
