The Benefits of Integrating Inventory Management Software with Your E-commerce Platform
June 19, 2023 - 12 minutes readDiscover the business-boosting benefits of modern inventory management software.
As an eCommerce or retail business owner, keeping a firm handle on your inventory management strategy is vital.
Without a streamlined supply chain operation, you run the risk of draining your business budgets while failing to fulfill your delivery promises. Fortunately, we live in a digital age where a wealth of innovative inventory management tools are available at your fingertips. By integrating the right inventory management software into your business, you will streamline your operations in a way that supports the continual growth of your retail or eCommerce business.
Here we’re going to look at the key benefits of integrating inventory management software into your eCommerce platform.
But first, let’s consider the key attributes of modern inventory management software.
What Is Inventory Management Software, Exactly?
Inventory management software—also known as an inventory management system—is an intuitive tool that will empower you to streamline every key aspect of your operation.
The right inventory management software will seamlessly integrate into your existing eCommerce platform to enable the tracking, measuring, monitoring, and management of your store’s stock. In addition to keeping on top of stock levels and movement, inventory management software will work in unison with your existing platform to help you streamline every stage of your supply chain.
As most modern inventory management solutions also serve up digestible visual data, you can make key inventory purchasing decisions based on real-time as well as historical stock sales trends. Working with tools like this regularly will ensure your inventory management choices benefit every key aspect of your business while helping you to respond to sudden issues with razor-sharp efficiency.
“The goal is not to improve one measurement in isolation. The goal is to reduce operational expenses AND reduce inventories and increase throughput simultaneously.”—Eliyahu M. Goldratt
The Business-Boosting Benefits of Inventory Management Integration
Now that we’re up to speed with the fundamentals of inventory management software, let’s look at the business-boosting benefits of integrating a solution like this into your eCommerce system.
Improved productivity
The best modern inventory management software serves up key data on stock levels and fulfillment operations in real time. It’s possible to track, measure, and monitor your progress with a swift glance. Rather than laboring over manual inventory checking processes, inventory management systems will offer everyone in the department access to relevant information from one dynamic dashboard.
In turn, it’s possible to make important inventory management decisions while rolling out important supply chain strategies swiftly, boosting overall productivity in the process.
Streamlined stock management
Expanding on the last point, integrating inventory management software into your current system will allow you to streamline essential parts of your operation. Armed with the ability to run automated stock checks and item counts, you will streamline your management processes while driving down costly human errors.
By automating stock calculations and interacting with dynamic trend-based data from your phone or desktop, you will be able to make informed decisions about your merchandising as well as stock purchasing strategies. As a result, you will keep your inventory moving while earning a healthy return on investment (ROI) for your efforts.
Improved customer experience (CX) and service
Customer service and customer experience (CX) are two of the biggest factors in boosting your commercial growth as a retail or eCommerce business.
Without delivering on your fulfillment promises, you risk damaging your brand reputation while losing customer loyalty. With inventory management software integrated into your eCommerce ecosystem, you can ensure your most popular inventory is consistently stocked while keeping a firm grip on your shipping performance.
If you notice any issues with your inventory supply chain or if your delivery partners are consistently letting you down, you can take the right action immediately. Armed with the ability to track every key element of your inventory management strategy from one place, you will consistently deliver on your fulfillment promises—boosting your brand reputation in the process.
“Determine what your customers need, and work backwards.”—Jeff Bezos
Better fiscal health
By streamlining your inventory management operations and making informed decisions rather than shooting in the dark, you will avoid costly issues like aging or expired items or deadstock.
Deadstock is a pressing issue for many retail or eCommerce business owners, as it takes up space in the stockroom while draining inventory budgets dry. If you invest in stock that is unlikely to sell or is slow moving, you literally run the risk of throwing your money away. If this happens consistently, you will seriously hinder your growth while minimizing your profits.
With access to inventory levels as well accurate stock sales trends over specific timeframes, you can avoid investing in inventory that simply won’t sell while placing your resources in stock that will keep your finances fluent while helping you grow your business incrementally over time.
The bottom line: There is a direct link between your inventory management processes and your fiscal health. Without an accurate way of tracking key stock and sales trends, you’re likely to waste your budget on items that will offer you little or worse, zero profits. Integrate the right software into your system and you will maximize your business’s ongoing fiscal health by marrying up your stock-handling efforts with your accounting data.
Cohesive communication
While laborious manual inventory management processes once plagued internal communication within the eCommerce and retail industry, digital technology has emerged to tackle the issue head-on.
With your inventory management system integrated with your eCommerce system, you will give everyone within the company access to insights that will ensure everyone is on the same page. Put another way, you’ll avoid creating internal silos or the type of miscommunication that can cost you time, money, or your brand reputation.
If everyone has access to relevant inventory management data, there will be fewer chances of miscommunication. With a wealth of accurate insights at everyone’s fingertips, collaboration will thrive and every aspect of your inventory management strategy will be optimized for success.
Impactful marketing
A lesser-known but equally powerful benefit of integrating inventory management software into your eCommerce platform is improved marketing choices.
Tracking your inventory movement over specific timeframes is not only good for making better purchasing choices—it will also empower you to merchandise or promote the right products to the right segments of your audience at the right times.
If you’re a retro games brand, for instance, and you notice that Game Boy colors typically sell well during November, you can run promotions on the product while plugging on your store’s ‘Best Sellers’ landing page, email marketing channels, and social media. Gaining access to ongoing inventory trends like this will give your marketing campaigns the right focus, earning you a consistently healthy ROI in the process.
Read: Our essential guide on the art of upselling and cross-selling to improve your store’s merchandising efforts and maximize your sales.
Consistent profits
All of the above benefits of integrating inventory management software into your existing eCommerce system will ultimately result in consistently healthy profits.
By boosting productivity, improving decision-making, and building customer trust, you will drive down the inefficiencies that lurk within your inventory management system while preserving your budgets. This level of access to key inventory and stock sales data will allow you to buy the stock that sells, make the marketing decisions that count, and give your staff the tools to perform to the best of their abilities.
Streamlining your inventory management operations will boost your bottom line while ensuring consistent growth in a cutthroat digital age—pushing you ahead of your competitors in the process.
Final Thoughts
“The goal is not to improve one measurement in isolation. The goal is to reduce operational expenses and reduce inventories and increase throughput simultaneously.”—Eliyahu M. Goldratt
In many ways, your inventory is the beating heart of your business. The products you offer as well as how you deliver on your promises will define your brand. To build trust and keep an edge on the competition, following best inventory management practices is essential. But to drive efficiency while keeping unnecessary costs at a minimum, working with the right software is essential.
Trusted by a wealth of successful retail brands and compatible with leading eCommerce solutions including Quickbooks, Amazon, and Zapier, our innovative inventory management software will push your eCommerce business to the next level.
If you’re looking to level up your inventory management strategy, our solution will plug straight into your current eCommerce system and provide a level of insight that will empower you to make the best possible choices across your entire inventory management ecosystem.
To find out more about our inventory management solutions, get in touch. We look forward to speaking to you and getting the ball rolling.
