How to Choose the Best Inventory Management System for Your Business
July 6, 2023 - 12 minutes readEverything you need to know about inventory management
Your inventory is essential to the ongoing health, growth, and success of your eCommerce business.
Whatever your niche, without having a razor-sharp inventory management strategy, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever reach your full potential. Poor stock handling processes can slow down supply chains and drain your budget—but with the right inventory management software, you can tackle these issues head on.
With so many inventory management solutions out there, knowing which one to choose can seem like an impossible task.
To take the guesswork out of choosing the right solution, we’ve put together a guide on what to consider when looking at inventory management software for your eCommerce business.
Let’s begin.
Why is inventory management important?
To choose the best inventory management software for your business, you should know exactly why inventory management is so important.
As a retail or ecommerce business, one of the best methods of driving maximum efficiency across the entire business is to optimize the way you procure, store, and manage your stock.
In today’s world, better inventory management means that you will make the best possible investments for your eCommerce business while making sure that you never run out of products or goods when you need them the most.
Armed with the right strategy and solutions, you will also consistently deliver on your brand promises—offering a superior level of customer experience (CX) in the process. In today’s cutthroat eCommerce environment, getting an edge on the competition is essential and taking charge of your inventory management strategy will help you do just that.
Did you know? 30% of leading eCommerce businesses state that improving their inventory management strategy has resulted in a significant improvement in stock use efficiency.
What are the benefits of choosing the right inventory management software?
Now that you know why inventory management is such an important aspect of running a successful eCommerce business, let’s look at the key benefits of leveling up your software.
Choosing the right inventory management software for your business will:
- Boost your business’s overall productivity and output
- Significantly reduce unnecessary costs on poor stock purchasing choices
- Help you uncover trends and patterns to continually improve and scale
- Improve interdepartmental collaboration and communication
- Enhance your brand reputation and build customer trust
- Provide the insight to improve your marketing and merchandising efforts
Read: Our guide to the benefits of inventory management software with your eCommerce platform.
How to choose the right inventory management software
By making the right inventory management choices for your eCommerce business, you will drive the company forward while gaining an all-important edge on your competitors. To help you make an informed decision that offers a consistently healthy return on investment (ROI), here are the key things you should consider.
Determine your budget
First, you should get financial. By setting an accurate budget for your inventory management software and activities, you can create an effective shortlist of potential software options.
Leading with an accurate budget will allow you to take command of your inventory management decisions and give you the direction you need to ensure you get every feature and functionality you need to succeed.
The cost of an inventory management system can range from $100 to $3,000 per month, depending on the size or scope of the solution. The best inventory management providers usually offer tailored price plans that align with your specific goals, which brings us onto our next point.
Dig deeper into your goals
Once you’ve set a budget, you should think about your inventory management goals on a slightly deeper level. Naturally, the main goal of the game is to improve your inventory management strategy—but, what does that mean to you, exactly?
To dig deeper into your inventory management goals and understand what you need from a potential inventory management solution, looking at your existing problems is a good starting place. Do you, for instance, suffer from consistent stock-outs? Do you frequently invest in products that sit in the stockroom gathering dust for months or years? Is communication between your warehouse staff and shipping operatives a glaring issue?
By identifying these issues, you can set clearcut inventory management goals and use them to guide your inventory software decisions to make sure you end up with the perfect solution for your needs.
Consider your business size
When looking for inventory management software that will integrate seamlessly with your eCommerce business, size counts.
Before committing to a solution, you should check that it offers a level of capability that fits with your existing business size in terms of how many people work for you, the size of your customer base, and the variety of stock you offer.
Taking these key organizational aspects into account will lead you to a software decision that will improve every area of your inventory management strategy.
Tip: In addition to considering your existing business size, you should look at your growth projections and choose a solution that will scale seamlessly with your business. Doing so is important because choosing inventory management software that can grow with you will eliminate any teething problems along the way, offering you an excellent ROI in the process.
Know your specific inventory management needs
This sounds obvious, but when choosing the right inventory management software for your business, the finer details count.
In addition to working through the details we’ve outlined so far, you should drill down deeper into the functionality that will optimize your eCommerce business, specifically. When looking at inventory management solutions, you should take a closer look at details related to:
- PoS management and handling
- Serial number processing
- Pricing optimization
- Integrations with existing software
- Inventory management and stock handling analytics
- Order tracking and stock handling strategy
- Barcode processing
Looking a little more closely at each feature will give you a better feel for a potential inventory management solution. In turn, you will end up with software that will yield consistently positive results for your budget.
Go for solid user support
Support is often overlooked when you’re looking for a potential solution. It’s important to consider the level of user support you will receive and require
Choosing the right software solution isn’t only a case of looking at features, functionality, and price. To pick the perfect inventory management software for your business, choose a solution that will provide you personal support when you need it most.
Without a quick and consistent means of troubleshooting issues when they arise or asking questions related to certain features or functionality, you will never be able to use your solution to its full potential.
Some of the best inventory management solutions not only provide exceptional user support across multiple touchpoints (email, phone, online chat, social media, in-app, etc.)—they also offer extensive tutorial content, knowledge bases, and even a tailored onboarding process. So, always check what user support options are on offer before making your final decision.
Check user reviews
Last but not least: when choosing inventory management software for your eCommerce business, always let user reviews be your guide.
User reviews are the greatest form of social proof and by working your way through star ratings as well as comments and testimonials, you will be able to separate the trustworthy solutions from the promise-breaking imposters.
Not only will checking user reviews help you establish trust, but you will also be able to gain an understanding of the software features and strengths that will align best with your business needs. Consult user reviews and you will make the best decision for your business.
Inventory management software: final thoughts
“The reason it seems that price is all your customers care about is that you haven’t given them anything else to care about.”—Seth Godin
At its core, tightening up your inventory management strategy with the right software will make you more scalable, efficient, and reliable. In turn, you will offer your customers the best possible brand experience, accelerating your commercial success in the process.
In summary, here’s what to consider when choosing the right eCommerce software for your eCommerce business:
- Outline your budget
- Dig deeper into your goals
- Consider your business size
- Know your specific inventory management needs
- Go for solid user support
- Check user reviews
Take all of these essential aspects into consideration and you will land on an inventory management solution that will empower you to take charge of your commercial destiny. We wish you the best of luck and for more business-boosting advice, read about the critical role order management plays in scaling a successful retail or eCommerce business.
