Different Types of Warehouses and How to Choose the one for your Business
Imagine finding the ideal product on an internet store only to have your hopes crushed when you discover it’s out of stock. Have your dreams ever been crushed like a soda can on a sweltering summer day? Your likelihood of returning to that store would decrease after this heartbreaking experience. Every sale matters to any e-commerce company, so keeping your inventory disorganized will prevent you from losing out on potential clients. Consider your inventory to be the skeleton of your online store. Without it, you can’t stay in business.
You need to come up with a solid inventory management plan in order to steer clear of these bumps. If you’re new to inventory management and don’t know where to start, keep reading for some helpful strategies and techniques.
What Is Inventory Management?
Once you’ve set up your online store, you need to tackle inventory management. Having the right stock isn’t enough; you must implement specific strategies to meet customer demand.
Because it allows you to monitor product movement and stock levels, e-commerce inventory management is essential. Consider it an essential component that will help you develop and expand your company. You may keep stock under control, enhance client relations, and increase revenue with the aid of a sound inventory management plan. With everything in its proper place, your supply chain will be optimized. You run the danger of shortages, disarray, waste, and other issues without it. You’ll have an advantage over other e-commerce companies thanks to inventory management.
Many stores are not utilizing inventory management resources because 43 percent of small businesses in the US do not track their inventory. With stock management software, you can get your business off to a strong start and grow from there. Contemporary inventory management systems facilitate integration with various other tools, including online store management, shipping, and point-of-sale systems. You can design an e-commerce site with these features that are specific to your company’s requirements.
What Are Inventory Management Techniques?: 5 ways to get started
There is no shortage of inventory management techniques, all with varying levels of success and disadvantages.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the best inventory management techniques to help you stay on track. These tips are quite easy to implement, and if you have an existing warehouse, you can get started in no time. Let’s dive in.
5 Ways To Build Your Inventory Management Plan
Now that you’re familiar with the 5 inventory management strategies, here are some best practices for mastering them.
Creating a stock management plan will help you organize your tasks and ensure the process moves smoothly. Here are some basics to help you get started.
1. Check Stock Trends
Before you start building a strategy, you need the right information. After all, you won’t know what strategy to use if you don’t know your stock levels and how much you sell.
Take a look at your stock trends to see which items have more demand and which are slow-moving. Check historical sales data and consumer trend reports to design a stock control strategy.
When you identify these products, you will also have information on the quantity to keep on hand. While this isn’t a foolproof tip, as numbers fluctuate over the years, you can make an educated guess as to how much product to keep.
Always give yourself space for demand to go up or down, and you’ll have mastered this strategy. You can create a forecast manually, but this can be time-consuming. Investing in a high-quality warehouse management system will give you all the necessary details for efficient stock control.
2. Decide Where To Store Your Inventory
Choosing the right location for your inventory is crucial. With the perfect location, you will have enough space to stock as many or as few of your products as you like.
Larger businesses will prefer having multiple warehouses to store their product, while small companies might choose a different location. Deciding the location is crucial because it affects the inventory management strategy you use.
For businesses struggling to find the right space, consider investing in a 3PL. Third-party logistics companies not only hold your stock but also help fulfill orders. This way, you can focus on other business activities, such as sales, marketing, building customer relationships, and more.
3. Invest in an Inventory Management Software
You can take your stock management strategies to the next level by investing in intelligent inventory management software. This highly innovative tool is fundamental for any business looking to streamline its supply chain.
With inventory management software, you can access key insights that make forecasting customer demand easy.
For larger businesses, many sophisticated WMSs handle multi-warehouse inventory and shipping. If you’re looking to get started with one, consider Canary7.
Canary7 offers a fully responsive and robust warehouse management system that helps you take your business to the next level
Our WMS provides accurate and comprehensive inventory data so you can make the right decisions for your stock. Despite these innovative features, we’ve designed our software to be as user-friendly and intuitive as possible, making it the ideal solution for any growing business.
4. Organize Your Inventory
This might seem like a simple tip, but if used effectively, it can help you in the long run. Unorganized products often lead to inventory management mishaps.
Mislabelled products and items without proper identification can lead to expensive mishaps.
Consider using barcodes—an economical but highly effective way of organizing your stock. All you need to do is scan the code and get all the necessary information for your item. Do this process anytime you move, ship, or receive products.
With barcodes, you can avoid mistyped SKU numbers, human errors, and bogus inventory. Additionally, you improve packing slips to reduce shipping errors. Try color-coding your packing slips according to the product category. This method allows you to visually distinguish between items and makes organization easier.
5. Set Clear Reorder Points
Setting accurate reorder points is a great way to make sure you never run out of stock and risk losing a customer. If you don’t set up a reorder point, you could cause a major disruption in your workflow.
If this happens multiple times, you risk losing long-time buyers and tarnishing your brand’s reputation. The great news is that you can avoid this problem by simply setting up a reorder point.
Check your historical inventory date and forecast demand for reordering. Once you have your insights, you’ll know how much to order and when.
Then, use the inventory management system to create an automatic reorder point notification so you can stay on top of your stock levels. Additionally, consider your lead times when setting up the point, as this will reduce time constraints.
Upgrade Your Inventory Management System With Canary7
Take advantage of Canary7 right now to simplify inventory control. The purpose of our user-friendly WMS software is to improve visibility and organization. Order fulfillment shipping order processing and other tasks can all be automated with Canary7.
Our software gives you an accurate and thorough picture of your inventory enabling you to make well-informed decisions. With the aid of these tools you can boost productivity and advertise your business. Dont wait begin utilizing Canary7 right now!
Mishal Khan
Author
UPDATED ON: 2nd May 2024
Mishal is a dedicated copywriter and content writer with experience across various niches. Currently, Mishal is focused on writing guides and other compelling blogs on warehouse management, logistics and more, crafting engaging and informative content to help businesses understand and master their supply chain. Passionate about delivering quality content, Mishal aims to make complex topics accessible and enjoyable for all readers.
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