Managing inventory can be a tricky thing when it comes to selling online. In the store, it is easy to tell when a physical item is in stock or out of stock, but when your inventory is virtual it is very difficult. To make matters worse, when you sell across multiple channels such as Facebook, Amazon and Ebay, it becomes even more difficult to reconcile inventory. levels. Here are a few suggestions to help resolve this often encountered dilemma-
Software Solutions
Lightspeed Omnichannel– If your current retail POS is on Lightspeed, then check out their new ‘Omnichannel Solution’. This product is designed so that your ecommerce website and POS will share the same product database. This ensures that when a purchase happens, the inventory level will be reduced appropriately on your website and in store.
Accumula– If you are currently using Shopify for your ecommerce website but Lightspeed for your retail POS then consider a company like Accumula. Accumula can build a software integration between the two platforms.
Stitch Labs– Amazon and Ebay are popular places for retailers to sell their products online in addition to their website. Stitch Labs offers an integration solution to help you run your back office. Their software offers inventory synchronization across all platforms.
Shopify POS– Shopify has a very strong ecommerce platform and POS system that caters to businesses that need a simple, easy to use solution. Moving your website and POS solution all to one provider may be the right fit for those with smaller or more manageable inventory levels.
Workflow Solutions
Authorize Credit Cards, Don’t Charge– Consider setting up your website so that when an order occurs, your website authorizes card for the transaction, but does not actually capture the payment. This way, when an order happens on your website, you will be able to check to make sure you have the item in stock before you charge the customers card. If you do not have the item in stock, you can call the customer to offer a replacement item or you can cancel the transaction without dealing with credit card refunds.
Separate Inventory by Channel– It may be valuable to separate your inventory into multiple groups and track them separately. When you manage your inventory internally, separate items physically into separate groups based on sales channel. Enter your inventory levels separately into your POS, web store, Amazon or Ebay accounts. This may be a bit more tedious but will help alleviate the issue of selling things that are out of stock.
Designate an Ecommerce Employee– Rather than making ecommerce a piece of everyone’s job, make it a big piece of one employee’s role. This employee can closer track and familiarize themselves with items that are in-stock on all channels. This designated employee should also be designated to discuss orders with customers. If there is ever an out of stock issue, they can work with the customer on providing a gift card, sending the order later, swapping out the item with a different item or cancelling the order all together. A single designated employee will help cut down on human errors and communication issues.
Bonus**- Shipstation- It is worth mentioning Shipstation. While it is not exactly an inventory control solution, it will help you manage fulfillment when you sell across multiple platforms. This software helps deliver all your orders, customer information and shipping requirements to one place, so you can streamline your fulfillment process.