How Centralized Inventory Management to Streamline E-commerce Business?

With a part of the stock here and another part there, sellers face the ultimate confusion, desperately calling for help! A centralized inventory management system is exactly what a visionary seller would need at this time. With the entirety of the stock managed from a centralized dashboard, business management as a whole becomes a cakewalk. Always remember that only a well-managed business is able to realise its complete potential for growth. This blog aims to educate you on Centralized Inventory Management. Hence, the e-commerce operations become much simpler to manage. 

Understanding Centralized Inventory

E-commerce sellers making sales on different platforms tend to store their products in different locations as per their convenience. Centralized inventory management refers to managing the stock stored in these different warehouses together from a consolidated platform. This allows the seller to keep track of inventory, analyse the demand for the coming seasons, and prevent overselling. With the right Centralized inventory management software, sellers can have better control over the business and streamline multi-channel fulfillment.   

Overcome Centralized Inventory Management Challenges 

There are various challenges associated with e-commerce inventory management, and this number increases when the business operates on multiple sales channels. With centralized inventory control, sellers can overcome the following challenges: 

1. Overselling and Stockouts 

Overselling and stockouts are the results of inventory mismatches and delayed updates. A centralized inventory system allows the seller to maintain stock level across different online stores discreetly without any confusion. Hence, multichannel order management becomes much easier, and stockout conditions are less likely to arise. 

2. Fulfillment Delays 

The most common reason for fulfillment delay is inventory misinformation. When a seller confirms an order and finds out that the item was not actually present in the stock, this is where the delay starts. With a centralized inventory control, the seller would know about the availability of stock in real-time, and the promised delivery time would reflect the same if the delivery is coming from a distant warehouse.

3. Dead Inventory 

Loading inventory on top of an unsold inventory leads to this situation. That can only happen if different storage units are not linked together with an inventory management software. Centralized inventory management allows the seller to understand the needs of the business and hence the re-stocking is done accordingly to avoid over-stocking. 

Empower Your Business with Centralized Inventory Management

For multi-channel growth of the business, you need automation, and the inventory management process requires the same in the first place. Here’s how a centralized inventory management system empowers your business for growth: 

1. Accuracy with Order Fulfillment 

As sellers get real-time updates on the inventory levels, they are able to make appropriate decisions for fulfillment of the orders as per the availability and distance of fulfillment centers. Also, overselling and stockout conditions can be prevented in this system of order fulfillment. Apart from this, a compatible inventory management system allows the seller to reduce manual work and improve delivery quality. 

2. Speedy Fulfillment 

Shipping choices under centralized management are determined by factors including cost, carrier performance, and proximity. Brands can provide quicker e-commerce shipping and more consistently satisfy customer expectations when they link with a 3PL. Inventory control also brings clarity for the sellers, so they can choose the fastest fulfillment option for the buyers. 

3. Real-Time Inventory Management 

Lack of visibility is one of the main factors of failure in e-commerce fulfillment. Sellers can see exactly what is in stock, what is in transportation, and what needs to be restocked thanks to centralized inventory management. It gives way to improved forecasting of demand, avoiding deadstock and overstock, along with better control over cash flow. 

4. Better Decision Making 

Decision-making depends on data and insight sought for the same. An e-commerce business functioning on the basis of data reports of business performance tends to grow in the long term. Inventory tracking gives business owners a lot of information, based on which sellers can make better decisions for their growth and profitability. 

5. Cost Optimization 

With centralized inventory, there is no need for maintenance, staffing, and storage expenses. Also, the cost of errors is minimized due to automation and a simplified process. Apart from this, it is much simpler to buy in bulk, making the integration much more economical. Here, the overall cost is much less than the cumulative cost of inventory operations. 

Key Features to Look for in a Centralized Inventory System

Sellers must consider these factors while choosing an inventory management system for their business: 

• ‍Multi-Channel Inventory Sync: It helps with real-time inventory management across different sales channels. ‍
• Barcode and SKU management: Supporting the accuracy of inventory mapping with SKUs and barcodes. ‍
• Data and Analytics tools: It helps with the prediction of demand and optimization of stock levels for the best sales outcome. ‍
• Reverse Logistics: To manage returns and refunds efficiently across different sales channels. ‍
• 3PL Integration: It is for seamless fulfillment of orders from different sales channels and warehouses. 

Centralized Inventory Management Fosters Business Growth

In a nutshell, centralized inventory management brings in the much-needed catalyst that allows the sellers to optimize their order fulfillment process and optimize the inventory for the best business outcome. Just the right software is required to get all the benefits mentioned above. MapMyChannel is exactly the software that your business needs, as it will bring all the sales channels together through its centralized dashboard and also 3PL Integration for the best business management. Now, inventory across all these different sales channels can be managed through MapMyChannel’s dashboard. It gives features like real-time inventory management, data analytics tools, and SKU mapping for effortless business management. Just go ahead and integrate to grow your business. ‍

Efficiently manage your ecommerce operations and master Inventory Management with MapMyChannel. "Book a Meeting" today and scale your business.