How to Manage Your Store Inventory System

Let’s face it, selling online is exciting, but things can get chaotic fast. One minute you’re celebrating a new order, the next you’re wondering if you still have that item in stock. But let’s be real: keeping up with what’s in stock and what’s not gets overwhelming. That’s where Inventory Management on Tradift makes life easier. It’s like having a super-organized assistant quietly working in the background, making sure you’re always on top of things, saving precious time, and never losing a sale just because something quietly sold out.

What is Inventory Management?

Inventory Management is the system or tool that helps you track, organize, and update your products, from how many you have in stock to when it’s time to restock. On Tradift, inventory management is built in and designed to be super simple.

Imagine selling 10 pairs of sneakers today and waking up tomorrow knowing exactly how many are left. No notebook. No spreadsheets. Just your store doing the math for you.

An inventory management system allows you to track your goods throughout your entire operation. This allows you to identify the right quantities of items required to meet demand. Whether you operate a brick-and-mortar store or an e-commerce site, efficient inventory management is crucial, and without a system tailored to your needs, you risk losing valuable stock and money.

Key Features of Tradift's Inventory Management

By now, you must understand that any business that requires and handles stock will need an inventory management system for the business processes to happen smoothly. Without it, companies can simply end up in a situation where the product is either understocked or overstocked. So, to avoid this scenario, such a system is crucial for businesses to be in place. That said, let us now take you through the list of features that come with this system.

Enhanced Inventory Control
This feature allows businesses to track all inventory information as best as possible. The system effectively keeps a soundtrack of the stock levels, product history, and other product specifications, which helps the inventory management system operate more accurately.

Tagging and Barcode
With tagging, businesses can assign unique identifiers or labels to each item in their inventory. This makes it easy to track and locate specific items quickly. On the other hand, barcodes are those little black-and-white lines you can often see on products. You can generate and scan barcodes to streamline adding or removing items from your inventory.

Complete Reporting and Analysis
It allows firms to generate comprehensive reports and gain valuable insights into their inventory data. With reporting, you can create custom reports that provide details of your inventory status, such as stock levels, sales trends, and order history. With analysis, you can take a step further by using advanced algorithms and data analytics to uncover patterns, trends, and correlations within your inventory data.

Purchase Order Generation
An inventory management system automatically builds and transmits purchase orders to the vendors, simply outlining the items it needs. This feature lets you quickly generate purchase orders based on your inventory needs. It considers factors like stock levels, reorder points, and supplier information to automatically create purchase orders for the items you need to restock.

Reorder Point Purchasing
It is a great feature that allows for maintaining optimal inventory levels. You can set a reorder point for each item in your inventory. This is the threshold at which you want to replenish the stock. When the quantity of an object reaches or falls below the reorder point, the software automatically generates a purchase order for that item.

Order Management
It helps you to efficiently handle and track all aspects of your orders, from creation to fulfillment. You can easily create and manage custom orders within the software with order management. As a business, you can input order details such as customer information, item quantities, and shipping preferences. The feature allows you to generate order confirmations and invoices for your customers. It helps manage order fulfillment, including picking, packing, and shipping.

Benefits of Using Inventory Management

Inventory management reduces costs by optimizing inventory levels and minimizing storage needs. This helps businesses avoid overstocking, which leads to higher storage expenses and potential obsolescence or spoilage. By accurately tracking inventory, businesses can ensure they have enough stock to meet customer demand without tying up excess capital in unsold goods.

Cost Reduction

Effective inventory management helps businesses minimize costs associated with storing and holding inventory, such as warehouse expenses, insurance, and potential obsolescence.

Reduced Waste

By accurately forecasting demand and avoiding overstocking, businesses can minimize waste and spoilage, especially for perishable items.

Improved Cash Flow

Proper inventory management ensures that money is spent on inventory that sells, improving cash flow and avoiding unnecessary expenses.

Enhanced Customer Satisfaction

By having the right amount of inventory on hand, businesses can fulfill orders promptly and avoid backorders, leading to increased customer satisfaction.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Inventory management systems provide valuable data that can be used to make informed decisions about purchasing, stocking, and selling inventory.

Setting It Up on Tradift Store

To set up inventory on a Tradift store, you'll need to add products, specifying details like SKU, quantity, and whether to continue selling when out of stock. You can also add variants for products with options like color or size. The basic steps include creating an account, customizing your store with a theme and logo, and adding products. Here's a well-detailed breakdown:

Choose a domain name for your store.

Set up your basic store information, including contact details and billing information.

Navigate to the Products page on your dashboard.

Click on Add product and enter details like product title, description, price, and images.

If your product has options (e.g., color, size), create variants for each combination of options.

Specify the SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) for each product or variant, which helps with inventory tracking.

Set the quantity available for each product or variant.

Choose whether to continue selling when a product is out of stock or not, and save. You’re done!

The Tradift system tracks inventory quantities based on the "Quantity Available" field for each product or variant. You can manage inventory by adjusting the "Quantity Available" for each product or variant.

The "Continue Selling When Out Of Stock" option allows you to determine if the product will continue to be shown and available for purchase even when the quantity available is zero.

Advantages of Inventory Management

Inventory management on a Tradift store provides several benefits, such as enhanced customer experience, lower costs, and streamlined operations. It helps businesses prevent stockouts, increase profits, and improve supply chain efficiency. Here's a detailed look at these advantages:

Improved Customer Experience:

Accurate inventory tracking helps prevent out-of-stock situations, which can frustrate customers and lead to lost sales. Effective inventory management allows for quicker order processing and shipping, improving customer satisfaction, and also ensuring popular products are readily available can increase sales and customer loyalty.

Reduced Costs:

Inventory management helps avoid overstocking, which leads to wasted storage space and potentially obsolete goods. By tracking inventory, businesses can optimize storage space and reduce warehousing costs. Effective management also minimizes losses due to product expiry, obsolescence, or damage.

Efficient Operations:

Inventory management systems can help coordinate inventory across multiple locations or sales channels. Accurate inventory data allows for better demand forecasting, leading to more efficient inventory planning. Inventory management can also help streamline the supply chain, ensuring timely deliveries and reducing disruptions.

Maximized Profit:

Effective inventory management helps avoid tying up capital in excess inventory, allowing businesses to reinvest in other areas. By minimizing excess inventory, businesses can reduce storage, insurance, and other carrying costs.

Increased Customer Satisfaction:

Inventory management systems provide accurate information about product availability, helping customers make informed decisions, knowing what's in stock and when it will be available can enhance the overall shopping experience.

Supply on Demand:

Businesses can offer a wider range of products without having to purchase large quantities in advance. Automated inventory management can free up employees to focus on other tasks, increasing productivity, and also help protect sensitive data related to inventory levels and sales.

Disadvantages of Inventory Management

Poor inventory management can lead to several disadvantages, including lost sales, higher storage costs, tied-up capital, and potential obsolescence of goods. Inaccurate data, inconsistent tracking, and inefficient processes can also contribute to problems like overstocking, understocking, and operational inefficiencies. Here's a well-detailed look at the disadvantages:

Lost Sales and Dissatisfied Customers:

Inadequate inventory can lead to stockouts, causing businesses to miss out on sales and potentially alienating customers. If a company can't fulfill orders due to low inventory, it may lose sales and damage its reputation.

Higher Storage Costs:

Overstocking and inefficient storage practices can lead to increased storage costs. Unnecessary storage space and handling costs can impact profitability.

Capital Tied Up in Inventory:

Excess inventory means more money is tied up in unsold goods, which could be used for other business needs. A low inventory turnover ratio can result in less cash flow and reduced liquidity.

Risk of Obsolescence:

Longer holding times increase the risk of goods becoming obsolete, especially for items with a short shelf life or fast-changing trends. Obsolete inventory can lead to losses, as these items may have to be sold at a discount or even discarded.

Inaccurate Data and Inconsistent Tracking:

Inaccurate inventory records can lead to errors in forecasting, purchasing, and order fulfillment. Inconsistent tracking methods can make it difficult to manage inventory effectively, leading to overstocking or stockouts.

Operational Inefficiencies:

Poor inventory management can lead to delays in order fulfillment, increased administrative workload, and wasted time on inventory-related tasks. Inefficient processes can increase costs and reduce productivity.

Common Challenges Facing Inventory Management

Inventory management faces several challenges, including accurate forecasting, efficient tracking, and dealing with supply chain disruptions. Overstocking and understocking, along with inaccurate data and inefficient processes, also present significant hurdles. Let’s take a detailed look at these challenges:

Demand Forecasting:

Predicting customer demand accurately is crucial. Errors in forecasting can lead to either overstocking (having too much inventory) or understocking (not having enough to meet demand).

Inventory Tracking:

Inaccurate tracking can lead to discrepancies between actual stock levels and what is recorded in inventory systems, resulting in lost sales and increased costs.

Supply Chain Disruptions:

Unexpected events like raw material shortages or natural disasters can disrupt the supply chain, impacting inventory levels and delivery times.

Overstocking and Understocking:

Overstocking ties up capital and can lead to obsolescence or damage, while understocking can result in lost sales and customer dissatisfaction.

Inaccurate Data:

Errors in data entry, outdated systems, or inadequate tracking methods can lead to inaccurate inventory records, making it difficult to make informed decisions.

Strategies for Store Owners

Effective inventory management strategies for store owners include using inventory management software, forecasting demand accurately, setting stock alerts, diversifying suppliers, and conducting regular inventory counts. Other key strategies involve optimizing warehouse layout, improving receiving processes, and potentially investing in automation. Here's a well-detailed breakdown of these strategies:

Utilize Inventory Management Software:

Inventory management software helps store owners unify their inventory data, providing a comprehensive view of stock levels, movements, and other important information. Software allows for real-time tracking of inventory, enabling businesses to monitor stock levels accurately and reduce the risk of stockouts or overstocking. Many software solutions offer automation features for tasks like reordering, which can streamline processes and minimize manual errors.

Accurate Forecast Demand:

Analyzing historical sales data, market trends, and customer feedback is crucial for forecasting demand accurately. Setting accurate reorder points based on demand forecasting helps maintain optimal stock levels and avoid stockouts. Consider seasonal demand fluctuations and adjust inventory accordingly, especially for retailers.

Implement Stock Alerts and Notifications:

Set up alerts for low stock levels, allowing store owners to proactively reorder inventory before it's too late, and also customize alerts based on specific product categories or locations to tailor the system to your business needs.

Diversify Suppliers and Analyze Their Performance:

Diversifying suppliers reduces dependence on a single source, mitigating potential disruptions caused by supplier issues, and regularly assessing supplier performance based on factors like delivery times, quality, and reliability to identify areas for improvement.

Conduct Regular Inventory Counts and Audits:

Implement cycle counting, where a portion of the inventory is counted regularly, to identify discrepancies and improve accuracy over time. Conduct a full physical inventory audit annually to ensure accurate records and identify potential losses or shrinkage.

Inventory Management Insights

Over 45% of small businesses run into stock issues due to poor inventory tracking

Businesses using smart inventory tools like Tradift report up to 30% fewer missed sales

70% of customers say product availability influences where they shop

Stores on Tradift with inventory alerts active experience faster restocks and higher repeat customers

Conclusion

Keeping your shelves stocked doesn’t have to be chaotic. With Tradift’s Inventory Management system, you stay ahead, stay organized, and most importantly, stay stress-free. It’s like having a digital stock manager who never sleeps.

Inventory management is a crucial part of business operations. Proper inventory management depends on the type of business and the products it sells. There may not be one perfect type of inventory management because there are pros and cons for each. But taking advantage of the most appropriate type of inventory management can go a long way toward ensuring your business's success.

So, whether you’re selling handmade jewelry, electronics, or sneakers, give your store the boost it deserves by managing your inventory with Tradift