Modern shoppers bounce between offline and online sales channels regularly. A 2016 study found that 47% of consumers who interact with their favorite merchants across ten or more channels will complete a purchase once a week. Only 21% of those who engage across one to four channels will complete a purchase. This study shows that multi channel shoppers buy more often. With retailers claiming inventory accuracy only 63% of the time, the need for proper multi channel inventory management has never been more apparent.
An accurate inventory count is the holy grail of any retailer. Selling across multiple channels makes maintaining accuracy difficult. Since retailers claim that inventory accuracy is one of their largest pain points, the focus of this article will be on solving that problem.
Tips for Inventory Management Across Multiple Channels
- Consolidate product data
- Complete visibility of Inventory Quantities
- Optimize interaction with suppliers
Consolidate Data
The reason most retailers have difficulty maintaining accurate data is because the data is spread across multiple systems in multiple locations. The only way to ensure accurate data is to consolidate all data into one central location. You need one single source of truth.
Complete Visibility of Inventory Quantities
Even with one single source of truth, it is imperative that inventory quantities in each warehouse location are visible across all locations. Using a cloud based inventory management system will ensure that not only is all the data stored in one central location, it is also easily viewed by all sales channels and warehouse locations. This means that as orders are received across multiple channels and are fulfilled by various warehouses, the quantities will be updated and seen in real-time across all channels and locations.
Optimize Interaction with Suppliers
One of the worst things that can happen for a retailer is to underestimate the amount of time needed to restock the warehouse. The best way to eliminate this problem is to optimize interactions with suppliers and vendors. If the lines of communication are open, and you keep in constant contact, there will be no surprises.
SkuNexus is a fully customizable commerce operations platform. We can help you consolidate all your data into one single point of truth that is easily seen by all your sales channels and warehouse locations. In addition, our platform gives you a Vendor Portal which will easily allow your vendors and suppliers access to your system to provide real-time updates on incoming inventory.
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