Multichannel Selling Simplified A Beginner’s Guide to Inventory Tracking

Rachel Gallaway November 14, 2024

The Benefits and Challenges of Multichannel Selling

Selling across multiple channels—such as Amazon, eBay, social media platforms, and even in-store—has become essential for growth. Multichannel selling allows businesses to reach a broader audience, improve brand visibility, and increase revenue. In fact, companies utilizing multichannel strategies have seen sales increase by up to 190% compared to single-channel sellers, showing the vast potential in diversifying sales channels.

However, selling on multiple channels brings new challenges, especially in managing and tracking inventory across platforms. With orders coming from various sources, inventory tracking becomes complex, often leading to overselling, stockouts, and miscommunication. To help beginners manage this complexity, this guide covers essential steps to set up efficient inventory tracking for multichannel selling using OrderMS, an order management software designed to simplify the process.

Understanding Multichannel Inventory Tracking

Inventory tracking in a multichannel environment involves more than just keeping tabs on stock levels. Here are the core challenges and why it’s crucial to master them:

Avoiding Stockouts and Overselling: Managing stock in real time helps prevent situations where products appear available on one channel but are actually out of stock.

Improving Fulfillment Speed: Tracking inventory accurately means orders are fulfilled faster, as warehouse teams have an up-to-date view of product locations and quantities.

Centralizing Data: Multichannel inventory tracking involves consolidating data from various sales channels, ensuring that every order counts toward current stock.

Optimizing Costs: By avoiding unnecessary overstocking and reducing lost sales due to stockouts, a well-tracked inventory system helps manage costs.

Key Concepts in Multichannel Inventory Tracking

Centralized Inventory Management What It Is: Centralized inventory management is the practice of having a single system where all inventory levels from each channel are updated in real-time. Why It’s Important: A centralized system prevents discrepancies, so your team sees the exact stock available across all channels and can prioritize fulfillment accurately.

Real-Time Synchronization What It Is: Real-time synchronization ensures that each sale, return, or adjustment updates stock levels instantly across every platform. Why It’s Important: Real-time data prevents overselling and keeps customers informed, which improves their shopping experience and reduces the risk of canceled orders.

Automated Reorder Points What It Is: Automated reorder points allow businesses to set minimum stock levels for each SKU. Once stock dips below this threshold, the system triggers a reorder. Why It’s Important: Reorder points help you stay on top of stock, avoiding costly out-of-stock situations during high demand.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Inventory Tracking with OrderMS

OrderMS is an order management software designed to simplify multichannel inventory tracking. Here’s a beginner-friendly guide to getting started with inventory tracking on OrderMS.

Step 1: Connect Your Sales Channels to OrderMS

How to Do It:

Log into OrderMS and navigate to the ‘Sales Channel’ settings.

Integrate your platforms (e.g., Shopify, Amazon, eBay) by following the on-screen prompts. Why It’s Important: Connecting all your sales channels to a single system ensures centralized inventory control, reducing errors and streamlining tracking.

Step 2: Set Up Real-Time Inventory Sync Across All Channels

How to Do It:

Within the OrderMS dashboard, enable real-time synchronization for each connected channel. Why It’s Important: Real-time syncing eliminates the risk of overselling, as inventory adjustments are made immediately after each sale, return, or adjustment.

Step 3: Create and Assign SKUs to Standardize Product Tracking

How to Do It:

Assign unique SKUs to each product and variant in OrderMS. Why It’s Important: SKUs simplify tracking and make it easy to locate items quickly. Consistent SKUs across channels ensure accurate counts and reduce errors.

Step 4: Set Up Automated Reorder Points and Safety Stock

How to Do It:

In the OrderMS inventory settings, set minimum stock levels for each product. Why It’s Important: Automated reorder points keep stock at optimal levels, helping you avoid costly stockouts and enabling smooth fulfillment.

Step 5: Organize Warehouse Locations for Fast Fulfillment

How to Do It:

Use OrderMS to manage and track products by location within your warehouse(s). Why It’s Important: An organized warehouse helps your team fulfill orders faster, especially during peak sales periods.

Benefits of Streamlined Inventory Tracking for Multichannel Selling

Effective inventory tracking with tools like OrderMS offers significant advantages for multichannel e-commerce businesses:

Reduced Stockouts and Overselling: Real-time inventory updates mean your channels always reflect accurate stock levels, preventing overselling and improving customer satisfaction.

Faster Fulfillment: With organized stock data and location tracking, order processing is faster, reducing delivery times and increasing customer satisfaction.

Cost Efficiency: Avoiding overstock and stockouts translates to lower warehousing costs, fewer lost sales, and a more efficient fulfillment process.

Example – How Breakout Used OrderMS for Effective Multichannel Inventory Tracking

Challenge: Breakout struggled with stock discrepancies and overselling, leading to delayed orders and unhappy customers.

Solution with OrderMS:

Centralized Control: By connecting all sales channels to OrderMS, Breakout’s team could see real-time inventory data across platforms.

Automated Reorder Points: OrderMS allowed them to set safety stock levels for popular items, triggering restocks before they sold out.

Improved Warehouse Organization: With SKUs and warehouse location tracking, the team cut down fulfillment times, speeding up order processing.

Results: Breakout saw a 40% reduction in stockouts and a 25% faster fulfillment rate, ultimately improving their customer experience and brand loyalty.

Best Practices for Beginner-Friendly Multichannel Inventory Tracking

For an even smoother process, consider these best practices:

Regularly Audit Inventory Levels

Use Barcoding for Fast Stock Updates

Optimize for Popular Channels

Invest in Staff Training

Start Simplifying Multichannel Inventory Tracking Today

With the right tools like OrderMS, a proactive approach, and clear processes, even beginners can manage multichannel inventory seamlessly.

Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.

Read the previous blog on How to Optimize Inventory Management for Peak Season A 2024 Strategy.

Multichannel Selling Simplified A Beginner’s Guide to Inventory Tracking

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