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You’re starting an ecommerce business. What do you need to know about inventory management?

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Inventory management is a crucial skill for any ecommerce business owner. It involves planning, tracking, and optimizing the amount and location of your products, both in stock and in transit. Poor inventory management can lead to lost sales, dissatisfied customers, wasted resources, and lower profits. In this article, you will learn some basic concepts and best practices of inventory management for ecommerce businesses.

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Herok Kumar Chakraborty

Head Operations - TVSSCS TECHLOG Division

1 Inventory types

Managing inventory is an essential part of running a successful ecommerce business. Raw materials are the components or ingredients used to create products, and you need to have enough of these to meet production demand and avoid delays or shortages. Work-in-progress are partially completed items not ready for sale yet, and you should monitor their progress and quality. Finished goods are ready for sale and delivery to customers, so it's important to store, pack, and ship them efficiently and accurately. Additionally, safety stock is extra inventory kept as a buffer against unexpected demand spikes, supply disruptions, or other uncertainties. You should calculate the optimal amount of safety stock based on sales forecasts, lead times, and service levels.

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2 Inventory models

Inventory models can be used to determine when and how much to order or produce your products. The economic order quantity (EOQ) model is the optimal order quantity that minimizes the total cost of ordering and holding inventory, based on demand rate, ordering cost, and holding cost per unit. The reorder point (ROP) model is the inventory level at which a new order should be placed to avoid running out of stock, based on lead time, demand rate, and safety stock. Just-in-time (JIT) is an inventory model that eliminates holding inventory by ordering or producing only what is needed, when it is needed. This requires close coordination with suppliers, customers, and production processes, as well as a high level of quality and reliability.

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3 Inventory methods

Inventory transactions can be recorded and valued using different methods, such as First-in, first-out (FIFO), Last-in, first-out (LIFO), and Weighted average cost (WAC). FIFO reflects the actual flow of inventory and matches the current market prices. On the other hand, LIFO reduces taxable income and income tax expense in periods of rising prices. WAC, meanwhile, smoothes out price fluctuations and simplifies record-keeping.

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Herok Kumar Chakraborty

Head Operations - TVSSCS TECHLOG Division
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Inventory mgmnt directly impacts profitability ensuring adequate stock levels to meet customer demand while minimizing the costs associated with excess inventory or stockouts. JIT Minimizes levels by ordering or producing what is needed, reducing holding costs.EOQ Calculates the optimal order quantity to minimize total inventory costs, balancing ordering and holding costs.ABC Classifies inventory items based on their importance, allowing to prioritize and focus on high-value items, cycle count. Dropshipping: Fulfilling orders directly from suppliers, eliminating the need for inventory storage. Forecasting and Demand Planning with Historical sales data, market trends, and seasonality With ML algorithms provides accuracy analyzing large data.

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4 Inventory software

Using inventory software tools can help you automate and streamline your inventory management tasks. These tools include inventory management software, which can integrate with other business applications and provide real-time inventory data, reports, and alerts. You can also use a barcode scanner to speed up your inventory counting, receiving, picking, packing, and shipping processes. Finally, RFID readers can track your inventory more accurately than barcode scanners since they can read multiple tags at once and from a distance.

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Lauren Latimer

Operations Manager at Resin Processing Solutions & Robatech ZA
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For e-commerce, various inventory management options exist: TradeGecko integrates with platforms like Shopify, ShipHero specializes in order fulfillment, Zoho Inventory offers multichannel selling features, Sellbrite centralizes inventory control, Stitch Labs provides optimization, and DEAR Inventory, Cin7, and Katana cater to different business sizes. Consider factors like size and integration needs to choose the best fit.

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5 Inventory challenges

As an ecommerce business owner, you may face some common inventory challenges. These include demand uncertainty, which can lead to overstocking or understocking and affect customer satisfaction, cash flow, and profitability. Supply chain disruption is another challenge, as it can cause delays, shortages, or quality issues in your supply chain. Additionally, inventory shrinkage can reduce inventory accuracy, availability, and value and increase costs and risks. All of these challenges can have a negative impact on your business.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Lauren Latimer

Operations Manager at Resin Processing Solutions & Robatech ZA
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E-commerce inventory risks include managing product sizes and weights affecting logistics. Oversized items may require more warehouse space and specialized tools like forklifts, impacting operational costs and efficiency. Inadequate space or tools can lead to storage issues and fulfillment delays, underscoring the importance of careful planning for effective inventory management.

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You’re starting an ecommerce business. What do you need to know about inventory management?

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1 Inventory types

2 Inventory models

3 Inventory methods

4 Inventory software

5 Inventory challenges

6 Here’s what else to consider

Inventory Management

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You’re starting an ecommerce business. What do you need to know about inventory management?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Inventory types

2 Inventory models

3 Inventory methods

4 Inventory software

5 Inventory challenges

6 Here’s what else to consider

Inventory Management

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