The importance of good inventory management for your webshop

A customer finds exactly what they're looking for, clicks order, and it turns out to be sold out. Or worse: you sell the same product on bol and Shopify, and you sell one too many. Inventory management feels like a detail until it goes wrong. Then it costs you a sale, a review or a cancellation.

What inventory management is really about

Good inventory management is finding the right balance. Too much stock means capital tied up in your warehouse, plus the risk of slow-moving or outdated products. Too little stock means missed sales and disappointed customers. You want to know what you have, what sells quickly and what sits still, so you can adjust your purchasing accordingly.

As long as you sell on one channel, a spreadsheet still gets the job done. Sell on several channels at once and it gets tricky. Every sale on one channel has to be reflected on the others right away, otherwise you'll sell something that's no longer there.

Keeping stock in sync across every channel

This is where software helps. ShopLinkr keeps your inventory in sync in real time across all your sales channels, such as bol, Shopify, WooCommerce and Kaufland. Sell a product and the stock updates instantly on every channel. That prevents overselling without you tracking by hand what's where.

On top of that, you get tools manual tracking can't offer:

• Stock forecasting that shows when a product will run out, with purchase advice per supplier.
• Reports on revenue and margin per product, stock value, dead stock and an ABC analysis, so you can see what earns and what sits still.
• Fictional and unlimited stock for products you sell to order or dropship.

From stock to shipment

Inventory management doesn't stop at counting. The moment an order comes in, you want it out the door quickly and without mistakes. With pick lists you follow a smart route through the warehouse, scan products by barcode and pack at a packing station. Then you print a shipping label for your carrier in one click, and the track & trace goes back to the sales channel automatically. That keeps your stock accurate, from shelf to parcel point.

Getting started

Inventory management only becomes a problem once you grow and start selling on more channels. With the right software you solve it before it costs you sales. Want to see how ShopLinkr brings your stock and orders together? Check out the integrations or try ShopLinkr free for 14 days.