As more retailers diversify their sales channel strategy, multichannel inventory management becomes a central challenge.
While stock control for one or two stores may be relatively simple, multichannel inventory management requires better visibility and the need to be agile and react quickly to trends.
In this post, we’ll walk through everything you need to know about multichannel inventory control, from the costs and causes of poor inventory management, to what you should look for in your search.
Let’s get started!
What is multichannel inventory management?
Multichannel inventory management is the process of tracking inventory across a range of sales channels, and in some cases, across warehouse locations. For many retailers, adding new sales channels amplifies existing inventory management problems. Therefore, it’s important to get it right early on.
Disorganized inventory procedures will only multiply your headaches when you start adding multiple warehouse locations or additional marketplaces. Getting to grips with inventory management processes has many benefits. It highlights which parts of the process are sticking points and where to optimize.
Whether you have one store or multiple sales channels, a review at least every 12 months is necessary to ensure you’re not incurring avoidable costs and offering customers the best service possible.
Common multichannel inventory management challenges
Multichannel businesses often face inventory management challenges that can hinder growth and waste time. These issues typically arise from poor planning and systems that aren’t suited for multichannel operations. The following are four common problems:
Overstocks
Overstocks happen when businesses order more products than needed, often due to poor inventory management and inaccurate demand forecasting. Excess stock ties up capital and takes up valuable warehouse space. External factors, such as economic downturns or unexpected drops in demand, can also lead to overstocks. Seasonal promotions or overestimating sales can worsen this issue. To prevent overstocks, businesses need strong inventory practices, efficient forecasting, and clear communication between sales and procurement.
Stockouts
Stockouts, while common in retail, can be costly. A Harvard Business Review study found that 21%-43% of consumers will go to another store if an item is unavailable. This leads to lost sales and dissatisfied customers, especially in an era where consumers expect immediate availability. Good inventory software can mitigate this by generating low-stock reports and automatically reordering stock when levels are low.
Delivery
Fast delivery is crucial for online retailers, but many struggle due to ineffective inventory management and poor stock visibility. Problems like overselling and slow pick-and-pack processes stem from not accurately tracking stock locations. To improve delivery speed and reduce costs, businesses should dispatch orders from the store closest to the customer’s address.
Returns
No retailer can avoid returns, but research from IHL Group shows that up to half of all returns are preventable. Common reasons include product defects, sizing issues, and incorrect orders. Errors like these, often missed during manual inventory management, underscore the need for systems that track the entire inventory lifecycle effectively.
Top 6 multichannel inventory management software systems
Using a robust multichannel inventory management software is the best way of mitigating the risks and challenges that arise when selling across myriad channels, and with multiple warehouse locations.
These six multichannel inventory systems are feature-rich and have many tools that enable you to track inventory without losing your sanity
1. Linnworks
Overview of Linnworks
Linnworks is a leading multichannel inventory management software. With its roots deeply embedded in the ecommerce ecosystem, Linnworks offers retailers a seamless experience in managing their inventory across various online marketplaces and websites.
Benefits of using Linnworks for multichannel inventory management
Backed by a robust infrastructure, Linnworks ensures that businesses can effortlessly synchronize their stock levels, orders, and product listings across platforms like Amazon, eBay, Shopify, and more. Its intuitive dashboard provides a comprehensive view of sales metrics, inventory turnover, and order fulfillment, ensuring businesses stay ahead of their competition.
One of the standout features of Linnworks is its automation capabilities. From auto-relisting products to setting up pricing rules and generating shipping labels, the platform streamlines various operational tasks, allowing businesses to focus on growth and customer satisfaction.
Integration is at the heart of Linnworks. Whether it’s connecting with third-party logistics providers or integrating with popular ecommerce platforms, Linnworks ensures a seamless flow of data, reducing manual interventions and errors.
For businesses looking to expand their horizons and tap into global markets, Linnworks offers multi-currency and multi-language support, ensuring a localized shopping experience for customers worldwide.
Linnworks pricing
Linnworks provides transparent pricing plans designed to cater to businesses of all sizes, from budding startups to well-established enterprises. With no hidden fees or unexpected costs, our pricing aligns directly with the value delivered to your business. Plans begin at just $449 per month, accommodating up to 2,000 orders.
2. SkuVault Core
Overview of SkuVault Core
If you’re based in the United States, then SkuVault Core is a powerful ally for multichannel inventory management. SkuVault Core is for growing retailers that want to simplify their ecommerce operation by bringing inventory and warehouse management into one place.
Benefits of using SkuVault Core for multichannel inventory management
SkuVault Core provides ecommerce retailers with accurate inventory in one platform, giving a single source of truth across all of your ecommerce channels. Offering speed, simplicity and scale, SkuVault Core is designed for low complexity and high velocity to make your warehouse more organized.
With SkuVault Core in place, you can fast-track pick, pack, and ship, improving warehouse efficiency and reducing picking errors so your customers receive the right products on time, every time.
It connects to your existing ecommerce tech stack, and integrates seamlessly with your channels and providers to ensure efficiency from day one.
SkuVault Core pricing
SkuVault Core provides transparent pricing designed to meet the needs of businesses of all scales. Plans begin at $449 per month, with no hidden costs along the way.
3. Sellbrite
Overview of Sellbrite
Sellbrite is one of the leading multichannel inventory management solutions on the market.
It’s owned by GoDaddy which has extensive knowledge of the online environment as a worldwide hosting, domain name, and website provider.
Benefits of using Sellbrite for multichannel inventory management
Regarding features, Sellbrite has everything you need in an inventory management tool and much more. It can help you manage sales, inventory levels, and products across multiple online marketplaces.
It’s also versatile and has features that enable it to become your order management software, product management hub, and fully-featured analytics platform. Getting your products into Sellbrite is easy by using the bulk upload feature.
Once done, you can list your products on any of the top marketplaces that Sellbrite integrates with (including Amazon, eBay, and Walmart) by creating listings for each marketplace using your uploaded data.
To tie everything together, you can turn on inventory sync. This will automatically update your listing quantities to match your available inventory. You can also use inventory rules such as “use 100% of inventory” and set minimum and maximum sales quantities.
Sellbrite pricing
Sellbrite’s pricing starts at their “Forever Free” plan, which offers up to 30 monthly orders.
Their most popular plan is the “Pro 100” at $29 per month, offering 100 monthly orders and FBA integration capabilities (for an upcharge).
4. Quickbooks Commerce (Formerly Tradegecko)
Overview of Quickbooks Commerce
In August 2020, Intuit acquired TradeGecko. This makes what is now QuickBooks Commerce an incredibly powerful tool, thanks to the financial, payment, reporting, and accounting tools that sit behind this omnichannel inventory management platform.
However, since then, it appears Intuit has rolled up the functionality of QuickBooks Commerce into QuickBooks Online, specifically under their “Plus” pricing plan.
Benefits of using Quickbooks Commerce for multichannel inventory management
QuickBooks Online boasts impressive features, allowing you to manage inventory, orders, payments, customers, and insights in one place. Like Sellbrite, QuickBooks Online integrates with all the top marketplaces you would expect including Amazon and eBay.
Quickbooks Commerce pricing
QuickBooks Online offers inventory support starting at their Plus plan ($25.50/month) and going up to their advanced plan ($60/month).
5. Ordoro
Overview of Ordoro
Ordoro, established in 2010, has evolved into a powerful cloud-based inventory management platform, providing an all-in-one solution for SaaS and enterprise clients.
Benefits of using Ordoro for multichannel inventory management
It offers robust inventory management features including real-time tracking across multiple locations, kitting, purchase orders, and return management.
Ordoro also supports dropshipping with automated routing of orders across suppliers.
The platform integrates with various shipping carriers and sales channels and offers discounted shipping rates.
With its comprehensive features, Ordoro is a versatile choice for businesses seeking efficient inventory management.
Ordoro pricing
Ordoro’s pricing starts with a free tier, with “Advanced” and “Premium” plans at $59 and $149 monthly, respectively. Additional modules for specific needs are also available.
6. Zoho Inventory
Overview of Zoho Inventory
Zoho Inventory is a cloud-based inventory management software designed for small to medium-sized businesses.
Benefits of using Zoho Inventory for multichannel inventory management
With multichannel selling, real-time inventory tracking, and comprehensive warehouse management, Zoho Inventory optimizes your inventory and order management processes. It ensures accurate stock count and order fulfillment, reducing instances of overselling.
It also allows for kitting and bundling of items, which is useful for businesses with complex inventory structures.
The comprehensive order management system provides features from creating sales orders and invoices to packing and shipping goods.
It integrates with popular shipping carriers, allowing for easier shipment tracking. It also integrates with various ecommerce platforms and marketplaces, syncing your inventory across multiple sales channels.
Zoho Inventory pricing
Zoho Inventory offers a free plan for 20 monthly online orders, with more extensive features in their paid plans. The Basic plan costs $39/month for 1500 online orders/month.
The Standard plan costs $79/month for 10,000 online orders/month. For larger businesses, the Professional plan is $199/month for 30,000 online orders/month.
These plans offer more extensive features like batch tracking, composite items, and priority support.
How to choose the best multichannel inventory management software
Efficient multichannel inventory management requires:
- A 360° view of stock across all locations
- Real-time stock and sales updates
- Data-driven decision-making through reports
An all-in-one solution is key for multichannel retailers. Here are the top features to consider:
Multichannel views
You should manage all sales channels in one system, from updating product info to viewing sales, stock, and returns. Real-time updates are crucial, as customers expect seamless omnichannel experiences like buying online and returning in-store. Without connected systems, customer experience suffers.
Integrations to third-party ecommerce platforms
Your software must integrate with platforms like eBay, Amazon, and Walmart. This streamlines product updates and ensures consistent information across channels, saving time and improving efficiency. Centralized reporting makes sales analysis much quicker.
Reporting and analytics
A robust reporting suite is essential for optimizing processes. Key reports to look for include sales by product, channel, inventory valuation, cost of goods sold, and low-stock products. These insights help reduce costs and increase margins.
Cloud-based access and updates
Cloud-based software allows access from anywhere with an internet connection, making stock and sales management more efficient. Regional managers and head offices can view real-time data to make quick, informed decisions that maximize sales.
Warehouse management capability
Features like barcode scanning and batch tracking improve accuracy and efficiency. Modern systems integrate with mobile devices for real-time updates, reducing errors in large warehouses with frequent deliveries.
Choose Linnworks and SkuVault Core for your global multichannel inventory management needs
If you’re a retailer selling across multiple sales channels, multichannel inventory management should be a top priority.
Having the right products in stock at the right time can be the difference between exceeding sales targets and missing them completely — especially when managing multiple warehouses.
Luckily, a new breed of software has entered the market called multichannel inventory software. If you’re in the United States, then look no further than SkuVault Core. Otherwise, Linnworks is your new best friend. Get started today.