Challenges Associated with Multi-Location Inventory
Implementing affordable and efficient shipping and logistics by leveraging multi-location inventory for your brand inevitably comes with pain points.
Stock Visibility
Maintaining real-time visibility into inventory across all sources is essential for providing accurate product availability information to customers online.
Inventory Management
Keeping inventory levels accurate and up to date across multiple sources can be complex. Inaccurate inventory data can lead to overselling or stockouts.
Order Routing
eCommerce businesses must determine the best source to fulfill an order based on factors like location, stock levels, and shipping costs.
Shipping Costs
Managing shipping costs across multiple sources can be difficult. Different sources may have varying shipping rates, leading to increased expenses if not optimized.
Returns Handling
Handling returns when items are sourced from different locations can be complex and require additional logistics.
Technology Integration
Syncing inventory availability across sources with the eCommerce platform and other software systems can be technically challenging and require ongoing maintenance.
Multi-Location Inventory Benefits
For most businesses, their inventory is spread across multiple locations – warehouses, distribution centers, retail locations, and others. Inventory availability across multiple locations can be the secret ingredient that gives businesses an edge in implementing affordable and efficient shipping solutions.
Faster Shipping
Multi-location or multi-source inventory allows for strategically placing products closer to your customers. This can lead to shorter delivery times.
Lower Risks
Having multiple inventory sources provides redundancy in case of supply chain disruptions, ensuring that your business can continue operations during natural disasters or other disruptions.
Cost Savings
Multi-source inventory can help you optimize shipping and fulfillment costs by selecting the most cost-effective source for each order.
Reduced Carbon Footprint
By strategically placing inventory sources closer to customers, you can reduce carbon emissions by minimizing the distance traveled to deliver orders.
eCommerce + Multi-Location Inventory in Action
Experience seamless eCommerce with multi-location inventory management—sync stock across warehouses, stores, or fulfillment centers in real-time. Optimize order routing,
reduce shipping times, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Streamline Order Routing and Fulfillment
About the Customer
Canada’s largest distributor of the pool, spa, and patio furniture industry. With over 60 years in the business, they manage extensive warehousing facilities spanning 500,000 square feet and offer a catalog of 200,000+ products.
Multi-warehouse Inventory Management
- We have implemented a precise system for managing product visibility, order processing, and multi-source inventory management.
- When an order is placed, the order is automatically synced back to the ERP system and is automatically directed to the predefined warehouse/ location for fulfillment.
- This order routing helps them manage inventory better across multiple locations and streamline their order fulfillment process.
Convert Retail Locations to Micro-fulfillment Centers
About the Customer
A leading furniture and mattress retailer with 34+ retail locations across the USA and Canada. During COVID-19, they found their retail locations shut suddenly, and business took a huge hit.
Multi-source Inventory Management
- A responsive eCommerce store was developed that displayed products and inventory online specific to the physical store selected by the customer.
- We prevented the overselling of products by checking real-time inventory in ERP during order placement.
- Drive customer experience and streamline order fulfillment by enabling store pickup.
Role of eCommerce and ERP Integration
Businesses often manage and maintain their inventory information in their ERP systems. By automating information sync between eCommerce and ERP systems, businesses can
Manage Inventory Better
Build trust and manage inventory better across locations by centralizing inventory in the ERP system.
Prevent Overselling of Stock
With real-time inventory visibility, you can prevent overselling of stock.
Automate Order Routing
Map inventory source to products and route orders automatically to specific locations.
Explore i95Dev’s Offering
Omni-channel Retailing
Drive omni-channel sales across online marketplaces, social channels, voice-activated devices, and AI-powered chatbots leveraging your eCommerce store.
B2B/ B2C eCommerce Services
Build an effective and interactive eCommerce ecosystem for tomorrow’s growth with a customer-centric approach.
ERP Integration Products
Improve operational efficiency, manage product and inventory information better, and enable options like BOPS with seamless ERP and POS integration.
Contact i95Dev experts today.
Need help to leverage multi-location inventory, for your eCommerce business?