While retailers are certainly aware of the importance of shifting to e-commerce ideologies and systems, they need to be made aware of how to integrate all of their platforms to work simultaneously. If you’re looking for a refresher on how to connect your OMS and E-commerce systems, check out one of our earlier conversations here. Today however, we will dive into why achieving a single view of inventory is one the keys to driving your system connections.
There are a few strategic reasons as to why it should be one of your top priorities to set up a single view of inventory once all your systems and processes are in place. The first being customer satisfaction, while the customer doesn’t realize the complexities to setting up a single view of inventory, they are always satisfied with their front end experience due to abundant availability of product. Next, with a single stock model, your business can forgo last minute stock level changes without losing sales. Lastly, you can provide your customer with more than one way to shop for your products, which allows them to fully utilize your hard earned Omni-channel capabilities.
Most would agree that customer satisfaction is the end goal of a supply chain solution. Having a single view of inventory will guarantee you that satisfaction because your customer can purchase your product anytime, anywhere. Getting your systems to talk across your entire supply chain and produce sales in an efficient matter without sending your customer through hoops will not only benefit your customers but also you. This model will allow you to fulfill these sales in the most resourceful way your system can handle.
Many companies today use separate warehouses based on the type of order placed, retail or online. With a single view of inventory, your business can move inventory throughout all of your hubs in an efficient manner by simply checking what’s available nearby. This prevents the last minute chaos experienced when having to stock two different locations to manage unpredictable demand. Preventing last minute changes will also help you create a sustainable work force even during times like peak holiday season. A single stock view will also reduce overstocking which tends to happen when your business must provide a dedicated amount of stock to every single hub in your channel. Furthermore, it reduces the requirement for what is known as safety stock, reserved to keep high demand SKU’s available in the chance they sell out faster than expected. This sometimes causes empty shelves in-store or unavailable inventory online, both of which could be fixed with a single view of inventory.
We’ve all witnessed that dreadful moment where one of your channels of service is unable to fulfill a customer order due to lack of inventory. This not only causes a loss of sale but also a potential loss of customer. If your system had incorporated a single stock model you would have been able to offer your customer a different method to receive the product whether that is from ordering online or picking up from a different store. In this scenario, you have achieved a sale and the potential of additional foot traffic in another one of your stores.
All in all, setting up your single view of inventory helps every player in the game that is your business. It provides the satisfaction to your customers, it takes a weight off your employee’s shoulders when dealing with stock levels, and it provides you that sale that you would have missed without a single stock view. Let Bricz help you get started on customizing your single stock model to meet your inventory needs.
Contributor: Anita Patel