If you are like most small e-commerce businesses, the process of ordering inventory isn’t probably as risky for you as it is for most brick-and-mortar businesses. This is because you usually have to deal with fewer vendors and less stock. You may not even have a large warehouse, since some of your suppliers may have agreed to store your products in their own warehouses before you actually find customers for them. Nevertheless, there are still some mistakes that are easy to make as an online store owner and that you should avoid.
Creating a Poor Inventory Flow
It’s good to be prudent, but if this translates into filling out purchase orders several times a week, you’re wasting a lot of time on details. A large catalog of products and a long list of suppliers only complicates the problem.
The simple solution to eliminating a poor inventory flow is to automate your purchase orders based on stock performance and failsafe levels. With a QuickBooks inventory management app like DataQlick you can draw on your accounting and inventory data to create effective, easy to modify purchase orders and automate them once stock levels drop. It’s simple, easy, and effective.
Disregarding Bundles and Kits
Bundling products together helps your online store differentiate itself from competitors, both online and offline. Bundles and kits don’t always perform well, however, and that’s because online stores don’t plan them out. Rather, they bundle together whatever they find in their warehouse, i.e. products that don’t sell or are about to reach the end of their shelf line.
When you order inventory, experiment with different product types to create engaging bundles. A cloud inventory management solution that supports bundles and kits makes everything easier.
Ordering the Wrong Quantity and/or Product
Mistakes are almost inevitable if your purchase orders come in the form of spreadsheets. While most vendors and suppliers use an order confirmation and reviewing process that helps screen out these errors, correcting mistakes can take more time than avoiding them.
Instead of having to make calls or exchange emails with your supplier to deal with mistakes, use a dedicated purchase order management app that integrates into your inventory and helps eliminate these small but stressful errors.
Managing Vendors Ineffectively
Vendor or supplier performance is not always consistent. Going beyond price and shipping costs, it’s important to consider the long-term performance of a vendor or supplier and whether it’s not better to cancel your next purchase order and look for a new one.
Using email, documents, or call logs to keep track of vendor performance is time-consuming, so much so that for many online shops it’s easier to put up with slow shipping, bad customer service, or unexpected fees than to switch vendors.
With a QuickBooks inventory management app you can manage all your vendors or suppliers in one place, keep their contact information up to date, and archive problems into notes that are easy to access later.
Streamline Your Purchase Orders
Technology makes ordering inventory easier than ever. Take advantage of it to streamline your purchase orders to save time and eliminate costly mistakes. Learn more about our QuickBooks inventory management app DataQlick and its purchase order and vendor management features.
