In the age of online retail, customers have higher expectations than ever for store inventory and customer service. This makes it increasingly important to focus on efficient inventory management. With increased competition from other online retailers, it’s easy for them to shop elsewhere if customers are unsatisfied with your shipping and return policies. A comprehensive and experienced third-party logistics (3PL) partner gives you the edge you need to compete in an increasingly demanding market.
It’s becoming more common for e-commerce retailers to partner with third-party logistics providers and use inventory management systems to help ensure a seamless shopping experience from purchase to receipt to delivery. With online sales expected to make up 22 percent of all retail sales by 2023, it’s crucial to provide your customers with the best experience possible.
Accurate Inventory Tracking
Accurate inventory tracking is essential through every customer journey, from their initial search for availability on your website to ordering and shipment. Having real-time knowledge of what you have in stock will help you avoid situations where a customer completes an order, only to find out that the item was unavailable and is now on back-order.
Once items leave your warehouse, customers expect to have real-time updates on the status of their package until it arrives at their doorstep or wherever its final destination may be. It’s best to inform customers of the shipping and return status, accounting for delays or even mispacked items. Providing them with this information allows them to quickly and effectively resolve any issues, ultimately leading to a more positive customer experience. The more you can communicate, the less information your customer has to seek out about their delivery, and the more they are likely to feel confident in your brand.
Inventory Transparency
Providing transparency on the current inventory can help your customers make more informed decisions and help increase your sales. When inventory reaches a certain threshold, create messaging to inform customers that inventory is getting low. Creating two separate messages, one when inventory is common and one when it is close to selling out (in this case, providing the exact number of units left), can help create a sense of urgency with your customers and improve conversions. Ultimately, in the 2020s, customers will appreciate knowing if they can hold off a day or two before ordering something online or if they have to act fast to get the last few items in stock.
Avoid Understocking and Underselling
Items going out of stock are common for any e-commerce store. What shouldn’t be common is listing items as out of stock when there is a current inventory. Related to this phenomenon is underselling. This is when your e-commerce portals display that you are out of an item, when in fact, you’re sitting on a handful that ought to be moving. This is frustrating for your customers for the same reason as an item being out of stock. From their perspective, it’s the same thing, and they can’t purchase what they want. There is only one explanation for this: poor retail inventory management.
It’s dangerous to make these kinds of mistakes in a retail environment where your competitors can be reached at the click of a button or the tap of a screen. Partnering with the right third-party logistics partner can help your organization provide the service customers expect in the 21st century.
James Pell is a freelance writer specializing in e-commerce and logistics.
References:
https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/blog/improve-ecommerce-inventory-control-avoiding-common-mistakes