Category: Inventory

Inventory is one of the most important — and most misunderstood — drivers of profitability in ecommerce. Most brands think about inventory primarily from an operational standpoint. Do we have enough stock? Are shipments arriving on time? Can we fulfill customer orders quickly enough?

For years, spreadsheets were the default solution for inventory planning in ecommerce. They were flexible, inexpensive, and familiar. In the early stages of an Amazon business, a spreadsheet could handle forecasting, reorder calculations, supplier tracking, and inventory monitoring well enough to support growth.

Inventory forecasting used to be relatively straightforward.

Brands looked at historical sales trends, estimated future demand, and reordered inventory accordingly. But ecommerce has changed dramatically over the last several years. Customer behavior moves faster, trends emerge overnight, and a single viral moment can completely disrupt months of inventory planning.

Inventory planning and inventory management are often grouped together, and while they are closely connected, they serve very different purposes within an ecommerce business. Understanding that difference is critical for brands trying to grow efficiently, protect margins, and avoid the constant cycle of stockouts and excess inventory.

Still using Excel for inventory planning?It’s holding your business back. From lost sales to wasted time, the hidden costs of manual inventory management add up fast. Here's what you're missing, and how Flieber can help you turn things around.

The Hidden Costs of Sticking with Excel

• Lost Sales Due to Stockouts: Research shows that brands lose an average of 8% in sales due to stockouts—for example, if your business has $10M in annual sales, that’s $800,000 in lost revenue.
• Trapped Cash in Overstock: Excess inventory ties up capital and increases storage...

As December arrives, ecommerce businesses are focusing on the holiday rush—but the most successful companies know that 2025 has already started. Smart planning and data-driven strategies can set the foundation for sustained growth in the new year. This checklist will help you take the right steps to ensure your ecommerce store thrives in 2025.

Here’s your ultimate checklist, with actionable tips to grow and thrive next year:

If modern retailers know one thing, it’s that no matter how hard you plan, things almost always work out differently than expected. And nowhere is that more true than with your supply chain.

Suppliers, vessels, trucks, warehouses. Supply chains are complex and chaotic by nature. To solve the disconnects between your forecasts and what actually happens on the road, water, or factory floor, you need to be able to act and react as quickly as possible.

The good news is, there’s never been more data available to help you do that. With AI’s ability to crunch...

When it comes to AI, context is everything. But in the dynamic world of retail, there are countless movements across a range of products. AI can account for those intricacies for you, leading to a more nuanced and accurate forecast — but only if you have the right data to get the quality output you need.

The reality is, in a fast-paced retail environment, you won’t always have the full scope of data you need to get the accuracy you want out of your AI algorithms. 

The new world of retail isn’t for everyone. Less than 10% of emerging brands make it past the death valley curve of e-commerce. If you’re one of the few online retailers that has found success, you know you can’t afford to let your foot off the gas. From one or two top channels, you’re ready to expand.

According to research, for every three new sales channels you add, you could increase your revenue by up to 190%. The only catch? 

There’s a lot of talk about the role of AI in inventory. But with so many unknowns about how these tools are developed, how do you know whether your forecasting algorithm is really doing its job?