High sales velocity and enough stock to service it is every online retailer’s dream—and these two levers (sales and inventory) must work together like a well-oiled machine in order to achieve it. Sounds simple, right?
So, why is it that so many sellers still suffer from costly stockouts?In 2016, retailers lost an estimated $1.75 trillion due to stockouts, overstocks and returns. With the recent growth of retail, this number may well be close to $2 trillion today.
As an ecommerce entrepreneur, you’re constantly spinning multiple plates, hoping none of them fall and smash.
These are often mission critical tasks like marketing, sales, and product development—things that directly affect your financial success. So, it may seem like a waste of time to spend your energy on backend tasks like improving your inventory optimization.
You’ve made it! You’re crushing it in Amazon FBA and are making running an e-commerce store look like a walk in the park. But here’s the thing. You know there’s more out there, and you’re determined to step up your game to get it. So, what’s next? Multi-channel selling.
“Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.” Ben Hogan – considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of golf.
In 2020, we saw the real impact that inventory disruptions can cause to businesses in every single industry.
Higher stockout costs due to lack of stock is one of the worst things that can happen to any online retailer. While in offline retail, a stock-out has the solitary impact of lost sales until the next batch arrives, in online retail, it means loss of ranking position, which has a much longer-lasting effect. What can a seller do to keep this from happening? Usually, retailers place all their focus on inventory replenishment. But the truth is that two lines of attack can help you avoid stock-outs—inventory and sales.
