Retail is a booming business these days. eCommerce has made retailing a global affair. A small store or an individual located in a corner of the world can reach millions of customers around the world on an online platform. However, this requires the catalog to be available online along with its attributes like colors, sizes, etc., and rates. With the introduction of the Retail inventory management system from ERP software for b2b, the retailers would easily establish their presence everywhere.
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Table of Content
Why Use ERP Software for the Retail Industry?
Retailing involves reaching out to a large number of customers who spot-buy directly or online. Some of these customers may need more than one piece of the same product or a different color or attribute of the same product. In the case of a very small retailer with very limited stock, finding that out is very easy. But in the case of a retail chain or a large retailer, the difficulty arises, if they do not maintain the digital data.
The inventory software system for retail can be very advantageous for retailers in such cases. If the catalog is maintained in a digital format, a minor query or report can easily fetch the availability of an item along with the location details. As far as retail chains are concerned, they cannot survive this tight competition without digital inventory management. It may take at least a week to check the inventory if the booking system is keeping up with tracking. A week’s sale missed can severely affect the retailer’s revenue. The system simplifies the employee’s work also and makes them more efficient.
Since the stock can be inspected anytime with the click of a few buttons, the employees will be more alert in handling the stock. As far as the retailers are concerned, they have the stock levels, sales data, customer data, purchase data, etc at their fingertips. That’s why using ERP software for b2b can be more efficient. With cloud and mobile ERPs trending in the market, they can access the data from anywhere, at any time.
Using Inventory Software for Large Retail Will be More Efficient
For large retail chains like supermarket chains, multi-warehouse inventory software will be beneficial as they have a huge volume of stock stored in multiple warehouses which may be in different locations. The retailer or the wholesaler can check the stock levels from any location and ensure that the fast-moving items are well-stocked. A competent inventory software system from ERP software for B2B will keep the inventory levels in check. It’s also alerts the concerned user in advance regarding the items that are low in quantity and require re-order.
The retailers can also know which stock is moving fast and which is stable, thereby promoting the slow-moving ones with some special offers or campaigns, in the case of stocks with an expiry date. The retailer will be notify when certain items are nearing their expiry date so that they can either be sold at discount or returned.
Most of the inventory management software has a basic warehouse or store tracking system too which is beneficial to SMEs. They do not need a warehouse to keep their stock. However, it still tracks the exact location of an item using a bin system or a numbered storage system. The wholesaler or the retailer can also track the order to sales time-tracking and the percentage of orders that turn to sales. For a multi-location retailer, if the orders of a particular store are not getting modify to sales. It can be kept up quickly and corrective actions can be taken immediately.
Online stores are doing very good business as the retailer can reach out to millions of customers across the globe online. An effective retail inventory system will permit a retailer to go online by adopting a few simple steps. The digital catalog is already available in the inventory system. That’s why the task is only to open an online store and display them in the digital showcase. Since the inventory is the same as the one acquire in the physical store. That’s when the item is sold in the physical store. As a result, it automatically shows “No Stock” or “Sold Out” on the website, with cloud and mobile ERPs available in the market. Even the smallest retailer can get their products showcased in an online store without having to bear many expenses. Big players like Amazon are making huge success stories with cloud-based ERPs.
For bigger retail chains, the centralized inventory can help the store managers to request for internal transfer of high-demand items in their store from other stores where the same products are available and are not in demand, similarly if a customer requests a product that is not available in a store. Furthermore, the store manager can check the system and request the item immediately. Some inventory management software even allows the delivery of the product to the client’s place. That was to avoid inconvenience caused to the customer.
A wholesale inventory system can reduce a considerable amount of physical workload involved in stock checking, billing, and accounting work. Since the wholesalers deal in large volumes and mostly deal with regular customers, they can utilize the software to analyze the volume of sales done with each type of customer and improve marketing based on the details. The purchase, inventory, and sales analytics can make a big change in the way a wholesaler or a retailer operates. Good inventory software can help the retailer and a wholesaler understand the right stocks to order, the right time to order, and the right place to sell them. This improves the order processing time and effort, also by maintaining good stock levels of fast-moving items. The overall customer experience in turn makes them keep coming back to the same seller every time.
Conclusion
In summary, the right inventory software system can boost sales by maintaining optimal stock levels and ensuring data accessibility across all locations. Implementing ERP software for B2B, enhanced with cloud and mobile technologies, has significantly advanced the retail and wholesale sectors, enabling them to connect with millions of customers worldwide.
