Why is Inventory Visibility Important?

Today’s consumers expect a full omnichannel shopping experience. They want immediate service and seamless shopping across all sales channels. The only way to guarantee that you can live up to that expectation is with inventory visibility.

What is inventory visibility?

Inventory visibility simply means knowing what inventory is in stock, how much is on hand, and where it is located. Maintaining an accurate inventory count is a priority if you want to provide your customers with the omnichannel shopping experience they have come to expect. Accurate inventory counts are only possible if you are able to update inventory levels in real time across all your sales channels.

With consumers purchasing through so many different sales channels, inventory visibility is of utmost importance. You don’t want to lose a customer because they ordered something for pickup in store (BOPIS) and upon arriving at the store they discover the item is actually not in stock. The reason can be either because the store is actually out of stock and the inventory wasn’t updated properly, or it can be because the employee is unable to find it because it is not stored in the usual place. Either way, this is not a scenario you want to have, as the probability of losing that consumer is high. 

If you have the ability to track all your inventory through one central system, you are able to anticipate the needs of your customers and fulfill orders through many different channels. A consumer can purchase an item online, and if the central warehouse is out of stock, the order can be fulfilled by one of your brick and mortar stores. Or a consumer can walk into a brick and mortar store looking for an item, and if it is unavailable, it can be shipped to home from another location.

None of these scenarios can occur if you do not have full inventory visibility. While it may seem daunting to maintain inventory accuracy at such a high level, if you use the correct inventory/warehouse management system, you will have the ability to attain this lofty goal.

SkuNexus is a fully customizable order/inventory/warehouse management system. With SkuNexus running your commerce operations, maintaining accurate inventory counts across all your sales channels is easy. You will have the ability to provide your customers with the full omnichannel shopping experience they desire.

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