Real-time inventory management can boost customer satisfaction by allowing buyers to get what they want, when they want it.
It’s impossible to compare small or midsize distributors with Amazon because it’s in a league all its own. But companies should emulate its practices. It’s brilliant how Amazon handles customer interactions and inventory management.
Managing the availability of products in real time is a way to provide the service levels customers expect. It reduces time to fulfillment, and you’ll have popular items in stock along with the ability to upsell them. Amazon’s approach is outstanding because the company shows people what other customers who bought a particular item also purchased. Consumers really appreciate that kind of upselling.
Amazon also has a customer-friendly return system, which enhances trust between the two parties. Companies are viewed as being easier to do business with if they allow a customer to return a product when they’re unhappy with their purchase. A system that manages returns like that can easily track replacement inventory.
An inventory management system can also manage the return metrics, which can help with identifying and mitigating quality control issues. For example, if a particular item keeps coming back because it’s damaged in a certain way, you can take note of that quality control issue and address it. Reducing quality control issues allows you to provide a better customer experience; nobody likes to buy something and then return it because it’s not what they expected.
According to a post on the WebBizIdeas blog, real-time inventory management can help companies monitor changes in the online market, allowing them to make the proper adjustments to their website or customer portal. The author notes the benefit of gaining visibility into inventory tracking. “You get a better view of what is selling in your online store and when you should order more products,” the article explains. “You get real-time information about everything associated with your inventory — eliminating shipping delays and backorders.”
An automated interface is also included in the system, eliminating the need for manual inputs and providing better control over inventory. The WebBizIdeas blog post says the best feature of real-time inventory management is the Six Sigma system, which measures quality. “Having a Six Sigma Integrated System means that your inventory control system is almost perfect, with negligible defects,” the post explains.
Real-time inventory management also helps to improve shipping. Customers want to know exactly when their purchase is going to hit their door. If you can reduce the time from the point an order was taken to when you actually fulfill the order, then you can manage clients’ expectations about shipment time. That in turn increases customer satisfaction.
According to a white paper on the Sage website, the technology can also help increase accuracy in shipping. Costs add up quickly when you ship the wrong item to a customer, including additional freight and labor charges. “By implementing an inventory control solution that verifies the correct items are being shipped, you prevent errors from being made,” the white paper explains.
Another way real-time inventory management can improve your business is cash flow. It provides better inventory turnover, and you have less invested in stock. The system provides better information on what’s selling. You won’t have inventory that’s old or not moving; rather, you’ll have more current inventory that’s popular.
Smaller and midsize distributors can’t compete with Amazon, but they can be more competitive with companies their size by emulating Amazon’s methodologies. If you can reduce costs by having more efficient operations, you can pass those cost savings on to customers, which will obviously make them happy. An inventory management system can help you satisfy two areas of competition: price and customer satisfaction.