Exclusive Advice on Forecasting Customer Demand

Without an idea of how much stock you'll need of any particular item, you run the risk of sitting on a lot of product that you don't need or having to turn business away.

We provide some tips to companies that manage inventory while navigating unpredictable customer demand during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Managing inventory can be an overwhelming process, and if you don't have the right tools at your disposal, it can lead to countless problems within your operations.

Top-down forecasting is good for products that are seasonal but that do not have a long of sales history.

Check out our podcast episode with eCommerce Fastlane talking about cash flow, optimizing inventory levels, managing your supply chain during Chinese New Year, and more!

See how stock is balanced among locations. It can be more cost effective to shift inventory from one location to another rather than ordering more product from the vendor. 

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Forecasting using a combined warehouse can help you navigate multiple lead times, more efficient ordering, and warehouse transfers.

Shopify’s multilocation system allows you to easily create new distribution points, maintain control of inventory, and optimize inventory levels

Inventory Planner now integrates with LOCATE Inventory. Learn more about how your store can benefit from this partnership.

Having your fingers on the pulse of your eCommerce site means stockouts and overstock are a thing of the past, and personalized metrics and profits will ensure your business grows.

ShipHero users can now sync sales history and product information including stock levels to Inventory Planner to forecast replenishment needs.

Sync sales history and product information to Square to forecast customer demand with Inventory Planner.

Integrate ecomdash with Inventory Planner to forecast customer demand based on sales history and product information.

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Orderhive users can sync sales history and product information to Inventory Planner to produce a forecast of customer demand to see what additional inventory is needed.

Properly calculating inventory again will give you more insight into your retail business and permit you to adjust inventory accordingly.

This is for the sellers who are selling on Amazon and are looking to boost their rankings or those who are looking for easier ways to manage their accounts.

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Inventory Planner has a feature that allows you to link the same variants. You can see total sales and other performance metrics, revenue, how the variants are selling.

The real-time delivery of promotions and instant viewership of your web push notifications is sure to help you generate more customer demand around products. 

Accurately figuring your lead time and days of stock are critical to forecasting customer demand. Learn about factors to consider and improve your forecast.

Making the most of Amazon’s advantages while minimizing costs, requires careful consideration of the options for seller types and figuring out what works best in your situation.

Integrate Inventory Planner and QuickBooks Online to automate operations and sync purchase order detail.

Proper holiday forecasting and inventory planning still requires that you understand your market, position within that market and product’s sales potential.

Not all of your inventory and not all of your replenishment needs are going to be the same. A couple key metrics will help to prioritize what is most important to keep in stock.

Available sales history, seasonality and importance of recent trends are important considerations when choosing a forecasting method. Learn when to use various forecasting methods.

While at first glance it may appear you have no data for your new product, there are metrics you can use to guide your purchasing decisions.

Cash is king. Clear out overstock before it kills your cash flow and your business. Look at what’s not working to build profitability and cut items that aren’t.

When dropshipping your products, you may reach a point where you want to bring that in-house to maximize profitability and have control over those items. When? What products? How?

We've put together a checklist to help make sure your inventory is available when you need it and in the quantities you need.

As eCommerce companies grow and operations grow increasingly complex, merchants need to adopt a strategy and match it against the appropriate approach before sourcing solutions.

Inventory Planner brings product information together across platforms to help make buying decisions and optimize your purchasing budget and time.

By having accurate statistics on hand, you will be able to properly forecast what you need and where, thereby diminishing the chances of stockouts and overstock.

There are a variety of ways to sell off overstock, but one of the quickest ways is to sell in bulk. Here are time-tested tips to help you move out overstock as quickly as possible.

Use Prime Day - or "Christmas in July" promotions - to test out sales strategies for fourth quarter holiday sales.

Inventory Planner users can now sync purchase orders to Xero to keep purchasing information up to date for accounting purposes.

Demand forecast often involves coordinating with marketing efforts. Here are best practices to optimize Amazon listing to drive more demand.

Seasonal forecasting is not just for the fourth quarter. Take into consideration re-launched merchandise, intermittent-selling items, or other big promotions.

By examining margins, understock, and overstock, you will be able to determine where you need to have your inventory to optimize your profit.

Business projections look into the future and paint a picture of what could be and KPI’s are the tracked metrics that align your pace and direction with that picture of the future.

Inventory is much more than the cost price. As your manufacturing costs increase, you can monitor profit margins and raise prices accordingly.‍

Sales and seasonality have the largest roles to play, and when added to the overall sales forecast, you will have the best information possible to predict sales and replenishment.

From data-driven forecasts to customizable, one-click purchase orders to inventory optimization, Inventory Planner offers something for most every seller in the Amazon store.

When using the correct data and dynamic forecasting methods, you set yourself up for success to make the very best decisions possible for your online store.

An ABC class analysis looks at each variant or product’s contribution to your revenue over a given time frame.

Seller Fulfilled Prime, strategies for scaling, metrics for growth and more in our recap of Amazon seller-focused conference Prosper Show 2019.

Forecasting enables warehouses to keep track of sales and anticipated demand, so they can ensure that the available stock is adequate to meet customer needs.

As part of Amazon’s shipment creation process, you can save time and money by creating and printing labels directly from Inventory Planner.

Even if you are left with excess inventory in the first quarter, there are still many ways to reduce that inventory to produce cash for use elsewhere in your business.

Risk tolerance, ROI on inventory investments, vendor considerations, and analyzing product performance can inform what the target amount of your stock should be for your business.

During Chinese New Year, keep in mind many factories will be closed between two and four weeks. Take steps now to avoid losing out on revenue due to inventory being out of stock.

By looking at your business on a category level to see what inventory needs will be months in advance, you can be better prepared to meet customer demand.

Take steps now to make this busy time of year go more smoothly. Look at the big picture in your store - what’s driving your revenue and how can you focus on that?

Learn how to use cost tracking in Shopify to assess profitability and see where to invest resources for your store

Learn how to dynamically build in a buffer to handle supply chain problems.

Download our free template to forecast sales in your Shopify store

With sales forecasting, replenishment recommendations and in-depth reports provided by Inventory Planner, you have tools to optimize your inventory and build your business.

How do you strike a balance between optimizing stock levels and managing cash flow? Inventory forecasting can be a powerful tool to help you do just that.

Learn how to use inventory forecasting for managing FBA, FBM and stores with combined sales channels.

Learn how Unleashed and Inventory Planner work together and which stores should use both systems