Note: This article covers inventory and logistics management services available only in Japan. The information below will not be directly relevant if you are not selling in the Japanese market.
Accurate inventory management is essential to running a smooth e-commerce site. Poor inventory management directly affects your business, leading to lost sales opportunities, reduced customer satisfaction, and cash flow problems.
This article introduces recommended inventory management apps that integrate with Shopify. We'll cover everything from the benefits of inventory management to how to choose the right app.
What Are the Benefits of Inventory Management?
Proper inventory management helps you avoid having too much or too little stock, reducing the risk of stockouts. Building a system that avoids long-term excess inventory and stockouts also helps reduce management costs.
Other concrete benefits include the following.
Stabilized cash flow
Thorough inventory management smooths out your cash flow, stabilizing your business.
Improved product turnover
A higher inventory turnover rate makes it easier to maintain product quality, reducing the risk of deterioration or contamination from long-term storage.
Improved operational efficiency
Accurately tracking stock levels reduces wasted work and improves overall operational efficiency.
Cost reduction
Maintaining a minimal stock level reduces storage space and labor costs.
Risks Caused by Poor Inventory Management
Whether you run an e-commerce site or a physical store, maintaining appropriate inventory levels is essential for healthy store operations. Insufficient inventory management can lead to problems such as the following:
- Cash flow strain from excess inventory
- Lost sales opportunities from stockouts
- Inaccurate business data due to inventory discrepancies
Key Points for Inventory Management on Shopify
Inventory management on an e-commerce site like Shopify differs in some ways from inventory management at a physical store. Keep the following five points in mind for proper inventory management on your e-commerce site.
Accurately tracking stock levels
Always knowing your accurate stock levels prevents the risk of excess inventory or stockouts. Discrepancies make it difficult to maintain appropriate inventory levels.
Purchasing based on data analysis
Analyzing past sales data and market trends, and purchasing only the quantity you need, prevents excess inventory from building up.
Improving turnover through appropriate inventory levels
Maintaining appropriate stock levels increases inventory turnover, preventing rising costs and lost sales opportunities.
Updating pages for sold-out products
When a product sells out, it's important to promptly update its page so customers don't accidentally order a product they can't actually buy. On Shopify, you can prevent customers from ordering out-of-stock items by unchecking "Continue selling when out of stock" in product management.
Consider adopting an external service
If you run multiple e-commerce sites beyond just Shopify, or also sell products at a physical store, we recommend using an external service or app to manage your inventory centrally.
This not only prevents human error, but also reduces the risk of accidentally selling a product that's out of stock. Adopt an automated management system to achieve reliable inventory management.
How to Manage Inventory Using Shopify's Built-In Features
You can easily manage inventory on Shopify from the "Inventory" page or the "product details page" in product management, both in the admin.
Shopify's built-in inventory management feature lets you easily manage and track each product's stock level in your store in real time. You set the stock level for a product, and it automatically decreases as sales occur, preventing manual errors. There's also a feature that sends automatic notifications when stock runs low, so you can restock quickly.
Inventory page
Product management: product details page
Definitions of Shopify's Inventory Statuses
| Inventory Status | Definition |
|---|---|
| On hand | All inventory (physical stock) located at a specific location. |
| Available | Inventory that can be sold. |
| Committed | Inventory tied to an order that hasn't shipped yet. |
| Unavailable | Inventory held back for other reasons, such as damage, quality control, or safety stock. |
Drawbacks of Using Shopify's Inventory Management
Shopify's built-in inventory management feature is very convenient, but it has some limitations.
Management becomes more complex as your product count grows
As your product count grows, inventory management using the built-in feature alone can become complex, and efficiency may drop.
Not well suited for selling across multiple platforms
If you sell across multiple e-commerce platforms, inventory management errors become more likely. In this case, it's best to use an external service to manage inventory centrally.
How to Choose an Inventory Management App for Shopify
There are many apps available for managing inventory on Shopify. To choose the one that fits your site, check the following points.
Balance between cost and features
Some inventory management apps are free, but many are paid. Choose an app whose features are worth the cost, with neither too much nor too little functionality, matching how your business actually operates.
Whether it can sync inventory across multiple sites
If you run multiple e-commerce sites or physical stores, check whether the app can sync and centrally manage inventory across all your sales channels. Since the features and coverage offered differ by app or service, we recommend comparing options carefully before adopting one, based on your business's operating plan.
6 Recommended Inventory Management Apps That Integrate with Shopify
There are inventory management apps with a variety of features that can integrate with Shopify. Here, we introduce six that we especially recommend.
LOGILESS
Image source: LOGILESS
LOGILESS is an app that automates e-commerce operations across the board. It has a track record of adoption not just on Shopify, but across a variety of platforms. It particularly excels at automating inventory management—when an order comes in, inventory is automatically updated, and shipping instructions can be sent to the warehouse with a single click. Its strength lies in significantly reducing both time and cost.
Logikura
Image source: Logikura
Logikura is an inventory management app specialized for small and mid-sized e-commerce businesses. Its simple dashboard makes it easy to manage stock levels and issue shipping instructions. It's also available as a smartphone app, making it convenient to check inventory status from anywhere.
Shippinno
Image source: Shippinno
Shippinno is an inventory management app that can integrate with multiple e-commerce channels, and it's especially strong for omnichannel operations. It automatically adjusts inventory across each channel, preventing lost sales opportunities from stockouts. It also supports businesses looking to expand internationally.
OPENLOGI
Image source: OPENLOGI
OPENLOGI is an app that streamlines logistics operations across the board, centralizing not just inventory management but shipping operations as well. It simplifies the process from warehouse management through to delivery, speeding up order processing. This is an especially convenient service for e-commerce businesses that ship in large volumes.
The blog article below covers warehouse management systems in detail. Feel free to check it out.
Next Engine Auto-Integration
Image source: Next Engine Auto-Integration
Next Engine Auto-Integration is a Shopify app for automatically syncing Shopify with Next Engine. Next Engine is a centralized e-commerce management system provided by NE Inc. By using Next Engine, you can centrally manage inventory and orders across multiple online stores.
The blog article below explains how to integrate Next Engine with Shopify and the benefits of doing so. Feel free to check it out.
COMMERCE ROBO
Image source: COMMERCE ROBO
COMMERCE ROBO is an order management system that automates the entire process from order receipt through to shipping. By automating the full workflow, it significantly reduces workload and helps solve staffing shortages. It also integrates with Shopify, enabling real-time inventory management.
The blog article below covers order management systems in detail. Feel free to check it out.
Recommended Shopify Apps for Reducing Lost Sales from Stockouts
We mentioned earlier that poor inventory management risks lost sales opportunities from stockouts. Even if a product does sell out, you can reduce lost sales by using the apps introduced below to accept pre-orders or back-in-stock notification requests.
RuffRuff 予約販売
RuffRuff 予約販売 is a Shopify app that makes it easy to set up pre-order sales with simple configuration. Even when a product is out of stock, you can still accept orders as pre-orders, reducing lost sales during stockouts. Beyond pre-orders during stockouts, this app also supports a variety of sales formats, including member-only sales, limited-time sales, VIP member discounts, and pay-later purchases.
Notify! Back in Stock|PreOrder
Image source: Notify!
Notify! Back in Stock|PreOrder is a Built for Shopify-certified app. It supports pre-orders and partial payments for out-of-stock products, efficiently managing backorders. It adds a "Notify me" or "Pre-order" button to the product page, and automatically sends a notification once the product is back in stock. It also supports inventory management across multiple locations, multiple languages, and integration with other tools.
The blog article below introduces other recommended Shopify apps for back-in-stock notifications, beyond Notify! Back in Stock|PreOrder. Feel free to check it out.
Get Inventory Sync Right on Shopify!
This article covered the benefits of inventory management, things to watch out for, and useful apps for Shopify. By using Shopify's built-in inventory management features and adopting the right app on top of them, you can reduce the burden of inventory management and drive the growth of your store.
