Buying products directly from manufacturers to sell to other businesses is known as wholesaling. This kind of B2B eCommerce business has a high chance of being profitable, provided you have great operational, marketing, and sales systems. However, having a solid inventory management process is crucial and that’s where wholesale inventory management software comes into play.
As a B2B business owner, you may specialize in buying wholesale products and then selling wholesale products to your customers. With such large amounts of inventory, it’s easy for logistics to get messy.
Profitable and easy to manage wholesale businesses start by following the proper inventory management techniques and warehouse organization strategies. This is all possible with wholesale business software. It will allow your business to acquire enough inventory, have quick order fulfillment times, and improve retail business partnerships.
Wholesale Inventory Management Meaning
Wholesale inventory management is the process of obtaining, storing, and tracking wholesale goods to maximize profitability. It’s essential for every business to properly manage its inventory. However, wholesale inventory management focuses on all processes related to the bulk goods that distributors and wholesalers purchase from manufacturers.
Wholesale inventory management processes include the following:
- Calculating the reorder point for stock items, minimum and economic order quantities (MOQ and EOQ), and timing inventory replenishment
- Tracking wholesale inventory levels
- Reconciling supplies received with items listed in packing slip
- Submitting purchase orders for new wholesale inventory
- Inventory control operations
- Keeping track of inventory received
- Performing a wholesale inventory audit on a regular basis
What Is Wholesale Inventory Management Software?
Wholesale inventory management software refers to systems that automate various processes when it comes to bulk inventory management. This kind of automation allows businesses to improve their accuracy and saves time.
Most wholesale inventory management software includes features that provide automatic stock level updates. They also allow businesses to set reorder notifications. These notifications make it easy to maintain the ideal inventory levels.
When running a wholesale business, this kind of software is essential. With wholesale inventory management software, the warehousing process is radically simplified.
Businesses are able to automatically sync inventory and order data across multiple channels. This provides updated inventory counts and prevents stockouts and backorder situations. It can also be improved with wholesale ordering software.
Key Takeaway: Wholesale inventory management software allows wholesalers to have eyes on their products through every step of the supply chain. This includes the manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution process.
3 Benefits of Wholesale Inventory Management Software
Similar to warehouse management software, wholesale inventory management software comes with many benefits.
Three benefits of incorporating wholesale inventory management software include:
- Increased inventory control
- Improved business insights
- Enhanced opportunity to re-prioritize orders
1. Increased Inventory Control
Inventory management solutions provide companies with an overview of their products and materials. In turn, they have more inventory control. With the proper wholesale inventory management software in place, you have the ability to track product sales, purchase orders, and inventory.
Depending on your system, you can integrate different functions to enable smart inventory management techniques. This includes past data pertaining to purchase orders and customer demand planning tools.
Inventory management software, such as restaurant inventory software, can predict the necessary inventory count. This way, you know how much inventory will be necessary, and you have the ability to plan your safety stock.
2. Improved Business Insights
Knowing how to run a wholesale distribution business is crucial. After implementing your wholesale inventory management software, you’ll have a necessary tool in place to achieve business success.
You may find yourself selling products through multiple wholesale distribution channels. This includes different food distribution channels if you’re in wholesale food distribution or the restaurant industry.
When you sell through different channels and increase your order volume, it’s essential to have access to stock data across each channel. This will reduce the chance of overstocking raw materials and overselling. Look into the raw material inventory definition if you aren’t yet familiar.
Your wholesale inventory management software will enable thorough inventory tracking. With this, you can stay on top of order progress and manufacturing inventory progress.
3. Enhanced Opportunity to Re-prioritize Orders
Businesses are always changing. The inventory management tool you use should be able to adjust to your business processes. These adjustments should be based on the shifts in priorities and resources that are available.
It’s possible for customers to change or cancel their orders. You might even have a custom order come in that requires you to redistribute resources. These changes should be accounted for and workflow processes should adapt quickly in order to accommodate them.
Manually factoring in such changes will be time-consuming and can result in costly mistakes. However, wholesale inventory management software and ERP for wholesalers can help. These solutions automate the order re-prioritization process based on sales data and inventory. As a result, you will reduce your lead time and ensure quick order fulfillment.
Familiarize yourself with what is MRP and the meaning of ERP to better understand how these systems may help your business. It’s also helpful to look into the best ERP systems, ERP system examples, and the benefits of ERP.
What Does Good Wholesale Inventory Management Software Include?
The key component to managing your wholesale inventory is your wholesale inventory management software. Regardless of whether you’re running a direct to consumer business or have a B2B business model, it’s important to assess your inventory management software.
Ideal features for wholesale inventory management software include:
1. Accurate Data Forecasting
Good inventory management starts with data-driven decisions and predictions. Thorough forecasting features in your inventory management software allow you to plan ahead for optimal operational efficiency.
Wholesale inventory management software should be able to make accurate predictions according to past sales data, inventory levels, and current sales performance. With this information, you’ll be able to accurately plan out product procurement in order to meet customer demand. This will prevent either overstocking or under-stocking your inventory.
2. Analytics and Data Reporting
Having accurate insights into your business’ inventory management KPIs is crucial. This will determine the areas that need improvement and allow you to optimize your management processes for better results. Look into what is KPI in inventory management to better understand.
3. Real-Time Inventory Management
As orders are being placed, inventory levels will fluctuate. Having built-in real-time inventory management functions allows you to track the movement of inventory at all times. This includes current stock levels.
Wholesale inventory management software with real-time capabilities is essential to have for your business. These functions will provide you with the ability to make accurate and strategic decisions.
For instance, real-time inventory visibility will alert you when you’re running low on inventory. This gives you a chance to reorder products to meet consumer demand and avoid stockouts.
4. Multichannel Integration
Certain wholesale inventory management software will allow you to integrate with different software across multiple sales channels. This is essential when it comes to syncing inventory data to accurately communicate sales order details.
Such integrations will speed up order processing and fulfillment times. At the same time, it will reduce issues related to delayed orders, missing information, and data entry mistakes.
5. Reorder Point Alerts
It’s important for wholesale inventory management software to include reorder point alerts and notifications. These are smart warehousing strategies that benefit your business.
When you set up these alerts, you’ll receive automatic notifications when a SKU number or UPC code stock levels reach their reorder point. This helps businesses stay on top of procurement.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wholesale Inventory Management Tools
It’s no question that wholesale inventory management software simplifies the inventory tracking process. The software functions provide businesses with accurate and up-to-date insights on their stock levels. This keeps business operations running smoothly.
To get more information on why wholesale inventory management software is necessary for your business, read the following commonly asked questions and answers:
How Can You Keep Track of Wholesale Inventory?
You can keep track of wholesale inventory by using wholesale inventory management software. This software will keep track of what’s in stock, and what needs to be ordered, and it provides real-time insights. These insights allow you to make accurate and informed decisions for your business.
What Should My Wholesale Inventory Management Software Include?
Four functions that wholesale inventory management software should include are:
- Real-time inventory management
- Multi-channel order management
- Real-time master planning
- Purchase order management
Why Is Inventory Management for Wholesalers Important?
Inventory management for wholesalers is important because it improves the visibility of the supply chain. With such management, wholesalers will know what’s going on with their inventory from the manufacturing to the warehousing and distribution phases. Wholesale inventory management software cuts costs and lead times while improving productivity.