We never know what's in stock
Problem #1
I have all this idle inventory I can’t sell.
Brad has hundreds of products sitting in his warehouse. Summer is approaching and he needs to make room for new seasonal and trending products. He can’t buy new stock until he sells through what he’s sitting on.
Brad ends up marking down these items at a deeply discounted price – significantly reducing his profit margins.
Solution #1
An easy way to highlight in-stock products.
Brad needs a sales tool that helps his sales associates sell through the inventory he’s already purchased.
- Prioritize your inventory and always show what’s on hand first
- Filter products by what’s available with one tap or click
- View which warehouse locations products are in stock
- Label items with an easy-to-read tag for ‘Ready to Ship’
Problem #2
We never know what’s in stock.
Sarah wants a dresser she can take home today. Kelly, the store owner, has to walk away (essentially leaving Sarah alone in the showroom) to call her warehouse staff to find out what’s currently in stock. She also has to check various vendor websites.
This takes Kelly 20 minutes (she also had to take a call) before walking back to a frustrated Sarah. Meanwhile, Sarah was searching for dressers on her phone and found something on a competitor’s website that she could pick up the same day.
That call Kelly took was with Robert. He found Kelly’s website and saw a bunk bed he liked for his daughter. There was no information about the availability of this item, so Robert called the store. Kelly needed to call the warehouse to find out stock information and promised Robert a call back later. Robert quickly moved on and found a bunk bed online. He won’t answer Kelly’s call.
Solution #2
We have real-time inventory information online and at the POS.
Kelly needs a central location to check inventory records for all her showrooms, her warehouse, and all of her vendors’ distribution centers.
- Inventory information needs to be available on the sales floor at the point of purchase
- Give all your associates access to the information at all times (sales tablets)
- Give your guests availability information (for example using in-store kiosks)
- Automatically sync this information to your website
Problem #3
I’m showing out-of-stock products.
Steve received a negative review on Google from Megan, a potential customer. She complained about seeing an office desk on his website, but when she came to his store to buy it, it had been discontinued and was not in stock.
In another case, Steve sold an out-of-stock dining room table to a local family. He didn’t realize it was out of stock until that night when he was going to place the order with the manufacturer. He then had to call the family and attempt to sell an alternative table over the phone. The family refused and demanded a refund. Steve lost another sale and a future customer.
Solution #3
I’m automatically only displaying what’s available.
Steve needs a tool that helps her sort, search, or organize product catalogs by what is in stock. This tool is a central source of truth for all product data, so she no longer has to check individual vendor websites to determine what they have in stock.
- Only publish in-stock items, both in-store and online
- Provide up-to-date information for guests and associates
- One source of truth for inventory information for all vendors
Other Common Problems Retailers Face
Let's Talk
Get Started With Wondersign.