Selling on Amazon is big business. One teen made over 2 million dollars selling game consoles!
If you are an online retailer who sells on Amazon, you know it can be very profitable, but you may also know that managing your inventory can be a headache. There are so many different products to keep track of and so much data to analyze!
The good news is there are some easy things you can do to help yourself stay organized. Here are 7 tips for managing your Amazon inventory.
If you are using a supplier to source your product to Amazon, you need to ensure that they keep you up to date about the availability of the product.
You want to make sure that if any changes happen in their inventory level or if they raise the prices, you can quickly reflect those in your listed price on Amazon. You also need to be knowledgeable about your inventory so that you can know when to change availability for the product on Amazon.
If you are late in delivering an order because you don't have it in stock, it can have serious consequences for your seller account on Amazon.
You should have all the information about your inventory stored in a spreadsheet. You should have this spreadsheet saved in Google sheets so that you can access it from anywhere!
This way if your phone or laptop crashes and you lose all of the information about what products are selling, you will still have an online backup to work with.
When you have thousands of items to manage, it can be hard to keep track. Make sure that your inventory is organized and easy to access by creating an effective label system.
Use different colors for different categories. For example, pink = clothing, blue = kitchen goods, yellow= beauty supplies, and so on.
Use a different letter for each product group. Here's an example, A = clothing; B= kitchen goods, C=Garden tools. This will prevent you from getting confused.
Have an inventory spreadsheet with all of the products listed and their corresponding color or letter, so that you can reference them when labeling new items.
If you are used to shipping all your items yourself, it can sound scary at first to send all of your inventory to a fulfillment center.
One of the most important benefits of using FBA is that you can get Amazon reimbursements if an item you send to the fulfillment center gets lost or stolen. This policy will help to ensure that you stand less chance of losing money on any inventory that you send to FBA warehouses.
Another FBA benefit is that you don't have to worry about storing large quantities of inventory in your home or office. This can be expensive and time-consuming. You can use Amazon's reliable shipping services to get your products out quickly.
Amazon handles all of the customer service, returns, and other issues that might come up with selling online. As a seller on Amazon, you have access to tools like inventory reports so that you always know how and when your inventory is coming out of the warehouse.
You can sell internationally as well. This is a big market that Amazon caters to. This access to the international marketplace is stress-free, and one of the major perks of using Amazon FBA.
Amazon will also help you to manage FBA refunds as well. When you are selling with FBA, you can have peace of mind about your inventory. However, it is not a set it and forget it situation. You need to ensure that you do an FBA audit on your inventory from time to time.
Don't jump on the bandwagon of people who are selling many products at once, because it can be hard for new businesses to keep up with all that inventory.
You want to make sure you have time and energy left over after everything is set up to do the work of selling. This is why FBA can be so effective because you don't have to worry about all of your inventory or shipping supplies!
If you are just starting, it's best to only pick one category and build off that momentum with more products later on.
One smart strategy is to plan your inventory around the seasons. If you are selling during the holiday season, it may be wise to plan and order more products before the season, so that you can offer an extensive selection.
You want to place your order well ahead of any season so that you can take advantage of any discounts for ordering early. This way, if anything does happen like there's a strike or late shipment, then you'll have already secured your inventory for the upcoming season.
You don't want all of your energy and resources going toward just making sure that you have enough products for the current season, instead of focusing on getting ahead for future seasons.
There are several different types of software that help you manage your Amazon inventory, but they all have one thing in common, you must create a spreadsheet or database for the data provided by the software.
The most important part is to have a good understanding of Amazon costs and your inventory turn rate. Once you can input this data then the software can efficiently help you manage your inventory.
When you are a new seller, Amazon inventory management can seem overwhelming. However, you can reduce a lot of stress simply by being organized.
Staying organized means that you keep track of your inventory. Sign up for programs such as Amazon FBA if possible. Once you establish a routine of how you will manage your inventory, you will see more success as an Amazon seller.
If you would like help with selling on Amazon, please contact us.
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