Author: Dennis

Experiencing success in online sales is no easy task. But if you want to stay ahead of the competition and maximize your earnings, consider switching to Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP).

Joining this powerful program will help you sell your products with the coveted Amazon Prime badge from your own warehouse. Unlike when selling your product through the Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) method, SFP will give you access to over 200 million Prime members, so you can sell more and ship faster.

However, the SFP order fulfillment method isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Several challenges come with this fulfillment model. This article delves deeper into the SFP fulfillment method, its benefits, challenges, and how the right software can make it much easier to manage.

What is seller fulfilled prime?

Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) is an Amazon fulfillment program that allows qualified sellers to display the Prime badge on their products and deliver directly to customers from their own warehouses. This program enables sellers to provide a fast and reliable delivery service without shipping their products to Amazon’s warehouses first. With SFP, you can keep all your stock in your warehouse or the warehouse of your choice via a third-party provider.

To qualify for SFP, you must meet certain criteria, such as providing free two-day shipping and maintaining a low order cancellation rate. Amazon also requires you to meet a threshold of 50 orders within 90 days. Once approved, you can take advantage of the increased visibility and sales that come with displaying the Prime badge on your products.

The benefits of seller fulfilled prime

With all the requirements to qualify for SFP, is it worth it? Absolutely. Here are some of the key benefits:

Increased visibility and sales

Amazon boasts over 200 million Prime members who pay a flat annual fee to enjoy benefits like free delivery of their orders within two days. These customers are interested in fast, free, and reliable delivery.

So, displaying the Prime badge on your product listings drives more traffic to your products. You’ll gain access to this massive marketplace of shoppers and increase your sales potential.

Better control over your inventory

SFP gives you better inventory control than other fulfillment methods, like Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). With SFP, you can store your stock in your warehouse or the warehouse of a third-party provider and manage it according to your preferences. You can decide when and how much stock to order and when to ship orders out.

You also have the flexibility to adjust your inventory levels based on demand and customer feedback. This allows you to keep up with customer needs while minimizing the costs associated with excess inventory.

Saving you money

With SFP, you can fulfill orders directly from your warehouses or third-party providers, rather than shipping them to Amazon first. You can save money on shipping costs and avoid the need for costly storage fees that Amazon usually charges for the inventory stored in their warehouses.

This fee can be high during busy shopping seasons or if your items stay in the warehouse for a long time. If you’re using the FBA fulfillment method, Amazon will also charge you order removal fees if you need to remove stock from their fulfillment centers. SFP helps you avoid these extra costs.

Better tracking of packages

Since Amazon doesn’t take the reins for order fulfillment, you have more control over tracking packages. You can see what stage of fulfillment a package is in and determine if it will be delivered on time. This allows you to quickly address customer service issues related to order fulfillment and ensure that your customers are satisfied with their purchases.

Challenges of seller fulfilled prime

Despite its benefits, SFP is not without its share of logistical challenges. The most significant challenge of SFP is meeting Amazon’s strict requirements for timeliness and order cancellation rates. To maintain your Prime status, you must ensure that you ship orders within two days and maintain a cancellation rate of less than 0.5%.

So, you’ll need to select a reliable carrier that can handle the quick turnaround time and provide real-time tracking. You’ll also have to manage carrier invoices and track shipping costs to stay profitable.

The other key challenge is managing inventory levels in your warehouse or through a third-party provider. You must ensure you have enough stock available to fulfill orders quickly and accurately while avoiding overstocking or running out of items too often.

Inventory management can be challenging if you have multiple warehouses and 3PLs. In this case, you need a system that gives you a seamless view of your inventory across all locations so that you can make the best decisions for your business.

Finding the right software to support SFP

Having the right software in place can help you overcome the logistical challenges of SFP. For instance, a solution like SKULabs will help you meet the two days delivery requirement and manage inventory in multiple locations. This multi-channel inventory and order management system (OMS) will help you manage your shipping and inventory under one cloud-based system.

SKULabs will help you meet the shipping requirements by automatically prioritizing the seller-fulfilled prime orders when shipping in batches. The system will also sort orders by the guaranteed shipping date to ensure you ship everything on time. It will also select the cheapest rates to help you keep shipping costs low.

On top of that, SKULabs will automatically link your FBM and SFP listings to give you a single view of your inventory across multiple locations. The stock sync feature will keep your listings up to date on Amazon, even during busy seasons. As such, you can avoid overselling and ensure you have enough stock to fulfill orders.

Overcome the challenges of seller fulfilled prime with SKULabs

Seller Fulfilled Prime is a great way to save money on shipping costs and avoid costly storage fees. However, it comes with its share of logistical challenges that can be difficult to manage. Fortunately, the right software can help you overcome these challenges and keep your seller-fulfilled Prime status intact.

SKULabs is one such solution that can help you ship orders on time, reduce shipping costs, and monitor your inventory levels through a single interface. With SKULabs, you can easily keep up with Amazon’s selling requirements and take advantage of Prime status without the hassle. Get started with SKULabs and see how it can supercharge your ecommerce inventory and order management processes.

Ecommerce order fulfillment can be complex and time-consuming. You have to juggle numerous orders from different customers and ensure that each order’s products are picked, packed, and delivered correctly. All this while also trying to make the fulfillment process as efficient as possible.

But what if there was a way to make the process more seamless and less stressful? That’s where kits and bundles come into play. Kits and bundles are combinations of products you sell as a single item.

It’s a clever way to change the value proposition of your product without making any changes to it or offering discounts that could harm your bottom line. While kitting has its fair share of benefits, it also poses some challenges. The most common one is tracking inventory and stock levels for each kit, as it can be difficult to keep up with the components that make up the final product.

This article delves more into kitting, its benefits, challenges, and how the right software, like SKULabs, can streamline the process.

What is product kitting?

Product kitting is a process in which separate but related items are grouped, packaged, and sold together as an individual item. This technique allows you to bundle multiple products into one SKU (stock-keeping unit) for sale or shipping purposes. A product kit can contain variations of a single product or complementary items that customers often purchase together.

Kitting streamlines the order fulfillment process by creating a single scannable SKU to represent multiple items.

When you have a software solution that has a native kit functionality, you minimize the number of items that need to be scanned for each order, thereby reducing labor costs, and time spent picking and packing orders. There are two types of kitting, just-in-time kitting, and pre-configured kits

The difference between just-in-time kitting and pre-configured kits:

The two concepts sound similar in that they both involve packaging multiple items together and selling them as a single unit. However, there’s a difference in the way inventory is handled for each type of combination.

Pre-configured kits require a lot of overhead and prep work. This is the old strategy of selling bundles online. Items must first be picked out of inventory, manually deducted, bundled together and given their own SKU, inventory count, and their own location in the warehouse. This method will need to be repeated each time a kit goes up for sale. Not only is this inefficient, it creates problems when you need to sell single items separately, and can cause confusion when doing inventory counts.

On the other hand, a JIT kit has a distinct SKU separate from the inventory of the individual items that make up the kit. Inventory is tracked for each component item as well as the kit itself. While this used to be a logistical nightmare in the past, today’s modern software solutions can do all of this for you in the background while you can focus on more important aspects of your business!

Benefits of product kitting

Now let’s explore the benefits of using kits and bundles in inventory management. Here are some of the most notable ones:

Improved Convenience for Customers

Bundling products together makes it more convenient for customers to purchase related items at once. When you put complementary items in a kit, customers don’t have to browse multiple product pages and add each item to their shopping cart. For instance, if a customer needs to buy body wash, shampoo, and laundry detergent, you can bundle them into one kit and make their purchase experience much easier.

Increased sales

Product kits are a great way to boost sales, as they offer customers more value. When selling on third-party marketplaces like Etsy, product kitting ensures you have more offerings for your customers since you can list the individual products and the kits. More listings increase the likelihood of appearing higher in search results, thus leading to more sales.

Minimal excess stock

Kitting allows you to pair inventory that doesn’t move quickly with inventory that does. This way, you can move inventory that would otherwise take longer to sell if it were listed as separate products. Furthermore, kitting creates a better value proposition for your slow-moving inventory, reducing the chances of having excess inventory.

Reduced packaging and shipping costs

Product kitting reduces packaging and shipping costs by eliminating the need for multiple packages and shipments. By bundling products together, you can save money on materials like boxes and labor costs associated with packing and shipping multiple items. Consolidating products into one shipment reduces the time spent in transit and can lead to lower shipping rates from carriers.

The challenges of dealing with product kits

Despite the benefits of product kitting, inventory management is more complicated with kits and bundles than with individual items. When selling on multiple channels, such as Amazon and Shopify, it can be difficult to keep track of inventory levels across all platforms. If inventory doesn’t sync across all marketplaces, you can oversell a product or bundle that is no longer in stock.

Without a native inventory management solution for kits and bundles, it can be difficult to know how much inventory you have available to advertise for sale. Furthermore, when a customer purchases a kit or bundle, you should deduct inventory from all the individual items that make up the product.

If you don’t have a solution that makes the deduction seamless, you must manually deduct inventory levels for each item. This can lead to discrepancies and inaccurate inventory counts, resulting in overselling or underselling. .

Finding a quality solution for your JIT kits

The best way to make inventory management simpler for kits is to use a solution with features specifically designed for JIT inventory control. A solution like SKULabs can help you manage multi-channel inventory for kits.

SKULabs will assign a single SKU to your kit to make it easy to track inventory, and push the correct stock to your channels for both the individual items(if sold individually), and the kit. 

The kits can comprise multiple quantities of the same inventory item, or various quantities of additional component items. SKULabs considers the stock for all your inventory components and calculates how many kits you can advertise for sale across all of your sales channels.

A single barcode scan will then automatically deduct all items in the kit from the inventory count. With such a solution, it’s easier to maintain inventory accuracy, picking efficiency, and your customers are able to buy kits without worrying about inventory discrepancies.

Manage your inventory better with SKULabs

Product kitting is a great inventory management technique as it reduces inventory levels, cuts packaging and shipping costs, and provides customers with a better value proposition. However, kit inventory management can be complex without the right software.

That’s why you need solutions like SKULabs to simplify inventory tracking and keep inventory accurate across all channels. Learn more about how SKULabs can supercharge your ecommerce inventory management and get started on your inventory control journey today!

You undoubtedly enjoy the benefits of selling your products through multiple channels, such as marketplaces, web stores, and physical locations. But managing your inventory between different channels is no small feat. The challenges of keeping track of item quantities and staying on top of order fulfillment are enough to make the most experienced eCommerce managers shudder.
You are constantly on the clock, ensuring the accuracy of your inventory so you don’t oversell or undersell. But instead of struggling with managing multiple sources for sales, there’s a better way. Sync your multi-channel inventory with software solutions that automatically update stock levels from everywhere you sell.

This blog post will discuss why multi-channel inventory management can be challenging and explore how inventory management software can help.

What is multi-channel inventory management?
Before we dive in, let’s define what multi-channel inventory management means. Multi-channel inventory management is the process of keeping track of your product’s stock levels across multiple sales platforms and physical locations.
This includes monitoring products sold through online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, your website, social media, and physical locations. The goal of multi-channel inventory management is to get better insight into your stock levels to determine reorder points, forecast inventory needs, and ensure accurate inventory tracking.

Why is multi-channel inventory management complicated?
You’ve probably struggled with inventory management when selling your product on a single eCommerce platform or from a single location. Now imagine having to keep track of different inventory levels across multiple channels. You’ll encounter several challenges, including the following:

Stockouts and overselling
When you’re selling across different channels, it can be difficult to track inventory manually. It’s also easy to overlook a change in your sales volume and delay replenishing your stock. The impact is missed sales opportunities.
You’re probably familiar with this situation if you’ve ever bought something online only to learn later it’s unavailable. That’s a case of overselling, which negatively impacts the customer experience.

Overstocking
The opposite of overselling is overstocking, which can cause you to spend money on inventory that’s not moving. Data shows that overstocking costs retailers worldwide approximately $362.1 billion per year. Your business has to bear the cost of storing and managing unsold stock.
When selling on multiple channels, it’s possible to overstock due to difficulty forecasting demand, inaccurate stock counts, and manual errors. All these add up to an increased cost of carrying inventory and put a dent in your profits.

Lack of visibility
When operating on multiple sales channels, staying on top of product availability and fulfilling orders on time can be challenging. It can also be hard to compare performance across multiple channels, accurately predict your sales performance, or forecast future demand.
Without access to this kind of data, you won’t be able to make informed decisions about inventory replenishment and maximize the efficiency of your operations.

Inconsistent shipping logistics
Selling across multiple channels also means having to deal with different shipping logistics. You may need to source and use separate couriers, fulfill orders from multiple locations, or find ways to optimize your shipping process.
This process can become tricky when dealing with different carriers, especially if they don’t integrate. You’ll also need to ensure that you include the right shipping cost and ensure that it’s reflected in the price customers pay.

Inconsistent data
Having to deal with different sales channels can mean using multiple software solutions for different tasks. This makes it difficult to get a clear picture of your inventory and operations, as each application may use a different system for recording data.
So, even if you can access the same data from various systems, the language and format used by each may be different. You have to manually transfer, interpret, and adjust data before you can use it.

How the right software can help
The good news is that there’s a way to overcome these challenges and streamline multi-channel inventory management. The secret lies in using inventory management software with multi-channel syncing capabilities.
This kind of software can help you track and manage stock levels easily. With the software, tracking your inventory is easy as you get real-time counts for all your items across various sales channels.
You can search for a particular item to see the count and even set low stock alerts. The visibility helps you avoid stockouts or overselling and make informed decisions about stocking levels.
The right software can also help you overcome the logistics challenges of multi-channel inventory by helping you pick, pack, and ship more accurately. Some solutions, like SKULabs, allow you to use barcode scanning to verify picked items and choose from live rates.
You can pick and ship a single item or in batches for more efficiency. The catch is that you see these shipping rates and print the shipping labels from different carriers without switching between software. This is possible because of the software’s integration with major carriers like FedEx and USPS.
The right solution also facilitates warehouse management by making it easy to manage all your stocking centers in one place. You can see how stock changes across these locations and get a clear picture of all your orders, inventory, and operations.

Benefits of using multi-channel sync software
Leveraging an inventory management solution that syncs across multiple channels has various benefits. For example, it helps you build better relationships with your customers by providing accurate product information. Customers can see the available inventory in real-time, eliminating disappointments related to stockouts and overselling.
Customers are also more satisfied because they can return their purchased items both in-store and online, regardless of the channel they used to make the purchase. Additionally, it helps you save time and money as data is seamlessly transferred between platforms. You don’t need to transfer information or update product availability manually.
Manage your multi-channel inventory easily with SKULabs
While selling your products on multiple channels has benefits like increased sales and customer satisfaction, managing inventory across these platforms is complex. Fortunately, the right software can help you overcome these challenges and streamline your multi-channel inventory management process.
SKULabs is one of the multi-channel inventory management solutions that can help you stay on top of the challenges of managing stock across different platforms. This Shopify app has real-time inventory control and sync features to give you an accurate count of available items.
SKULabs will also streamline your order fulfillment process by helping you pick, pack, and ship more accurately. Learn more about SKULabs and how it can help you manage your multi-channel inventory.

If you’re a Shopify merchant, you are no stranger to the saying, “the devil is in the details.” You work hard to develop your Shopify store, placing your products and services out there for the world to see. Then comes the part most merchants dread: inventory management.

With customer expectations becoming more demanding, managing inventory can seem like an uphill battle with no clear victory. An inventory management solution can help you stay one step ahead of the competition and keep your customers happy.

But it’s not enough to choose just any inventory management software. You need a solution that will help you address the biggest pain points in inventory management software.

The best solution will address the following pain points in inventory management software.

Difficulty managing multiple inventory locations

Your store could have multi-location inventory, especially as you continue expanding and entering new markets. Without the right software, your inventory management process will encounter errors and challenges like late items and warehouse quantity errors. An effective inventory management system will allow you to track your inventory across all locations in one place to avoid overstocking or stockouts.

Inaccurate inventory updates

Inconsistent updates on your inventory can mean the difference between happy customers and disappointed ones. Any discrepancies between what’s on your inventory list and what’s available could lead to unhappy customers and potentially lost sales. An effective inventory management solution will help you keep accurate records of the items in your store by automatically updating stock levels when orders come in and go out.

Having a system to tell you where your inventory levels are at any given time at any location, could save you thousands of dollars in stolen or misplaced property. Having visibility and identifying the source early on is key here.

Lack of integration with existing systems

You may have multiple systems to help you manage your store, such as a CRM system, accounting software, and shipping solutions. It could be difficult to integrate these systems without the right inventory management solution. This is why you need an inventory management solution that works seamlessly with your existing platforms and software to allow you to have the best of both worlds.

Limited customization options

No two eCommerce businesses are the same. Unfortunately, one of the pain points in inventory management software is a lack of customization options. Many software solutions offer generic templates that don’t consider the specific needs of your store or business. A flexible solution will allow you to customize settings like ordering thresholds.

High cost of the app

The price tag of inventory management software can be another significant pain point. Many solutions on the market are prohibitively expensive, making them inaccessible to small businesses with limited budgets. If you’re looking for an affordable solution, compare different products to find one that provides the features you need at a price point you can afford.

Poor customer support

Imagine running into an issue with your inventory management system and not being able to get help from the customer support team. This is a nightmare scenario for any store owner, but unfortunately, it is common. To ensure this doesn’t happen, look for an inventory management solution with reliable customer service that is available 24/7 and offers various customer support methods.

Inability to combine inventory across multiple stores

Some solutions on the market only allow you to manage inventory for one store. This can be a problem if you have multiple stores or outlets and you need to keep track of their stock levels. The right solution should combine your inventory across all your stores and provide real-time updates on stock levels, so you never miss a sale due to an out-of-stock item.

Difficulty tracking inventory across multiple stores

Unfortunately, most solutions don’t provide a centralized platform where you can view and control all of your stores’ inventories in one place. Discrepancies between stores can lead to inaccuracies in reporting and forecasting. The right inventory management solution lets you view stock levels across all your stores.

Inability to transfer inventory between stores

Successful businesses need the flexibility to move their products between stores to maximize sales and efficiency. However, many inventory management solutions don’t offer this option, and you have to make manual updates when you transfer products between locations.

This process can be tedious and time-consuming. To make it easier, look for a solution that allows you to automatically transfer stock levels between multiple stores.

Complex setup process

You’re already dealing with many tasks when running your eCommerce business, so the last thing you need is a complicated setup process for your inventory management system. Unfortunately, many solutions on the market require a complex setup that can take hours to complete. Look for an inventory management solution with an intuitive and straightforward setup process so you can get up and running quickly.

Syncing limits and delay times to sync / artificial limits on updates like paying for manual sync

Some systems don’t sync regularly or in real-time, resulting in outdated stock levels that can lead to overselling or underselling of products. In addition, some providers charge extra for manual syncs, which can be expensive if you need to update your inventory frequently. To ensure your stock levels are always up-to-date, look for an inventory management solution that provides real-time updates and doesn’t limit or delay syncing.

Unintuitive/inaccurate syncing

Inaccurate syncing can wreak havoc on your inventory. Sometimes, it can lead to lost sales if products are tagged incorrectly or the wrong stock levels are shown. That’s why you need software that provides accurate and reliable syncing so your product tags are always up-to-date.

Ability to determine cycles in inventory

Managing seasonal or cyclical inventory can be a challenge for eCommerce businesses. You need to anticipate demand and plan so you don’t run out of stock at the wrong time. To help you manage inventory, look for an inventory management solution that offers advanced analytics tools to identify trends and cycles in your product lines.

Conclusion

Stay on top of inventory management pain points with SKULabs.

SkuLabs is the best inventory management solution to help you stay on top of these pain points to manage inventory on your Shopify store. This Shopify app has features to facilitate barcode scanning, order picking, multi-carrier shipping, and purchasing, among others. SKULabs has direct integrations with platforms like Amazon, eBay, and many more.

It also allows you to track your inventory by providing real-time counts for all the items in your multiple locations. Learn more about SKULabs to manage your inventory across one or multiple warehouses and get started on better inventory control.

As every eCommerce business owner knows, keeping track of orders, shipping processes, and inventory levels can be a tall order – especially if you’re planning to scale up operations. Fortunately, inventory and shipping management software can help optimize this process and ensure you continue to meet customer demand throughout the year. If you’re considering investing in inventory software or shipping management tools, we’ve put together an introductory guide below. 

What is inventory and shipping management software?

Put simply, inventory and shipping management software helps businesses manage their inventory levels and shipping operations, ensuring customers receive goods and services as efficiently as possible while minimizing wastage. There are many inventory management systems and shipping software packages on the market, some of which are tailored for specific industries or eCommerce solutions. For example, some inventory software packages integrate seamlessly with Shopify stores or other point of sale solutions. 

Broadly speaking, most inventory and shipping management software includes at least a few of the following features:

• Inventory tracking: Business must track their inventory to ensure stock levels continue to meet customer demand. As well as tracking the number of stocked items and their location, businesses must track the raw materials and tools involved with manufacturing goods (if applicable).
• Purchase order management: Most inventory software allows businesses to create and manage purchase orders, including placing orders with suppliers and tracking the status of orders. 
• Automatic batch sorting: This feature helps streamline the order-picking process by grouping similar orders together for picking, packing, and shipping. 
• Sales tracking and reports: Businesses can use inventory management software to track sales figures and generate reports on inventory movement. Business leaders can use these reports to make informed decisions about upcoming purchase orders, production schedules, and new product launches.
• Shipping label creation: Some shipping management programs allow users to automatically generate and print shipping labels, including labels for international clients.
• Package tracking: Package tracking features allow companies to keep close track of goods as they move through the shipping process. As well as viewing package locations, operations managers can view expected delivery dates and ensure the business maintains an efficient service throughout the year. 
• Carrier management: Some shipping management providers help retailers choose the best shipping carriers to suit their needs, comparing rates to find the most cost-effective suppliers. 
• Point of sale integrations: Some inventory platforms may integrate with point of sale payments, automatically syncing orders with the inventory in real time. 
• Cost management: Businesses can track and manage shipping costs by keeping close tabs on the cost of raw materials, shipping materials, and the cost of shipping every package.

What are the benefits of inventory and shipping management software?

Wondering whether your business will benefit from inventory and shipping management software? Whether you run a small community enterprise or an expanding international corporation, inventory software can offer the following benefits:

1. You’ll keep customers happy

Poor inventory and shipping management can significantly impact your company’s reputation and ability to function smoothly. If you want to avoid mistakes such as lost parcels, incorrect orders, or shipping delays, a comprehensive inventory and shipping management package represents the perfect solution. Plus, it will ensure your team has enough time to fulfil their duties.

2. You can prioritize your inventory and make smart spending decisions

Almost every business sells a few blockbuster items that drive significant sales numbers. Inventory software will help you identify these items and alter your supply ordering processes accordingly. Many businesses use the ABC approach to managing stock, whereby:

• A items = those responsible for the top 20% of the revenue
• B items = those responsible for the middle 20% of the revenue
• C items = those responsible for the bottom 20% of the revenue

Ideally, you should use your inventory management tool to ensure you always have plenty of A items in stock. 

3. You can draw up contingency plans

Inventory management tools allow businesses to avoid operational disasters by flagging issues before they develop into big problems. Examples of such problems may include:

• Slow-moving products: If businesses discover that some products are not moving as quickly as hoped, they can draw up plans to lower prices or launch special offers.
• Unexpected sales spikes: Sometimes, businesses discover that certain items become incredibly popular in a matter of days or weeks. Inventory software can flag such trends at an early stage, allowing companies to negotiate with suppliers and carriers to meet growing demand. 
• Seasonal sales spikes: Businesses may need to invest in extra warehouse space or raw materials if they encounter seasonal sales spikes. 

4. Enhanced reporting and data analysis 

Most inventory management software can generate detailed reports that offer granular insights into business operations, helping decision-makers spot changes in demand and develop cutting-edge growth strategies that drive revenue and secure long-term growth. 

5. Update records in real-time

Keeping up-to-date inventory records helps businesses avoid operational bottlenecks and ensure suppliers and carriers live up to their duties. Manual record-keeping, on the other hand, is laborious, slow, and prone to mistakes.  

Looking for premium inventory and shipping management software? Get in touch with SKULabs today!
Are you looking to maintain premium levels of customer service, reduce your company’s administrative burden, streamline operations, and boost revenue in the long term? You’ll need a high-quality inventory and shipping management provider like SKULabs. We help eCommerce stores pick, pack, and ship their orders with 100% accuracy. If you’re looking for real-time inventory control features, discounted shipping deals, simple label printing, and much more, please do not hesitate to get in touch today at (800) 243-2986 or by emailing support@skulabs.com.