9 steps to perfect magento stock control - inventory management tips for retailers using the Magento eCommere platform

9 STEPS TO PERFECT MAGENTO STOCK CONTROL

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1. ASSIGN BARCODES

Ensure every product in your Magento database has a unique barcode recorded against it.

Ask your suppliers for their barcodes, they should be able to provide them on a CSV file that you can import.

You may need to create a custom ‘Barcode’ field in Magento to enter the barcode data into.

Even if you aren’t ready for barcode scanning inventory, you’ll be very pleased with yourself further down the line if you record barcode data

from day one.




2. DYNAMIC LOCATIONS

Fixed product locations work wonders in a retail store, they mean your customers can always find things.

Your warehouse is a different beast. Being flexible with where you store products will enable you to optimise your space and prolong the life of

your warehouse.

If you’re finding products by storing them in sku order, think about creating a separate location identifier and assigning products to

locations.




3. CHECK IN AND ONLINE

When goods are delivered get them checked in and available for sale the same day.

A simple barcode scan to capture the inventory quantities delivered can improve productivity by up to 3x.




4. SAT-NAV YOUR PICKERS

Map the fastest route through your warehouse locations. Store the pick sequence number against each location.

Sort your pick lists in sequence number order to help your pickers fly through your warehouse.

Sequenced pickers can pick over 100 items per hour.




5. BARCODE VERIFICATION

Even the best pickers will make a mistake every once in a while.

Fortunately, barcode scanners don’t suffer from the same affliction as humans and can guarantee you exceptional picking accuracy.

Barcode pickers target 99.99% picking accuracy.


6. LIVE INVENTORY

There’s nothing worse than emailing a customer to tell them that you can’t fulfil their order because you don’t have the inventory.

Connect your website to your warehouse software so that the inventory level your customers see is the same one you see.

They’ll thank you for it, by shopping again and again and...


7. LOSE THE PAPER

Forget a paperless office, in our experience a paperless warehouse is the place to start.

1,500 orders = 1,500 sheets of A4 paper. Throw in an integrated label and you could be looking at 17¢/10p per order. That’s $255/£150.

Thermal printed despatch notes like the ones Amazon use cost just 2¢/1p.

That’s a saving of $225/£145 per 1,500 orders.




8. INTEGRATE YOUR SHIPPING

Passing customer address and order information to your carriers is essential for getting things shipped.

If you’re spending a few hours per day copying information or even manually entering it, it’s time to stop.

Automating this process is much easier than it sounds. There are plenty of plugins for specific carriers on Magento Connect.

Take a look at Temando, Netdespatch and Metapack if you’re looking for a complete solution.




9. UPDATE YOUR CUSTOMERSKeeping your customers in the know will reduce customer service calls

and improve their satisfaction.

Customise Magento’s order statuses and trigger emails to customers when each is reached.

Third-party applications like Cloud Conversion can help if you don’t have the development resources to implement this tactics.

We’ve seen some companies reduce customer service calls by 50% through automating order status changes and proactively managing

customer expectations.




If this presentation has been useful, please take a look at our website and download some of the

other guides we’ve created.

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9 steps to perfect magento stock control - inventory management tips for retailers using the Magento eCommere platform