Inventory control is critical to the success of omnichannel distribution.

As the economy improves the pace and purchasing heats up both online and offline, businesses must ensure that they have the systems in place to effectively manage merchandise and keep consumers satisfied.

Inventory control has proven to be especially difficult. Previously, merchants could readily monitor stock and quality of product across multiple physical locations; but, companies often fail to gain the same degree of information online, creating challenges for both appropriate inventory structure and profitability.

When confronted with out-of-stock items, many businesses respond by deleting those product listings from their website until they can replenish. This is a bad move. This is where small storage centers with the real-time flow of data play a factor. While vendors frequently distribute supplies evenly all over massive distribution facilities and manage inventory based on past sales, this strategy does not account for real-time demand and risks leaving firms open to expensive supply mistakes, such as excess stock in some regions and under stock in others.

Electronic fulfillment methods can provide stores with the instruments they require not just to effectively place orders, but also to manage inventory with real-time knowledge and insight into inventory levels, allowing retail stores to inform customers when desired products will be back in stock or even inhibit out of stock situations by generating prompt notifications about goods that are running low.