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Magento is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms, but even in the latest versions of Magento 2, there are still important features that merchants need to augment. That’s why both developing and large businesses turn to inventory and order management software to extend their operational capabilities. Here are some of the most frequent use cases:
1. Tracking orders across different sales channels
As an eCommerce platform, Magento 2 is not built to accurately track sales from other channels. If your business generates sales through other online or offline channels, this can quickly lead to logistic challenges.
For instance, you may want to sell your products through Magento 2, and other online storefronts like Amazon. You may also want to manage multiple Magento 2 stores (for different regions/brands/categories of products, etc.), and track each of them with minimal effort. If you’re acquiring competitors, you may even find yourself owning eCommerce websites built with other platforms, such as WordPress, WooCommerce, or Drupal.
On top of that, you may also have one or more physical stores, or have a drop shipping program to support retailers. In these situations, not being able to track everything in one place can significantly complicate your business operations. This is where order management software comes in.
2. Accurate data for stock availability
Another issue that may come up involves unreliable inventory information on your product display pages. This can be deceiving for the customer; For example, they order a certain product that seems to be in stock, but when reaching the cart (or worse, after the order is confirmed) they are notified that the item is no longer available. This can be a cause of frustration and lead the customer to consider your competition for their next purchase.
On top of that, unexpected things may happen to your inventory – sometimes it may get damaged or stolen. So you need to mark these changes accordingly and be able to check them even at a later point.
These two common types of problems can be easily prevented by connecting your Magento 2 store to an inventory management system. This way you are able to record every stock change and are informed about any issues.
3. Restocking properly and at the right time
You may want to be precise with ordering items, as inefficient ordering can lead to a stock surplus or an inventory deficit. This is why you need to be aware of what products to restock, what quantity to bring in, and when. Additional software should come into play, as Magento 2 doesn’t provide you with such detailed information.
Magento itself does not manage Purchase Orders for your suppliers. This leaves you with limited information on your suppliers, the status of your purchases, delivery locations, and so on. This can lead your team to overlook certain details and hinder communication between employees or departments.
Not to mention the obstacles this may present to a manufacturing workflow, where you may need all raw materials in stock before you can start production. Ordering materials off schedule will cause delays in production, ultimately affecting product availability and in turn- your bottom line. Keeping records of necessary raw materials is essential, and requires more advanced features than what Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce provides.
4. Managing supplier details
Things may also get complicated when you work with multiple suppliers – especially if they overlap for certain products. You need an efficient way to check which suppliers correspond to certain items. What’s more, you might also want to keep records of your supplier information in relation to the products. This can include, for example, the expected delivery times, or the prices you have negotiated with them.
5. Manage the shipping preparations
An essential part of eCommerce order management takes place right before shipping out packages. Your team must decide which orders should take priority. So you need to follow the right criteria with the help of order management software. Those criteria can include factors such as stock availability and the commitments you’ve made to your clients.
At the same time, picking and packing must be tracked in order to prepare the orders correctly. If your storage space is split into specific sections, then you must be able to differentiate between those in your tracking system and identify them on site. So having a clear picture of where your products are located ensures a smooth and efficient workflow and your packages being shipped on time.
You may also have a special kind of packaging that also needs to be entered into your system. Since Magento 2 does not allow for such adjustments, you may want to use order management software for this.
6.Use customizable reports
Another major advantage of using inventory and management software with Magento is that it offers reporting based on transactions and stock. Magento otherwise does not offer this level of reporting, which is hugely beneficial to operations. Hence, this can help you monitor all of your internal processes in a given time span.
For example, you could check sales reports, product movement reports, production reports, and so on. In addition, there are other solutions that may allow you to customize reporting, such as selecting specific dates, hiding or showing columns, or even adjusting the layout. You can then export the data and use it for internal or external reporting.
Conclusion
With all this in mind, it is very clear that combining Magento 2 with inventory and order management software can substantially benefit your business. These solutions will help you get around inconvenient bottlenecks, and improve your overall approach to operations.
If you are interested in testing such software, take a look at Megaventory, or book a free demo with us to find out what our integration provides!
