Handling returns involves not only processing refunds but also ensuring that returned items are accounted for and inventory is updated accordingly. That’s when returns reconciliation comes into play, ensuring that every product returned is accurately documented and accounted for. 

Now what exactly is marketplace return reconciliation, and how does it work? Let’s dive deep!

Understanding Marketplace Returns Reconciliation

When a customer decides to return a product, it sets off a chain reaction: from processing the refund to updating the inventory. Returns reconciliation is all about making sure every step in this process aligns perfectly with the seller’s records. It is the process of systematically tracking, analyzing, and managing returned items to ensure accurate accounting and optimize reverse logistics.

If you’re a small-scale business who is just starting out, doing this manually won’t be a problem. But as your business starts growing and your order volume increases, so do the chances of inaccuracies and discrepancies. That’s when you need a system to streamline the returns reconciliation process.

Now, why is this so important? 

Well, imagine you’re a seller selling on multiple marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, or Myntra. Each platform may have its own unique rules and procedures for handling returns. For example, Amazon allows a 30-day return window, while Flipkart offers only 10 days, and Myntra falls in between at 15 days. This means you must diligently track return requests, manage inventory, and process refunds across multiple channels simultaneously. 

Without a streamlined returns reconciliation process in place, it becomes increasingly challenging to keep track of returns across these different channels. Therefore, by implementing an automated system to streamline returns reconciliation, you can ensure accuracy, improve efficiency, and maintain customer satisfaction. This not only makes your life easier as an e-tailer but also enhances the overall shopping experience for your customers. After all, happy customers are the backbone of any successful business.

Benefits of Returns Reconciliation for Online Sellers

While returns reconciliation may seem like just another administrative task, it holds several key advantages for online sellers:

• Accurate Inventory Management
• Improved Unit Economics
• Enhanced Customer Experience
• Data-Driven Insights

1. Accurate Inventory Management

One of the most significant benefits of returns reconciliation is its role in maintaining accurate inventory records. By systematically tracking returned items and updating inventory levels accordingly, you can avoid overselling, stockouts, and discrepancies between online listings and actual availability. 

This level of accuracy not only enhances the customer experience by preventing backorders but also directly impacts inventory turnaround time. When returns are processed promptly and inventory levels are updated in real-time, you can make informed purchasing decisions, and maintain optimal stock levels. Which enables you to quickly restock the highest selling SKUs, capitalize on sales opportunities, and minimize the risk of overstocking or stockouts.

2. Improved Unit Economics

Returns can be a costly affair for online businesses, with expenses ranging from shipping and handling to restocking fees and refurbishment costs. Reconciliation allows businesses to analyze the costs associated with returns, including shipping, restocking, and refurbishment expenses, on a per-unit basis. 

Also, it helps you identify trends and patterns in return, allowing you to address underlying issues such as product defects, inaccurate descriptions, or sizing discrepancies. Therefore, by optimizing returns reconciliation processes and addressing root causes of returns, you can preserve profitability and improve your unit economics over time.

3. Enhanced Customer Experience

The online selling landscape is saturated and competitive therefore customer experience is a key differentiator. Returns reconciliation plays a crucial role in this regard by streamlining the returns process and ensuring prompt refunds or exchanges. 

A transparent and efficient reverse logistics can enable you to trust and loyalty among your customer base, ultimately driving repeat business and positive word-of-mouth recommendations.

4. Data-Driven Insights

Returns reconciliation isn’t just about crunching numbers – it’s about making smart decisions. By analyzing return trends, you’ll uncover valuable insights into your business. Maybe there’s a product that’s consistently coming back, or perhaps there’s a common issue that needs fixing.

Reconciliation reports will provide you with the required insights so that you can make informed decisions to improve your e-commerce operations and delight your customers.

Key Components of Returns Reconciliation Reports

The reports generated by automated returns reconciliation contain various sections that provide valuable insights into the returns process. Here are the key reports you can get using returns reconciliation:

• All Returns
• Undelivered Returns
• Delivered Returns
• Claims Raised
• Lost Returns Tracking

1. All Returns: This report provides a comprehensive overview of all return orders processed by the seller. It includes details such as order numbers, return dates, reasons for return, returned items, and the current refund status.

2. Undelivered Returns: With this report, you can track orders where the status is marked as “Return Expected.” These are orders for which the customer has initiated the return process, but the seller has not yet received the returned items. 

3. Delivered Returns: This report focuses on orders where the return process has been completed successfully. It provides details on orders for which the returned items have been received and processed by the seller. 

4. Claims Raised: Here, you can track orders for which claims have been raised by customers. This includes claims related to damaged items, missing items, or other issues that require resolution. 

5. Lost Returns Tracking: In this report, sellers can track returns that were lost in transit. It includes information on the return shipment, such as tracking numbers, carrier information, and the status of the lost return investigation. 

Choosing the Right Marketplace Returns Reconciliation Solution!

Returns reconciliation isn’t just a back-end process; it’s the backbone of your online selling operation. By ensuring every return aligns flawlessly with your records, you pave the way for operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Now, armed with a deeper understanding of the importance of returns reconciliation, it’s time to take action. Choose the right reconciliation tool to streamline your returns process and elevate your online selling experience.

And when it comes to selecting the perfect solution, UniReco emerges as the ideal choice. From effortlessly identifying returned and delivered products to seamlessly tracking pending returns, UniReco fosters transparency throughout the return process. By addressing potential issues and optimizing overall return management seamlessly, this tool empowers you to take control and unlock the full potential of returns reconciliation for your business success.

Related read:

• How E-commerce Marketplace Payment Reconciliation helps E-commerce Businesses?
• How Shipping Notifications can benefit your E-commerce Business?
• Streamlined E-commerce Payment Reconciliation with UniReco
• What is NDR Management?
• Effortless Pre-Dispatch Order Tracking with Uniship

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One of the most critical components in customer experience on the internet is having a low lead time between placing an order and receiving the product.

Thus, efficient inventory management becomes one of the integral components for success in this e-commerce jigsaw puzzle. In recent years, several direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands have flourished in India by banking solely on various inventory management techniques including the use of ERP integrations.

Top 9 Inventory Management Techniques for Business Scaling

Inventory management is important for businesses because it enables effective control and optimization of their stock levels. By keeping track of items, companies can prevent stockouts, reduce excess inventory products in stock, and enhance customer satisfaction by ensuring products are available when needed. 

In current times, when every brand is vying for the narrowing attention span of the customer and where the crowded marketplace makes it difficult for brands to stand out, efficient stock management techniques can enable you to build a solid case for your brand. You can leverage various effective inventory management techniques to build a successful business in 2024 

Let us look deeply into various types of inventory management methods and understand how you can build a competitively ahead business with stock management.

Types of Inventory Management Techniques

A business can adopt several inventory management methods, but accurate inventory is crucial for success Some of the most popular ones are as follows:

1. ABC Analysis

Under this method, the stock manager is expected to identify the most popular and least popular types of stock and manage the inventory control accordingly, taking into account inventory levels. This is useful for businesses that sell a wide variety of products at different price bands. It is particularly useful for businesses in fashion and entertainment, among others. 

 2. Just-in-time (JIT) Method

As the name suggests, you are expected to maintain the lowest level of stock possible under this method and expect the goods to roll in just before they are supposed to be dispatched. Toyota perfected this method as part of its car manufacturing process. While it can result in capital savings, it is a risky proposition to follow the JIT method, as an unexpected demand surge can cause a shortfall in raw materials. To mitigate this risk, it is recommended to maintain a safety stock of inventory, also known as the reorder point.

 3. Dropshipping

Under this method, businesses are expected to outsource all aspects of managing the inventory, including warehousing. This method has some benefits but is suitable for only some businesses that do not rely on efficient stock management as the success factor. It is particularly useful for businesses that want to get into e-commerce but cannot afford or justify the cost of a warehouse of inventory management. 

 4. Bulk Shipments

Businesses following this technique assume that bulk buying is always cheaper. This is good for businesses where the products have consistent demand and will see a sudden increase in demand level. It is useful for businesses that have a majority of the production process done in-house and can handle unexpected demand surges. 

 5. Consignment

Under this method, the consignor (wholesaler) gives possession of the goods to the consignee (retailer). The consignee is expected to pay the consignor only after selling the goods in the market. This method is most popular in the informal sectors of the economy but can be made more efficient with the use of inventory management software.

 6. Cross-docking

Under this method, you are expected to hold the stock for the least amount of time. As soon as the goods are received, they are packed and shipped for real-time delivery, ensuring efficient fulfillment. This system theoretically eliminates the need for any stock. This method is useful for e-commerce businesses that are following the marketplace model. 

 7. Barcode Scanning

This method involves scanning a barcode before you handle an item in the warehouse. The fact is that barcodes are affordable, and human mistakes are costly. Therefore, it is important to have a system that lets you follow a scanning system to receive, ship, or alter an item in a business. It is particularly relevant for companies with more than a handful of items to handle,  as it ensures efficient replenishment of inventory.

8. Backordering

A backorder is when a business is open to accepting orders for the stock that it does not have in the warehouse when the order is placed. Backordering works well for pre-launch or products that have a strong hype driving their growth. It is particularly relevant for products with a history or which have a celebrity driving strong word-of-mouth marketing. This process of ordering products that are not currently in stock is known as backordering.

 9. Demand Forecasting

This method uses predictive analysis to forecast the possible changes in consumer demand in the future. In today’s business environment, it is critical to have a strong demand forecasting strategy on your side to foresee the expected changes in the marketplace. A good technology platform will let you access such data analytics, which can equip you to make such demand forecasts.

Conclusion

These are the most popular inventory management techniques that you can adopt in your business to make your processes more efficient. With the e-commerce industry expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, the inventory management system is expected to become all the more significant for the success of any business.

Schedule a FREE demo with Unicommerce Warehouse Management consultants.

Suggested Read:

• How does Warehouse Management System Works?
• Role of Warehouse Management in the FMCG Industry in India
• Solutions, Strategies & Benefits of the D2C Business Model
• Apparel Industry in India – Trends, Challenges, Opportunities & Solutions
• Footwear Industry in India – Trends, Challenges & Solutions
• How to Sell on Lazada Marketplace in Southeast Asia?
• How to Sell on Noon in the Middle East?
• Key E-commerce Challenges & Opportunities in Malaysia
• Omnichannel Retail Trends in the Middle East
• Order, Inventory, And Logistics Management Challenges in the UAE

The post Top 9 Inventory Management Techniques for Business Scaling appeared first on unicommerce.com.

It is why most of the current e-commerce businesses have shifted to a more clutter-free approach – an inventory management system. This software offers significant advantages over the traditional manual or spreadsheet approaches and gives you granular control over your stock while improving transparency.

But given the plethora of inventory management systems on offer, how do you choose the right one for yourself? This article discusses the thought process and criteria behind choosing the best inventory management software for your e-commerce business.

Questions to ask before looking for an Best E-commerce Inventory Management Software – 

A myriad of factors decide the best-centralized inventory management software for your e-commerce business, and most of them have more to do with your business than the solution itself. So here are the questions to answer before embarking on choosing the best inventory management system.

1. What inventory challenges do your business face?

A great way to start your tryst to find the best inventory management system would be to understand your inventory’s challenges first. Do you feel there is a lack of transparency in managing it? Do you frequently run out of critical items? Can you efficiently handle safety stock, replenishment stock, and average stock level individually? How efficient are you in handling fluctuations in customer demand?

Finding the relevant business issues that you want to cater to would help you refine the options available and find vendors offering the features you need.

2. Do you need a server-based or an online inventory management system?

Several e-commerce businesses still prefer legacy systems and purchase on-premise, server-based inventory solutions even after years of cloud being around. So it is imperative for you to understand the pros and cons of both options and choose one that would suit your business the best.

For example, are you willing to spend higher on an on-location inventory management system, or are you happier with a cloud-based solution to handle your stock requirements effectively? Is your team well acquainted with the former and is showing reluctance to shift? Or are you better off with the 99.9% uptime guarantee that cloud providers guarantee?

All of these would help you make an informed decision about the type of inventory management system to deploy.

3. What are your integration needs?

In the traditional days, most software would run solo and had no interdependence. But in the present day, seamless collaboration has been the way forward. B2B e-commerce brands are looking for solutions that can seamlessly integrate into their present software ecosystem without tweaking what works for them.

A robust inventory management software has also been a critical business differentiator and has enabled e-commerce players to be flexible with regards to their inventory handling and ordering, allowing them to gain an edge over their competition. 

In addition, seamless integration would enable e-commerce businesses to derive critical insights from the inventory management software and feed them to other business processes in a clutter-free manner to achieve impeccable actionable insights.

How to Choose Right E-commerce Inventory Management System?

Now that you understand your business needs, the next step is to look for the following while choosing the best software for inventory management in India or abroad –

#1 Ease of use

Ease of use is one of the primary constraints while looking for the right inventory solution for your e-commerce business. An easy-to-use software will allow your workforce to handle it better and improve their stock handling capabilities.

#2 Scalability

E-commerce businesses are born with the idea to be scalable, and every software choice they make must resonate with the same idea. So it is imperative for you to choose a scalable solution and offer you the bandwidth you seek.

#3 Features

Every e-commerce business has specific requirements. So choose an inventory management software that caters to your particular needs, such as batch tracking, bundling, real-time inventory update, barcode tracking, and more.

#4 Valuable insights

With the advent of data-heavy solutions, it has been easy to derive critical analytics. Analytics play a vital role in the way your business is handled. So, while looking for the right inventory management system, make sure you choose the one that offers a wide range of palpable and practical insights.

Read Inventory Management Case Study – How Multi-Brand Car Service Company attained 9X Sales Growth  

Wrap up

Choosing an inventory management system that is easy to use and caters to all your stock needs is a vital decision. It makes the task easier for your workforce and contributes to better catering to your customers.

Schedule a FREE demo with Unicommerce Inventory Management consultants.

Related Read:

• Order, Inventory, And Logistics Management In The UAE – Challenges & Solutions Associated With The Processes
• What is Inventory Cycle Counting & Why to Use it for Effective Warehouse Management?
• How can you Streamline Inventory Management using Barcode Scanning?
• How to Implement a Barcode System with Inventory Management Solution?
• Overcome Inventory Challenges With FIFO Based Picking
• FMCG Industry challenges in India
• Healthcare Industry: Trends, Challenges, Opportunities & Solutions
• What is Warehouse Management System?

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So, here we are with the most effective tips for choosing the best shipping automation solution in Tier 3 markets! These tips will be the guiding light for businesses aiming to conquer these markets through the implementation of effective shipping automation

Tips for Choosing the Best Shipping Automation Solutions – 

1. Maximum Pin Code Accessibility

Tier 3 markets have their unique charm, but they can look like a puzzle for brands that don’t have an efficient shipping automation solution. Our first tip for choosing the best shipping automation solution for the tier 3 market revolves around it!

One of the factors that you should consider while selecting a shipping automation solution is that it should offer a comprehensive network covering a multitude of pin codes. The wider your reach, the more your brand can enchant those lesser-explored regions. From remote villages to bustling towns, ensure your solution can connect every dot on the map.

2. Seamless Order Fulfilment Process

In Tier 3 markets, the key to triumph lies in a flawless order fulfilment process. This process transcends mere product delivery; it is about curating an unforgettable customer experience.

From the moment an order is placed to the instant a shipping label is generated, the process should flow as effortlessly as it can. Furthermore, you should go for a solution that offers auto-allocation of carriers based on the fastest delivery to a pin code, cheapest carrier options, best delivery providers, etc. 

Just as a maestro ensures every note blends harmoniously, your shipping automation should guarantee that each order is orchestrated with precision. A seamless process not only elevates efficiency but also helps in delivering a smooth customer experience, as you can impress customers with on-time or early delivery.

3. Earliest Delivery Option

When considering the best shipping automation solution for Tier 3 markets, it’s crucial to factor in an “Earliest Delivery Option.” Customers are always keen on early delivery and are more likely to purchase from a brand that offers the same.

Today, shipping automation companies provide features like next-day delivery or 2-day delivery choices. With early delivery options, brands can actually offer a flawless and smooth post-purchase experience to customers.

4. AI-driven Tracking & Notifications

Transparency and timely updates about the order are something modern customers expect from all brands, no matter whether they live in Tier 2 or 3. In the realm of e-commerce, where sellers and buyers often stand separated by distances, providing real-time updates becomes the cornerstone of this transparency. Thus, let’s take you through the next on our list of tips for choosing the best shipping automation solution.

In today’s landscape, customers anticipate staying in perfect sync with their purchases, tracking orders with real-time updates spanning from dispatch to delivery. Moreover, timely notifications in harmony with these expectations fashion a symphony of trust. Each notification, seamlessly aligned with the customer’s journey, transforms a routine transaction into a delightful post-purchase customer experience.

5. Automates the Returns/Exchange Process

Returns are an integral part of e-commerce, and in Tier 3 markets, brands should focus more on it. The main spotlight should be on the returns process. Thus, the next tip for choosing the best shipping automation solution is that you should offer a shipping automation solution that streamlines the returns process.

A returns process that is intuitive and easy to follow reassures customers and lays the foundation for future purchases. Today, shipping automation solutions offer various services like a one-click exchange, a branded returns page (where you can upsell and cross-sell products), instant refunds, and more. You should opt for a solution that offers it all. In Tier 3 markets, where every facet of customer interaction holds immense value, a comprehensive returns process introduces a note of reliability.

6. Provides Early COD Remittance Feature

India is a cash-rich economy, and people prefer the COD payment method. Therefore, e-commerce brands have to accept COD payments. Now, brands receive COD payments from shipping solutions quite late, and this leads to restrictions on cash flow and disrupted working capital.

Therefore, e-commerce brands have to accept COD payments. Now, brands receive COD payments from shipping solutions quite late, and this leads to restrictions on cash flow and disrupted working capital. 

In short, with our most important tip for choosing the best shipping solution in Tier 3 markets, we would like to highlight the importance of the Early COD Remittance feature. Today, shipping solutions are offering an Early COD remittance feature at nominal charges, and with it, you can receive the amount in 2 days or max 4 days(depending on the plans). The smart tip will be to choose a shipping solution that offers this feature so that the cash keeps flowing and you can easily manage other tasks.

7. Innumerable Integrations

When selecting a shipping automation solution for your business, it’s imperative to choose one that seamlessly integrates with various marketplaces and platforms. An effective shipping solution should act as a bridge between your brand and the multitude of online marketplaces where you showcase your products. 

This e-commerce integration streamlines your operations by consolidating orders from different sources into a centralised system, enabling you to manage everything efficiently. Therefore, a shipping automation solution that harmonises with various marketplaces amplifies your reach, enhances operational efficiency, and elevates customer satisfaction in one orchestrated solution.

8. Customer Support

It’s time for the last and another effective tip for choosing the best shipping automation solution in Tier 3 markets. Go for a solution that has responsive and trustworthy customer support. Read reviews, do a little research, and you’ll know which solutions brands are happy with and are getting incredible results. 

Final Takeaway

Selecting the right shipping automation is the first thing that brands should do while targeting the Tier 3 markets. With these seven tips, you’re armed to choose the perfect automation solution that will elevate your brand to the dazzling heights it deserves. So, go ahead and set sail on this exhilarating journey, and watch your business transform the e-commerce landscape, one automated shipment at a time!

Sign-up today or Book a Demo with one of our E-commerce Experts to see if Unicommerce is right SaaS Platform for your E-commerce Business.

Related read –

• What is a Warehouse Management System (WMS)?
• FMCG Industry Challenges & Solution In India
• Healthcare Industry Trends, Challenges & Solutions in India

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The post The Challenges of Multichannel Inventory Management and How Can D2C Brands Overcome Them in 2023 appeared first on unicommerce.com.

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A good inventory management software works best with a fast and accurate barcoding system and becomes completely necessary if you:

• Manage your inventory on a big scale in a warehouse
• Consume inventory for self utilization such as training and photoshoot purposes
• Have Vendor alliances who rely on barcode scanning
• Sell through multiple sales channels Online/Offline

As useful as a barcode inventory management system is, the process to fully equip your warehouse and utility centers with this system can be a little tricky and time-consuming. But we at Unicommerce are here to solve this very problem of yours with our guidance and support to help you implement a robust inventory management system using barcodes for improved efficiency and productivity of your warehouse/business operations.

This blog has been designed to help you grab onto the most useful information about what is barcode scanning, why it is necessary for your business and how to implement it whether you are a small or large scale business.

First off, let us understand what exactly is a barcode and how can you manage inventory efficiently using barcodes!

What are Barcodes?

Barcode tracking or scanning is the method to streamline inventory allocation, tracking and maintenance. 

Typically present in 3 forms, barcode systems have now become essential for not only keeping track of inventory but also to extract data, make secure payments and much more. 

Initially, barcode scanning systems were of numeric and alpha-numeric form and were considered as one-dimensional with a unique combination of letters and numbers and or bars of different widths. 

QR codes are another form that are square in shape and include a combination of small lines and dots. The QR codes are considered to be two-dimensional. 

No matter what type of barcode you choose, their use provides some huge advantages when it comes to managing your inventory. As barcodes are unique, room for error is almost null and that is what makes it so much more efficient and necessary for your e-commerce business. Now let us try to decode what exactly a barcoding scanning system is and how it makes a difference for you in your efforts to manage inventory. 

Read more – How can you Streamline Inventory Management using Barcode Scanning?

What is Barcode Inventory Management System?

A barcode inventory management system allows your warehouse staff to scan these unique QR codes with a barcode scanner, a device especially made to read barcodes, to automatically present complete data of the inventory in question. 

When scanned, each barcode exhibits specific information and data about each item from the Universal Product Code (UPC) which is then transferred to your online inventory database. The labels and functions on your inventory can also be easily customized as per industry standards to help you be updated.

Now that you have a fair understanding of what Barcode Scanning is and how it works, let us look at some benefits of implementing a barcode system for inventory management.

Benefits of Barcode Inventory Management System

Using the right Inventory Management Software with Barcodes will give you a lot of advantages this in your overall operations, productivity and profitability including:

1. Error Proof Results
2. Complete Security
3. Higher Savings 
4. Control over Information
5. Fast and Easy Handling

#1 Error Proof Results

With no more manual dependency, the chances of error become almost null increasing your productivity and with little to no room for data miscalculations.

#2 Complete Security

The biggest advantage of having a barcode inventory management system is that it gives you the ease to have complete knowledge of where, with whom and how much inventory you have. Barcodes allow you to trace your inventory in cases of theft, wrong and or damaged deliveries all at a single panel right at your fingertips.

#3 Higher Savings

Automation not only cuts back on manual dependencies but also reduces the overall cost to a company to manage its inventory and warehouse operations. Barcoding helps you reduce labour and training costs and gives you complete visibility of inventory to help you assign work accordingly.

#4 Control over Information

Crucial information about various assets can be easily tracked with the help of barcode scanning and this enables each business to print and customize additional information that they wish to share with the end-users. From the built and type of an inventory to the locations from where it has been sent, all can be detailed in the barcode labels.

#5 Fast and Easy Handling

When you have all the information about each of your products right in a tiny QR code, you can process huge chunks of data within minutes by a simple scan and derive conclusive results based on real-time updates benefitting your overall profitability.

With these highly impressive advantages of having a barcode inventory management system, I’m sure now you must be thinking of understanding the process of how to actually take on this solution and align it with your current structure of operations! 

How to Implement Barcode Inventory Management System?

Transitioning from a manual to automated barcoding system may look like a huge task but with the right support and guidance, you can not only achieve the right implementation but also reap long term benefits of the solution.

Here are the major processes involved for small or large scale eCommerce businesses, to begin with, a barcode tracking system or an inventory barcode system.

#1 Check what the Industry accepts

The first step is to ensure that you are aligned to adopt the ongoing or latest barcode system which is acceptable by the government and used within the eCommerce industry.

You need to check with the mandated norms of packaging and labelling of your products that will be eligible for acceptance. You will also have to decide between choosing a 1D or 2D label, both of which can be used based on your workflow, product, etc.

#2 Create a Product Code

Once you know what is acceptable and correct as per industry norms, you need to create an asset code in accordance with the rules. The code you create can be a Universal Product Code (UPC) or Stock Keeping Unit (SKU).

UPCs are 12 digit long codes, broadly more accepted for business uses around the globe, and can be received by registering with Global Standard 1, which then can be used to trace and get updates on your products across the world.

SKUs, on the other hand, are 8 digit long codes that are unique to every business. They can be generated manually or using an inventory management system and can be used for internal operations such as stock maintenance, tracking and data processing. 

#3 Finalize what information to put

Your barcode will have all the necessary information about your product and business to be successfully carried out and delivered to the right customer. To ensure that, you need to finalize what all you want to put in the label including location, identity numbers, expiration date for perishable items and much more.

Using a combination of numbers, letters, colours and shapes of labels can help you differentiate between all the items and to avoid wrong deliveries.

#4 Generate the Barcode

After finalizing everything right from how you want your barcode to look like and what information it should contain, the main task of creating a barcode for each of your products begins.

This massive task can be done by either using an online barcode generator or a free barcode software. Once you have created the barcode, you need to print the label sheet using any standard printer (inkjet, laser or thermal).

#5 Pick the right Barcode Scanner

While you might have cautiously followed the above 4 steps, if you do not invest in having a good scanner to extract all the information put on your barcode, you might see no results.

A scanner is a wired or wireless device that allows your staff to maintain operations throughout the warehouse and gives real-time updates on your inventory. If you use wireless scanners you get the flexibility to move around the facility and have all the data from these scanners stored into a memory chip that can be later transferred to your computer systems. 

You can also go for a wired scanner that is usually cheaper but needs to be plugged at all times during use, to a computer and a charging outlet. 

Handheld barcode scanners wired or wireless, are the most beneficial for both small or large businesses. While it costs a little more than any other type of scanners, it is a one-time investment that is sure to streamline your entire inventory management process once and for all. 

#6 Select a Barcode Software

Having a software program to manage your inventory and all other operational tasks has become a mandate now due to the heavy demands and higher expectations by the customers.

The same applies for barcode scanning, and to further ease things for you, there are some really great options to choose from. But the only thing to keep in mind is to choose a software that operates as per your business standards and allows customization. 

All these steps will ensure a smooth and successful implementation of the barcode inventory system, but what changes will they bring to your warehouse operations you ask?

How will a Barcode Inventory Management System improve your Warehouse Operations?

With lots of overall benefits that a well-implemented barcode system can provide you, there surely are some specific improvements that you will see in your e-commerce warehouse management system within a short period of time post transitioning.

Business growth, increased productivity, higher efficiency and accuracy are some of the most basic outputs of a good barcode inventory management system, but there are many more features that enhance your warehouse operations to distinguish your business from others and help you scale up rapidly. The right barcode system:

• Enables Paperless Operations  
• Eliminates Picking Errors
• Provides Accurate Allocations 
• Reduces time to locate inventory (bin and shelf)
• Cheaper to Implement 
• Easy-to-use interface for all staff
• Allows cost-effectiveness 
• Generates real-time analysis of data
• Updates when inventory is low 
• Improves purchasing and ordering processes

Impressed by how a single transition can change the way you do business?

You can achieve all these benefits and improve your ROI by simply hiring the best and most trusted technology solutions provider in the country!

Related read –

• Why do E-commerce Businesses need Inventory Management Software?
• What are the benefits of having Inventory Management Software?
• Why is Inventory Management Important for your E-commerce Business
• FMCG Industry challenges in India
• How does Warehouse Management System Works?
• Logistics vs Supply Chain Management
• E-commerce Apparel Industry: Trends, Challenges, Opportunities & Solutions
• UniShip – Advanced Logistics Tracking Platform
• UniReco – Automated Reconciliation of Orders, Returns and Payments
• Key Challenges & Benefits of Marketplace Payment Reconciliation
• Benefits of Shipping Notifications

The post How to Implement Barcode Inventory Management System? appeared first on unicommerce.com.

It’s highly imperative to understand the value of a smooth and efficient picking process at the warehouse as it can have a deep impact on the bottom line. Therefore picking optimization should be considered one of the most crucial aspects to improve the customer experience and keep a check on the picker efficiency at the same time. 

Let’s decode the basics of the pick list, the challenges in the row, and finally, the right ways to increase picking efficiency in the long run.

What’s a Pick List? 

A pick lists can be defined as an all-inclusive document sent to the warehouse pickers for order fulfillment. The list consists of the items that are required to be retrieved from storage. Why is it required? Exactly how you need the right planning before execution, a pick list is the part of the plan which makes the picking process organized. Pick list optimization facilitates faster and more efficient order fulfillment along with a significant reduction in SLA breaches. 

Importance of Pick List

Pick list are crucial in e-commerce warehouse management, streamlining the order fulfillment process and enhancing overall efficiency. Here are five key points highlighting their importance:

• Order Accuracy and Fulfillment Efficiency: Pick list ensure the right products are selected and packed for each order.
• Optimized Warehouse Operations: Pick list help organize and optimize the picking process within the warehouse. This efficiency translates to higher productivity and cost savings.
• Batch Picking and Grouping: It helps expedite the picking process by enabling workers to pick multiple orders simultaneously, increasing productivity and reducing fulfillment times.
• Inventory Management and Stock Replenishment: Pick list are essential for real-time inventory tracking, providing valuable insights into stock levels, enabling timely restocking, and preventing stockouts or overstocks, ultimately improving supply chain efficiency.
• Data Analysis and Performance Tracking: Utilizing pick list allows data collection to identify bottlenecks, improve picking strategies, and enhance overall warehouse performance. It provides valuable insights for continuous process optimization and decision-making.

What are the Challenges of Pick List?

When the pick list is assigned to the warehouse picker, the process requires edge to edge tracking to gather picker insights and check the efficiency at the same time, however, a manual process lacks tracking which can lead to delays, errors and a messed up delivery. To optimize the pick list management, it’s advisable to have a warehouse management system recording your data, saving product images, adding in additional information required to ensure the pick list, having the right idea for quality control, and most importantly ensuring accurate picker activity from assigning the list, procuring the product, allocating it at the right place and ultimately delivering on time. 

Ways to Increase Warehouse Efficiency with Pick List

Optimizing warehouse operations is beyond necessity and for doing it right, it’s important to have a system that not only lets you manage the stocks but provides picker staff tracking as well. As efficient picking leads to delivery accuracy and a thorough streamlined process. 

Read: Essential WMS Features that let you Attain Operational Capabilities

As a business owner, if you’re in splits over declining growth rates or waning productivity, there are surely some adjustments that can help in making the picking process effective – 

1. Assigning Pick List to the Agent 

Once a pick list is ready to be assigned, consider assigning it to the right agent. When the picker is assigned manually, there can be more errors & delays as you can never track picker efficiency accurately, but, through incorporating a warehouse management solution, picker is assigned automatically through analyzing their regular activity logs and tracking the efficiency as well. Alongside,  the pick list can be assigned based on the order location or can be filtered based on the marketplace as well, for instance, you can assign picker location wise – Picker A for Delhi, Picker B for Bangalore etc. This will save time and get the deliveries done quickly and accurately. Also, if the picker is assigned based on the marketplaces such as Flipkart, Amazon etc., this again helps in quick deliveries and lesser SLA breach, and streamlined operations. This can further facilitate knowing where the process lacks and finding the reason for delivery delay loopholes, helping a business to streamline the order delivery process.

Read: Enhance the Operations of the Warehouse with Order Picking: Process and Methods

2. Consider Right Placement

Larger warehouses might have tons of products stored in and the placement of the products might be the prime reason for delays. Why? If the highest selling SKUs are kept at the extreme ends of a single warehouse, it might eat up heaps of time for the picking staff. Be wise in organizing your inventory in such a way that picking can be done faster. While in most cases inventory organization is done by SKU number, it’s always better to have it organized based on the probability of being bought together. This can save your time and ultimately get deliveries quicker.

3. Give a Thought to Storage Racks 

This might seem an underrated idea but can actually save you a lot of time! Picking up the right racks for your warehouse is another good option to consider. It’s also good to have elevated racks that are easy for the conveyor belts but, in case manual picking is your go-to, trust the floor racks which are easier and faster to access for the pickers. 

Final Thoughts

Pick list optimization is an integral part of every ecommerce business, though there’s a dire need to automate or digitize the warehouse processes to make order management, inventory management, and returns management more streamlined. Incorporating a warehouse management system (WMS) in your business can effectively help in making the supply chain run smooth and error free. A few adjustments in the way your warehouse is being operated can help in fewer errors and promote faster & more accurate deliveries.

Related read:

• What is a Warehouse Management System (WMS)?
• What are the challenges in Order Management?
• Healthcare Industry Challenges, Opportunities & Solutions in India

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Simply put, for you to master the direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales format you need to focus more on the needs of your consumer rather than just providing them with whatever service you have.

Sounds easy right? Well, it is a little more complex to do than said!

Are you planning to take the D2C Selling route? Are you looking for detailed strategies to make the most out of the direct-to-consumer trend that can allow your business to partake in this new technology in the best possible way?

Sellers, retailers, brands – both small or big – have been keeping up with the new-age trend of the D2C business model that not only reaps many benefits but empowers your business to keep growing with the changing reality.

But, what is it about D2C that makes it the buzzword around the e-commerce world? Read on to get all the unique insights.

Why are E-commerce Businesses Going for D2C? Trends & Benefits!

In India, almost every brand wants to become Direct-to-Consumer as it has proved to be a savior for a lot of businesses amid the pandemic times. Be it budding entrepreneurs or established enterprises, the demand to go D2C is overwhelming in the nation.

As customers have now transitioned from shopping traditionally to the online platforms – which are trying to develop similar experiences to that of buying in a store with the help of AI (try and buy, shop in wheels, etc.) – D2C has pushed businesses to rethink their online sales strategy.

Right from building a strong consumer experience to creating complete visibility of trends, brands are leveraging some of these crucial aspects using D2C.

But again, the question is, what are the aspects that persuade a retailer to shift to the D2C business model? Let’s dive into the concept and understand the benefits of the trend, shall we?

Benefits of Adopting a Direct to Consumer (D2C) Business Selling Model –

1. Complete Control Over Brand Portrayal 

When you are able to have control over your brand’s identity, you are able to build a strong presence.

For example, by going D2C, a manufacturer is establishing a direct connection with the consumers. Moreover, the elimination of middlemen could also remove the distortion of branding messages. Hence, strategizing a D2C e-commerce plan, delivering the products to the end customers, D2C gives manufacturers full control to drive better customer experiences.

2. Potential to Grow and Increase Brand Loyalty 

With a complete understanding of what customers want, businesses can follow up on all the latest trends and requirements to constantly evolve their products and deliver the best to their consumers, giving them customized services and developing brand loyalty.

3. Utilizing Omnichannel Technology 

Another significant advantage of going D2C is that brands are no longer required to stick to a single platform to maintain sales when you have clarity of what your customers are shopping for, you also have visibility on where they are shopping from the most.

4. Increase Profit Margins

The first and most important advantage of going D2C is the amplified business profit margins. How? Well, middlemen sometimes cost you more than your cash inflow, leading to less or no profits. But the D2C retail works on the principles of self-service and automation, which thoroughly remove the participation of intermediaries, making it easier for you to make more profits.

With D2C, you are aware of the major sales channels to be present on, be it online or offline, and drive the traffic from there. Building the right omnichannel strategies can doubly benefit manufacturers and e-commerce businesses to further exponentiate sales.

How to Adapt Direct to Consumer (D2C) E-commerce Selling?

There has been a global wave to go D2C due to the significant spike in sales achieved from it. But how can you adapt D2C e-commerce selling and what are things you definitely need to consider before implementing a D2C strategy?

Let’s hear from some of the most sought-after e-commerce enablers who are empowering D2C brands like yours! 

• “The ones who are offering curated and unique offerings are leading the market. Moreover, maintaining a support system is of supreme importance, right from invoicing solutions to logistics and warehousing solutions,”  Mahadevan Gopalkrishnan – Director of Sales, Payoneer.
• “There are three aspects when it comes to determining the kind of partners a D2C brand needs to work with; expertise of the platform, on-platform expertise, and merchandising or the category expertise. All three are very crucial in scaling your D2C brand,” Amit Monga – Co-founder, ANS Commerce.
• “Sometimes it becomes difficult to scale business during intense competition. Therefore, it is advisable to pick a niche of customer base,” Abhiroop Medhekar – CEO & Co-founder Velocity. 
• “When a brand starts to expand its portfolio, its orders surge with time, due to which it becomes difficult for the brand to manage and fulfill them timely. To work efficiently in such circumstances, it’s important for a D2C brand to opt for an order management solution,” Swarndeep Singh – Managing Director, Logic ERP Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
• Moreover, Pallavi Utagi, Founder and CEO at Superbottoms also talked about how a D2C brand can grow exponentially. She says, “The brands should rather focus on a few products while going deep into them than expanding their product portfolio. It will unnecessarily complicate things especially when a brand is at its growth stage”.

Take a look at the session of the businesses/brands mentioned above!

Key Strategies on How to Adapt Direct to Consumer (D2C ) –

• Balance out both marketplace and website selling, with a clear focus on driving sales from the marketplaces and using the website to drive the narrative of the brand.
• Build a strategy to service customers from wherever they shop from, instead of restricting the brand to only one form of the sales channel.
• Organizational structure is the most important aspect of transitioning to a D2C brand. Have a dedicated team to analyze through data, customer expectations and create a road map from there.
• Utilize social media channels, marketplaces, and own websites to understand the target audience first.
• Design and optimize your website and focus on direct-to-consumer marketing which includes developing quality content around your product, running campaigns that can attract customers but at the same time keep the value of your brand intact.

The biggest derivative of adapting direct to consumer business model is to ensure that your brand is easy to search, has quick buying options, strong customer support and efficient logistics assistance.

Chumbak is one such successful brand that has effortlessly transitioned to a D2C brand with the help of highly advanced technological solutions and now sells across all possible channels including their own online and offline stores as well as leading marketplaces like Amazon, Myntra etc.

Let’s Go D2C!

If you haven’t yet started to make the transition and worry about the processes involved, we are here to help you with our expertise to ensure your business is capable of adjusting to this new arena smoothly.

Suggested Read:

• Direct To Consumer (D2C) E-commerce Order and Inventory Management
• How does Warehouse Management System Works?
• Role of Warehouse Management in the FMCG Industry in India
• Apparel Industry in India – Trends, Challenges, Opportunities & Solutions
• Footwear Industry in India – Trends, Challenges & Solutions
• How to Sell on Lazada Marketplace in Southeast Asia?
• How to Sell on Noon in the Middle East?
• Key e-cmmerce Challenges & Opportunities in Malaysia
• Omnichannel Retail Trends in the Middle East
• Order, Inventory, And Logistics Management Challenges in the UAE

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