4 Reasons for Combining Stock Forecasting Software and Pricing Intelligence tools.
Save money and stay competitive when you combine stock forecasting and pricing intelligence.
Capitalising on customer experience and maximising business growth are two of the most important advantages of efficient stock forecasting, whilst lack of customer choice and availability are two of the major reasons for sales conversion failure. Lacking the right size, number, colour, or specification of products will see your customers doubly annoyed, leading to abandoned baskets and deserted online shopping carts.
Managing stock is not simply about knowing how many products to order, but also what price you should set for each product and when to purchase. It's a complex process with many variables, and here we discuss the tools that help, and how they complement pricing intelligence software.
Retailers recognise how critical it is to retain the right stock levels. Achieving this has a considerable impact on customer perceptions, cash-flows and profitability. Supplies run low after promotions, and frequently changing consumer behaviours signify the insufficiency of conducting a manual stock count only once a month.
Any successful inventory management plan requires on-demand business forecasting. Software helps businesses retain customer relationships and remain competitive. Stock analysis software gives businesses a practical, hands-off way to maximise profits and maintain stable market growth.
Why use inventory forecasting software?
The right stock management software saves you time and money, helping grow your business with efficiency and convenience.
Increased Sales
One of the most recognised benefits of stock forecasting software for eCommerce businesses is to increase sales. Accurate forecasting enables companies to predict future product demand, guaranteeing they have the right products in stock, to ensure customer satisfaction and maximise sales growth.
Reduced Inventory Costs
Secondly, stock forecasting software reduces inventory costs and additional delivery fees. Accurately forecasting future demand, enables businesses to avoid overstocking, tie up capital and reduce unnecessarily high storage costs. By effectively managing ‘stock outs’, businesses avoid short-term, high-cost delivery fees.
Customer Satisfaction
Stock forecasting software will improve customer satisfaction, vital for any company's survival. A 2020 McKinsey survey discovered out of the 34% of consumers shopping with a new brand, retailer, or website since the pandemic, 29% cite product availability as the reason why.
Stock forecasting software enables you to analyse through historical data when your products hit peak demand providing a more economically cost-effective plan when stocks are low. In one survey with delivery platform Sorted, 73% of customers had to chase the whereabouts of their parcel rather than receiving proactive delivery tracking updates.
Brand Loyalty
Repeat customers keep your business thriving and ahead of the competition. Due care and attention with a robust stock and delivery process, generates positive word-of-mouth reviews which further help to repeat business and attract new customers to increase sales.
Less Waste
When businesses accurately predict future demand, they avoid over-producing products, leading to excess inventory and, ultimately, higher levels of waste. Also, by avoiding stockouts, businesses avoid discarding expired or damaged products, reducing waste.
Increased Profitability
Predicting future demand and accurately managing inventory, provides eCommerce businesses with an essential stock forecasting tool to maximise customer satisfaction, build retention, attract new customers and grow sales which should contribute towards increased profitability.
The stress-free way to manage your inventory
Instead of spending hours counting stock and mapping demand forecasts, stock forecasting software automatically manages it for you. It's a turnkey solution that integrates seamlessly with other apps, giving you absolute stock control.
The software turns inventory planning from a stressful and time-consuming task into proactive on-demand reports and automation, which means you're always in control and in the know enabling you to make more informed, intelligent decisions.
Accurate forecasts that don't leave you guessing
Manual inventory is fraught with problems, and even the most experienced stock takers make mistakes. Automated stock-forecasting software provides on-demand AI-powered reports, so you can spot potential errors and cross-check the actual number of stock units.
An automated approach to stock-management means you and your team have the capacity to invest more time with value-added activity, not conducting labour-intensive stock-counting, whilst having the confidence that your reports are human-error free. The result of automated stock-forecasting software enables businesses to determine an instant stock asset valuation, not wait for month-end or beyond.
Maintain a competitive advantage
The best inventory software tracks changing market trends, helping you meet customer demand, so you have the confidence to avoid stock shortages. The right inventory software streamlines supply chain processes and ensures businesses stay ahead of the curve.
Save money with flawless demand planning
Excess inventory might not seem like a problem, but any budget you save by not overstocking could be reapportioned into marketing, business development, and sourcing new products, to grow the business by maximising your cash flow and saving time by automating the operational elements of your store.
Where Marketing meets Stock-forecasting automation
Market trends, marketing campaigns and customer behaviour must be the focal point to pinpoint products that perform well and remove stock that fails to resonate with customers. Aligning your marketing activity based on consumers' wants and needs, whilst developing a successful inventory optimisation strategy isn't simple.
Stock forecasting software enables you to analyse historical data when your products are most in demand, to plan and anticipate stock ordering requirements.
Why is pricing intelligence important?
Pricing intelligence is essential to ensuring products and services are positioned at the right price, based on the organisation’s pricing strategy.
Skuuudle’s well respected pricing intelligence software collects quality competitor pricing data, helping businesses determine the best market price based on their pricing strategy and competitor activity.
Pricing intelligence can be used for:
- Price Scraping & Product Details: Collecting quality competitor data doesn’t stop at pricing. Skuuudle captures everything on your competition’s product pages including attributes, descriptions, availability and imagery.
- Product Matching: Having the capability to scrape prices requires accurate matching of your product assortment which can only be achieved by rigorous pricing intelligence software, working alongside human pricing intelligence specialists.
- Market intelligence: Using pricing intelligence to gather information about market conditions e.g. price elasticity and consumer trends across different channels.
- Minimum Advertised Price - When you see a product priced considerably below its competitors, there’s the potential it’s being sold below the recommended price or it’s a counterfeit product. Skuuudle monitors and informs when prices dip beyond a predetermined tolerance to protect the brand you’ve nurtured.
4 reasons for combining stock forecasting software with pricing intelligence
1. Utilise SKUs for stock forecasting & product matching
Marrying your stock forecasting software with pricing intelligence provides a significant indicator of the perceived market price of your products to maximise profit. Passing a master list of stocktaking units to a pricing intelligence partner like Skuuudle, can be used to match these with your competitor’s product portfolio.
2. Scrape availability to record how many products competitors have in stock
Another clever use of combining stock forecasting software with pricing intelligence is to scrape availability from competitors. This will allow you to see their product online and at what price points.
Combining their pricing tactics and product availability, will help your business determine what product and pricing strategy the competitor is taking and if your competitor is scheduling a large product promo and/or shifting surplus stock.
3. Staying ahead: knowing products, consumer trends and behaviour
Combining stock forecasting software with pricing intelligence enables organisations to stay ahead of the game. Stock forecasting software will indicate the number of units sold in what period and at what cost margin, whilst pricing intelligence will collect and compare your selling pricing data with your competitors.
You’ll evaluate what your customers want, the demand, and how much product remains in stock. This will help you plan and ensure that your business is always stocked with the right products at the right prices, so you don’t overlook any sales opportunities.
Stock forecasting software helps businesses forecast their future sales based on historical data, whilst pricing intelligence allows them to price effectively and grow profitably by understanding consumer trends and behaviours.
4. Historical data: knowing what to order, what is selling, product popularity
By combining stock forecasting software and pricing intelligence technologies, businesses can gain holistic and detailed insights. It’ll help you make smarter decisions with your inventory and sales, whilst giving you an edge over competitors to make better product positioning and price points business decisions.
To find out more about how Skuuudle can help you make clear pricing decisions based on the most accurate and up to date pricing data, book a demo today.
Skuuudle Demo
Monitor your competitors prices
Start a custom demo with your competitors data included
