Quite simply, the more you ensure your inventory is managed well, the more your business can provide customer satisfaction. In turn, that will lead to an increase in sales and reputability. Let’s take a closer look at how good inventory management affects customer satisfaction.
Inventory Automation Improves the Process of the Order Lifecycle
If a customer purchases a product that isn’t available because you haven’t updated your inventory, it will result in spending time refunding the customer. More importantly, it can lead to an unhappy customer who never returns to your business. On the other hand, you could have products that are available but you have not updated your website and other sales channels to show the item is in stock. That means you will miss out on sales. So, if you want to always provide customer satisfaction, it’s pivotal you manage your inventory well. One of the easiest ways of doing that is to use automation software, such as the great solutions available from SparkShipping. With automation, every component of an order’s lifecycle is taken care of. That means your inventory is always updated automatically. It also improves the lifecycle of an order. By automating the fulfillment from the moment that a customer purchases a product to the shipment of the item, you can be assured you are delivering accuracy and quality to your customer base.
Reducing Errors Leads to Greater Customer Satisfaction
With greater accuracy comes less error. When you adopt a good inventory management system, inventory is always up-to-date. In turn, that means orders are fulfilled and shipped quickly and correctly. Breaking the scenario down further reveals more insights. For instance, a great inventory management system sees your shrinkage rates become reduced because fewer orders are lost. Furthermore:
· Any broken products are reported quickly to prevent inventory levels dropping to levels that are problematic.
· You can ensure asset availability keeps up with customer demand by automatically receiving repurchase orders when supply levels drop below your set parameters.
· Barcode scanners enable mobile data collection, which reduces the potential for data entry errors.
Shipping Times Become More Accurate with a Good Inventory Management System in Place
With a good inventory management system in place, you will never be accidentally low on products or have no products in a certain range. That means it’s far easier to predict accurate shipping times. When you use tracking tools to keep track of an order’s lifecycle throughout its journey, your team members and your customers can know the status of the order at every stage of the fulfillment. When you apply other things like tracking capabilities to your inventory management system, it will result in accurate deliveries and satisfied customers.
Good Inventory Management Enables You to Keep Costs Under Control
When you use a good inventory management system, it cuts out unnecessary processes that cost money. So, you can certainly save money by adopting good inventory management. But you also need to consider passing on those savings to your customers. One way of reducing costs is to employ a just-in-time supply chain model. That means your inventory levels are maintained at the lowest threshold possible. That will allow you to tightly align your supply chain and production environments to ensure everyone has what they need when they need it. Over time, that enables your business to determine how much supply it typically requires and reduce the amount of excess stock carried. When you have precision in the warehouse, you can accurately keep up with customer demand, eliminate excessive supplies, and locate products easier. Once you begin saving costs, you can pass those costs on to your customers. That could mean you offer some products for reduced prices. In turn, you will sell more products and generate more revenue. So, when you keep costs under control, it’s possible to generate greater customer satisfaction.
Information Flows Are Also Important
When you utilize good inventory management processes, you are not only able to manage the physical supply chain flow but also the information flow. When you maintain a good balance between your physical and information flows, it can lead to better customer service. For example, if a customer purchases a product but changes his or her delivery address when the product is already on its way, you could not be able to deliver, which would end up in an order cancelation. But when the information flow is in sync with your physical supply chain flow, it will be much easier for the order to be delivered to the new address. You then end up with a fulfilled order and a happy customer.