In a world where consumers expect online retailers to “meet or beat competitors’ pricing,” this year will prove challenging with inflation.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Product Price Index for February 2022, reporting wholesale prices had jumped up 0.8% for the month and in the past year have increased by 10%. Raw materials, finished goods, gas and transportation prices all continue to increase and will ultimately impact and increase the end price of products for consumers.

According to the National Federation of Independent Business, 79% of American retailers surveyed last month reported price increases.  Though price hikes are not surprising at this time of global unrest with the supply chain, there are several factors you should complete before changing the price. 

Update the Product Offering:

Reducing underperforming SKUs, adding private label products, bundling items to provide additional value and reducing quantities (think 8-ounce packaging instead of 10-12 ounces) will all help keep the price stable for consumers

Boost productivity:

Making your business much more efficient from automation with software solutions that reduce the need to hire additional workers to ship more product.  It also allows you to have a clean read on which inventory is performing and which is not to make accurate decisions in streamlining products on hand.  

Outsourcing:

Selecting a third-party fulfillment service to position products nearer to customers and cut down on shipping time and costs may make more business sense to overcome inflated prices throughout the supply chain.

A new concept that’s rising across the country – dark stores.  They’re local micro-fulfillment centers strategically placed in old store fronts and warehouses that allow for cheaper fulfillment of online orders, but are “dark” to the public. To read more click here.

Consumers are well educated after the last few years of online shopping.  Many larger retailers can match or beat prices, but getting to the point of uniformity is challenging.  “Online competition is a force for price uniformity, and therefor also inflation equalization” in this era of constant supply chain issues.

Simplify with OPAL’s 4-in-1 Software Solution
EDI | Order Management | Warehouse Management | Shipping

OPAL is the innovative solution to simplify your small to mid-sized to enterprise business fulfillment needs in today’s rapidly transforming retail world.

As inflation continues to impact prices and your profit margins, partner with OPAL to increase efficiencies through automation.  

To learn more about how OPAL has partnered with many to scale their business to new levels of success, click here!

Click here to book your customized demo today.  We are here to support you through this time of change and are here to help you innovate and thrive!

It’s critical to evolve and build a strong infrastructure to meet the modern consumers’ needs, and inventory management is often the most overlooked piece of supply chain management.

What is a Dark Store?

A new concept that is rising as local micro-fulfillment centers, or warehouses, are strategically placed and dedicated to fulfilling online orders. Dark stores are not open to customers and are “dark” to the public, but serve as drop off points for suppliers and collection points for delivery services.

They emerged to solve issues with high demand, slow shipping, and the desire to remain dark without needing to build an infrastructure that requires foot traffic to sell product.

It’s a win/win for eCommerce businesses because it provides the additional warehousing needed to hold more inventory for orders and reduces shipping times by choosing dark stores closest to your most active regions across the country.

Why is Inventory Management So Important?

Poor inventory management can have repercussions felt throughout the organization that detrimentally affect its bottom line. Too much inventory and over-ordering complicates warehouse management and can result in a loss due to outdated or expired product or items going out of season and style. Whereas too little inventory means lost sales opportunities and potentially damaging relationships with your partner sales channels.

Software solutions and automation are critical components to success in this market, especially when considering storing inventory across multiple dark stores while continuing to sell online on multiple retailer marketplaces.

Knowing your inventory level is accurate will help you to plan better for your warehousing needs and to keep up with customer demands.

Benefits to automation also include cost savings, cash flow improvement, real-time inventory management data, reduction in errors and incorrect sales, which ultimately all impacts retailer and customer satisfaction.

Software solutions help your eCommerce business to improve forecasting and better optimize and balance inventory based on demand seen through data, which then improves warehouse management with storage, distribution and fulfillment processes.

Simplify with OPAL’s 4-in-1 Software Solution
EDI | Order Management | Warehouse Management | Shipping

OPAL is the innovative solution to simplify your small to mid-sized to enterprise business fulfillment needs in today’s rapidly transforming retail world.

As your eCommerce business looks to automate your inventory management system or take advantage of this new dark store trend, OPAL is here to help.

To learn more about how your eCommerce business can thrive, click here! , click here!

Click here to book your customized demo today.  We are here to support you through this time of change and are here to help you innovate and thrive!