Buy Template
Inventory Management

Inventory Management for Ecommerce: 25 ways to use Sumtracker

October 28, 2022
Ankit Goyal
Ankit Goyal
Inventory Management for Ecommerce: 25 ways to use Sumtracker

Sumtracker Inventory Management software is used by e-commerce merchants to solve many different use cases. If you are selling on any of Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce, then this article is a useful read for you.

In this post, we attempt to list down all the use cases that Sumtracker is solving for eCommerce sellers worldwide. By going through the list, you may come across a use case that may be applicable for your business as well.

Keep inventory in sync across multiple stores

This is one of the biggest issues faced by merchants when they open multiple stores online. You must use reliable software to keep inventory in sync. It saves you a lot of hassle and time and avoids overselling products.

Sumtracker multichannel inventory sync

Easily see all products and variants in a single view and update inventory quickly

Sumtracker makes it easy to view all your variants and products in a single view. You get the options to add, subtract, and set the stock, along with adding a reason for making the stock edit.

You can also select the location at which you are changing the stock.

Adjust inventory in Sumtracker

Track incoming stock

Tracking incoming inventory can be essential to staying on top of your stock levels. This can be done easily with Sumtracker.

Track incoming stock

Sell one product through multiple listings

Sumtracker enables businesses to list a single product across multiple channels or variations while maintaining a unified stock count. This prevents overselling and allows better stock control across different platforms.

Product list view in Sumtracker

Manage inventory at multiple locations

Sumtracker gives the option to manage inventory at multiple locations. You can create as many locations as you want in Sumtracker. You also have the option to define which location will sync with your store. So if you have 5 different locations, you can define if inventory from only 1, 2, or all of your locations will sync to your store. The reports are also available location-wise. For example, location-wise reports for alert thresholds, days of inventory remaining, stock valuation, and others.

Inventory at multiple locations in Sumtracker

Selling a group of products together as a bundle

Let's say you have individual chairs and tables in stock. While you also want to sell them together as a group of 1 table and 2 chairs.

set of table and chairs

The number of these groups of items you can fulfill will always depend on how many chairs and tables you have left in stock. With Sumtracker, this can be automated. And you also get the opportunity to sell more combinations, such as 4 chairs with 1 table, without having to worry about the inventory updates for the group of items, called a bundle.

Bundle composition in Sumtracker

Managing inventory of packaging items with the main item

Sometimes, merchants are selling luxurious products in premium packaging. The cost of packaging a box is such that its inventory needs to be tracked along with the other products. In this case as well, you can take the help of bundles in Sumtracker to update the box or other packaging material inventory along with the main product.An example of the same could be selling a gold ring in a premium box.

Jewellery packing box

Buy raw material in bulk, and sell in it packages of smaller quantities

This is again a big use case that is needed by merchants. Let's say you buy a certain variation of herbal tea in bulk. And you sell it in smaller packs of 100 g, 250 g, 500 g and so on. You would like to maintain the inventory of the total herbal tea in bulk. If you have 10 kg of tea, then the Sumtracker will automatically calculate how many of each pack you can fulfill at any point and update it on your store. You only have to keep track of the total loose tea you have in your inventory.

loose tea powder

Sell assembled products

In many cases, merchants keep different components in stock that make up a single working product. The same components can be used to make many different products they are selling. And they assemble and ship the products after making a sale. This is again a perfect use case that is solved by Sumtracker.

Manage purchase orders

Managing purchase orders is an essential part of inventory management software. Merchants need all options of making POs quickly, tracking them properly, and receiving the products. With Sumtracker, we have provided an easy way to make POs, track their status, receive product partially, track incoming stock, and close the POs once done.

Manage inventory through low stock alert threshold

Low stock alerts are another essential feature that helps merchants stay aware of what needs to be ordered next. Sumtracker offers multi-location alerts for products going below the threshold at any of the locations. Close at Quantity feature to stock out high-selling products at the right time When you are selling the same product on multiple portals, offline, through multiple listings, or as part of multiple bundles, it becomes important to not let any gaps remain open for overselling. With close at quantity, you can define when the product reaches a certain quantity to be marked as stock out.

Sell customised products

Sell customised products while managing the inventory for the base products only. Useful for print-on-demand businesses. Let's say you sell several products that are all made from the same base product. You customise a part of the base product to make the customised product that a customer ordered.You could be selling

  • Print on demand t-shirts, hats or mugs
  • Custom engraved jewellery
  • Custom-engraved or printed furnishing items

You want to manage the inventory such that when 1 of the products sells, the inventory of all the products made from the same base product goes down. It's possible to manage this use case with Sumtracker. This is especially being used by many print-on-demand stores.

Track booked stock

Booked stock is the total quantity of products that have been ordered by customers but not shipped to them yet. Knowing the booked quantity can be great for those who backorder products, make or print products after getting the order, and take pre-orders of an item. Sumtracker makes it easy to get the booked quantity for all products. So you can take the next action of ordering or manufacturing it.

Updating inventory via API

Sumtracker API is a powerful tool to control your inventory. Let's say you want to update the inventory of all stores on one go based on a certain external action. The external action could be weekly stock take, offline sales, or stock adjustments. Sumtracker API can be integrated to be called every time an inventory update occurs. And Sumtracker will eventually update all your online stores.This can be a great way to automate updating all kinds of inventory movements and get the change done right from the source.

Using stock transfers to transfer stock between locations

If you are looking to manage multiple warehouses, Sumtracker will help you in enabling seamless sock transfer between multiple locations so that your inventory will be balanced based on the demand. Whether moving stock between stores or warehouses, you can track these transfers in real-time, preventing discrepancies and ensuring efficient fulfillment.

Keeping the offline store’s inventory in sync with online store’s inventory

Sumtracker helps in syncing online and offline inventory in sync by using Shopify POS or updating offline orders through API to help you avoid any stock inconsistencies. Whether you have a retail outlet alongside your e-commerce store, Sumtracker ensures that inventory updates automatically when an item is sold, returned, or restocked.

Purchasing products in packs while maintaining stock for individual pieces

Very often, merchants buy products in bulk or in packs but sell them individually. Sumtracker helps in keeping track of pack purchases while also maintaining stock for individual items, ensuring accurate inventory updates.

Using purchase price lists

It may be difficult to manage supplier pricing, but Sumtracker makes it easy by enabling companies to store and maintain purchase price lists. This is particularly helpful to firms with various suppliers to ensure proper cost calculations are updated for profitability analysis.

Searching products by supplier to order it from

Instead of manually going through product catalogs, Sumtracker allows you to search for products by supplier, making it easier to place bulk restocking orders. This feature streamlines procurement by showing available stock levels, pricing, and past order history.

Knowing the component sales easily

For companies that sell bundles or assembled units, Sumtracker tracks the sales of unit components by kit or multi-piece order. This is best for industries such as electronics, furniture, and automobiles, where components are sold individually and in a bundle item.

Using Inventory log and Inventory snapshot reports

Need to review past stock adjustments? Sumtracker's Snapshot Reports and Inventory Log provide convenient access to historical stock movement, sales, transfers, and adjustments. These reports help companies catch errors, track stock loss, and reduce restocking errors.

Creating extra warehouse location to keep track of stock

Sumtracker allows businesses to set up virtual warehouse locations to keep track of stock that is not immediately available for sale. For example, you can track reserved stock, damaged items, or quarantine stock separately to maintain inventory accuracy without affecting sales channels.

Creating separate location for Etsy, eBay or Amazon and only updating stock from that location

If you sell on multiple marketplaces, Sumtracker enables location-specific stock updates. You can designate separate warehouses for Etsy, eBay, or Amazon, ensuring that stock updates only reflect sales from those platforms, avoiding overselling or misallocation.

Create components in Sumtracker without listing them online

For businesses making assembled or manufactured goods, Sumtracker allows you to make and account for internal components without selling them on your online marketplace. This is convenient for businesses making goods in-house and needing raw material management separate from finished goods.

Let's Begin

Ready to Simplify Your Inventory Management?

Join hundreds of e-commerce merchants who rely on Sumtracker to save time, eliminate errors, and grow their business.