E-commerce inventory management guide

Some of the common online inventory management methods include:

"Just in time" means ordering raw materials only when orders are received
First in, first out (FIFO) consists of selling the oldest stock first
Third-party logistics is entrusting inventory management to a specialist partner

Why is inventory management important?

Inventory management allows you to:

Reduce storage costs by avoiding excess inventory
Avoid tying up money in useless inventory
Optimise sales by avoiding stock shortages

Inventory management requires good organisation. Therefore, it may be wise to turn to a specialist partner like Amazon.

FBA and inventory management with Amazon

To benefit from Fulfilment by Amazon, you need to be a seller on Amazon.fr. You send your products to an Amazon fulfilment centre, and Amazon will pick, pack and dispatch your orders, and provide customer service, including inventory management. Fulfilment by Amazon allows you to take advantage of Prime benefits, such as free two-day delivery, and allows you to sell across Europe.

You will have access to your inventory page, where you can add your products, check your inventory and track your orders. Key performance indicators (KPIs) allow you to visualise the status of your inventory at a glance.

Important terms for inventory management

Here are the main criteria to follow for efficient management of your FBA inventory:

Take action regarding stranded stock: Amazon notifies you of the problem and the action required
Management of excess inventory: by removing products
Excess inventory percentage: calculated from the number of excess products and the total storage cost
Sell-through rate: determined by the quantity of items sold over 90 days
Restock Tool: the site indicates which items to restock
Inventory Performance Index: calculated based on sales and available stock