Disclosure: Some tool links are affiliate links. If you sign up, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend tools we'd use ourselves.
Inventory & Fulfillment
Why This Matters
A stockout on your best seller during a promotional push doesn't just lose that sale — it loses the ad spend that drove the click, the customer's trust, and their future lifetime value. Overselling is worse: you charge someone's card, then email them to say you can't deliver. That earns chargebacks and one-star reviews.
Proper inventory management means you always know exactly what you have, when to reorder, and how fast you can ship. With reorder points set for every product, you catch low-stock situations 2-3 weeks before they become emergencies. Multi-channel sync prevents the classic nightmare of selling your last unit on Amazon and your store simultaneously.
You don't need to become a logistics expert. You need a system — even a simple spreadsheet — that tells you the truth about your stock levels every day. The goal is to make inventory invisible to your customers: always available, always shipped fast.
What You'll Do
Set up an inventory tracking system and decide on your fulfillment strategy: self-fulfillment, third-party logistics (3PL), or a hybrid.
How To Do It
Spreadsheet vs. Software: When to Upgrade From Manual Tracking
This setup takes about 45 minutes. Getting inventory management right early saves you from costly stockouts and overselling later.
1. Start with a spreadsheet (if you have under 50 SKUs)
For a small catalog, a simple Google Sheet works fine. Create columns for: Product Name, SKU, Current Stock, Reorder Point, Supplier Lead Time, Cost Per Unit, and Last Restock Date. Update it every time you receive inventory or ship an order. This is free, simple, and works until it doesn't.
2. Know when to upgrade to software
- You are selling on more than one channel (your store + Amazon, for example) and stock levels don't sync
- You are shipping more than 10 orders per day and manual updates take too long
- You have had stockouts or oversells because the spreadsheet was out of date
- You are managing more than 50 SKUs with variants
You need dedicated inventory software when any of these become true:
At that point, your platform's built-in inventory (Shopify, WooCommerce) handles the basics. For advanced needs (multi-warehouse, automated reordering, demand forecasting), tools like Cin7 are worth the investment.
3. Set reorder points for every product (15 min)
For each product, calculate: Average daily sales x Supplier lead time (in days) + Safety stock (usually 7 days of extra inventory). Example: You sell 5 units/day, your supplier takes 14 days to deliver. Reorder point = 5 x 14 + 35 = 105 units. When stock hits 105, place your reorder.
4. Choose your fulfillment model (10 min)
- Self-fulfillment: You pack and ship from home or a rented space. Best when under 20 orders/day. Lowest cost, most control, most time-intensive.
- 3PL (Third-Party Logistics): Send inventory to a fulfillment center like ShipBob. They store, pick, pack, and ship. Best when you hit 20-50+ orders/day or want to offer 2-day shipping. Typical cost: $3-5 per order plus storage fees.
- Hybrid: Self-fulfill your best sellers, use 3PL for long-tail products. Common as stores scale.
5. Do a weekly inventory count (ongoing)
Set a weekly 15-minute ritual: count your actual stock and compare it to your system. Discrepancies happen due to damage, theft, miscounts, and returns. Catching them weekly prevents surprises.
Deliverables
- An inventory tracking system set up (spreadsheet for small catalogs, software for 50+ SKUs)
- Reorder points calculated and documented for every product
- A fulfillment strategy chosen and documented (self-fulfillment, 3PL, or hybrid)
Recommended Tools
ShipBob
Third-party fulfillment for e-commerce. Send them your inventory, they handle everything from storage to shipping.
Custom pricing
Try ShipBobCin7
Connected inventory management across warehouses, stores, and online channels. Great for growing businesses.
From $349/mo
Try Cin7Deliverr
Fast, affordable fulfillment with 2-day delivery badges on marketplaces. Acquired by Shopify.
Pay per fulfillment
Try DeliverrPro Tips
- 1Calculate reorder points with this formula: (average daily sales x supplier lead time in days) + 7 days of safety stock. If you sell 5/day and your supplier takes 14 days, reorder at 105 units. Set an alert in your spreadsheet or inventory tool so you never do this math in a panic.
- 2Self-fulfill until you hit 20 orders/day — packing orders yourself teaches you which products get damaged, which packaging works, and what customers complain about. That knowledge is invaluable when you brief a 3PL like ShipBob later.
- 3Do a 15-minute physical count every Sunday. Compare actual stock to your system numbers. A 5% variance is normal from damage and miscounts — anything above that signals a process problem you need to fix before it compounds.