Inventory management
Definition
Inventory management is tracking and controlling product stock: how much is available, where, and when reordering is needed. In B2B e-commerce, the stock shown in the web shop needs to match the actual stock in the warehouse or ERP.
What the customer sees has to match what's on the shelf
A customer who orders a product online expecting it to be in stock, only to find out it's sold out, loses trust. Real-time inventory synchronization between ERP and web shop prevents that.
Stock across multiple locations
Companies with multiple warehouses or branches need to make stock visible per location, so the system can automatically determine which warehouse fulfills an order.
Practical example
A manufacturer connects its web shop directly to the ERP. As soon as a product sells, stock drops in real time, including on the product page other customers see.
Related terms
Warehouse Management System (WMS) · Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) · Order-to-cash
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