5 Common Inventory Challenges Businesses Face in E-Commerce
Expanding your e-commerce business in Southeast Asia presents great opportunities but also unique challenges. From managing inventory across multiple channels to localising your approach for diverse markets, success requires the right strategies and tools. In this guide, we’ll explore common inventory challenges businesses face and how an effective e-commerce system can streamline operations. We’ll also highlight key strategies like mobile-first design, localised offerings, and omni-channel management to help you maximize growth in Southeast Asia’s dynamic market.
Manually Managing Multiple Warehouses and Channels
In the early stages of your business, a single website and warehouse might be enough to keep track of your inventory. Simple tools like pen-and-paper spreadsheets may help you monitor stock levels and sales.
But as your products gain popularity and demand grows, you’ll likely need additional warehouses and new sales channels. At this point, relying on spreadsheets becomes impractical, and manual inventory management becomes overwhelming, leading to confusion and a lack of clarity.
This results in disrupted supply chains, declining sales, and a drop in customer satisfaction. To stay ahead, it’s vital to automate your inventory tracking as you scale. e-Commerce order management systems, like Ordazzle, centralize your inventory and warehouse data into one source of truth, helping you avoid understocking or overstocking and ensuring your supply chain stays in balance.
2. Identifying and Tracking Obsolete Products
While some products may fly off the shelves, others might languish, tucked away in storage. These less popular items might eventually become obsolete or forgotten. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re no longer useful.
Without proper tracking, your inventory could end up overstocked with obsolete items while newer products are ordered unnecessarily, leading to wasted resources.
Using advanced stock control systems and e-Commerce inventory management software like Ordazzle, you can identify and manage dead stock more effectively. Techniques such as FIFO (First In, First Out) or FEFO (First Expired, First Out) ensure that older stock is used before new stock, preventing unwanted accumulation and ensuring products are used at the right time.
3. Stocktake Discrepancies
Stocktake discrepancies often occur when goods are misplaced, mislabeled, or incorrectly packed within your warehouse. This results in errors in product accounting, shipment issues, and frustrated customers.
To avoid this, businesses need a reliable, automated inventory control system. Ordazzle’s e-Commerce order management system allows you to track products using barcodes, streamline the accounting and selection process, and receive real-time updates on product availability. This system makes it easier for your staff to locate and select goods, reducing errors and optimizing warehouse efficiency.
4. Lack of Real-Time Visibility
As your business grows, managing your inventory with spreadsheets becomes increasingly difficult. With more products and more sales channels, there’s a higher level of risk, including the potential for delayed orders, customer complaints, and damaged reputation.
To stay competitive, you need real-time visibility of your inventory, especially when it comes to tracking orders, ensuring on-time deliveries, and managing returns. Not having this visibility can lead to costly delays and mismatched inventory.
With Ordazzle’s e-Commerce order management system, you can access real-time tracking of all your orders, helping your team spot issues or delays instantly. This minimizes supply chain disruptions and keeps customers satisfied.
5. Slow Order Picking
Slow or inefficient order picking can cause delays in shipments, missed sales opportunities, and unhappy customers. Optimizing your order-picking processes is critical to improving delivery times and overall operational efficiency.
Ordazzle’s e-Commerce order management system offers solutions like batch-picking and zone-picking, significantly speeding up the picking process. By automating and streamlining order management tasks, you can further improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Tips to Maximise Your e-Commerce Business in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is a rapidly growing market, but if you haven’t operated there before, it can feel like stepping into uncharted waters. To navigate this exciting but unfamiliar territory and expand your e-commerce business successfully, here’s how to make the most of it:
Go Mobile-First
In Southeast Asia, over 70% of online traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website or app isn’t optimised for mobile, you risk frustrating potential customers and losing valuable sales opportunities. Focus on creating a mobile-friendly experience with responsive design, fast page-loading speeds, and easy navigation. Additionally, consider integrating mobile-specific payment options like digital wallets, which are especially popular in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines.
Localise Your Offerings
Each Southeast Asian country has its own distinct culture, languages, and shopping habits. A one-size-fits-all marketing approach may not resonate with local consumers. Translate product descriptions and offer transactions in local currencies to build trust and show that you understand the region’s needs. Take advantage of local holidays and shopping festivals (e.g., 9.9, 11.11) by running tailored promotions that speak to regional preferences.
Build Trust Through Social Proof
Southeast Asian consumers highly value peer recommendations and reviews. Encourage your customers to leave honest feedback on your products via your website or social media platforms. Partnering with local influencers is also an effective way to connect with audiences in a more authentic way, helping you grow your brand’s credibility and reach.
Adopt Omni-Channel Management
Tech-savvy Southeast Asian shoppers are highly engaged across multiple platforms, from online marketplaces to social commerce and even physical stores. A successful e-commerce business in the region requires robust omni channel management to meet your customers wherever they choose to shop—whether that’s on platforms like Lazada, Shopee, Instagram, or even in-person at a brick-and-mortar location. An agile approach to omni-channel management ensures you remain accessible and responsive to your diverse audience across multiple touchpoints.
Conclusion:
Southeast Asia presents a dynamic and rapidly growing market, but tapping into it successfully requires understanding the unique needs and preferences of local consumers. Prioritising mobile-first strategies, localising your offerings, and adopting omni-channel management are key steps to thriving in the region. By offering a seamless experience across different platforms and building trust through social proof, your e commerce system can connect authentically with Southeast Asian customers and unlock new opportunities for growth and success.
