Inventory Forecasting is the process of predicting how much inventory you need to buy based on the amount of inventory you believe you will sell in the future.

Perhaps the most important element of running a successful eCommerce business is having inventory to sell; if you don't accurately forecast the right amount of inventory to need, you may buy too little or too much. Both scenarios can have negative consequences for your eCommerce business. (See What is Inventory Forecasting and Why Does it Matter?)

Inventory Forecast Modeling and Demand Planning

We offer a custom approach to supporting your inventory forecasting process. Our clients often have a unique configuration when selling, fulfilling, and purchasing products. They may be dealing with some form of 3PL, In-house fulfillment, FBA, FBM, Amazon sales, Shopify sales, eBay sales, manual inventory ordering, PO software, etcetera. Due to these variations, out of the box inventory forecasting solutions are not always viable. Inventory Forecasting requires flexible tools to capture the raw data that matters and knowledge in the form of consulting to assess the data and make better decisions.

Inventory Forecasting Dashboard

The core element of our custom inventory forecasting consulting services is the Inventory Dashboard, built in Google Sheets. This tool pulls in various sets of your raw data (sales volume, inventory levels, ordering, etcetera) and aligns them by product and month on a unit sum basis with various forecasting scenarios to establish historical demand and required reorder levels. Using data assembled and maintained accurately enables you to make well-informed inventory forecasting decisions and helps you avoid spending too much on inventory (tying up precious cash) or too little (missing sales opportunities).

Using current and historical sales velocity data assists you in setting your monthly forecast. You will better determine how many units you should buy and when. You will also have the data to identify SKUs with too much quantity in stock, which can help inform sales and marketing plans.

Hands-on Inventory Forecasting Advice

Having owned and operated a high-volume eCommerce company for nearly 20 years and having consulted with many other eCommerce businesses, we understand the challenges involved in inventory forecasting. We’ve been in your shoes and used tools like this in our businesses.

In addition to building the custom inventory forecasting tool for you, we provide support and feedback regarding your specific inventory forecasting model and help you gain the business intelligence you need to make better data-driven inventory forecasting and procurement decisions. Such as when and how much inventory should you order? Should you do a fire sale to reduce inventory and generate cash? What products should you include in promotions and marketing? What types of new products should you source?

Learn How We Can Help You with Inventory Forecasting

Use the form below to tell us about your current inventory forecasting process and what your challenges may be and where you want to do better. We’ll review your information and if we’re a good fit, we will set up a free no-obligation call.

Due to the custom nature of each inventory forecasting tool and the source of your raw data, the price varies. Costs typically involve the audit/building project, monthly maintenance, and ongoing work as needed.

Overview of the Opposite of Work Inventory Forecasting Consulting Services Process:

AUDIT - establish the current status of the inventory forecasting process

BUILD - develop the inventory forecasting dashboard using your specific data

MAINTENANCE - routinely update and maintain the data in the inventory forecasting dashboard

ONGOING - inventory forecasting and procurement decision making support, dashboard modifications as your needs grow and change