How QuickBooks POS Cloud Hosting Help Retailers Manage Inventory Better?

The retail sector just like banking and manufacturing industries is learning to capitalize on the transformative capabilities of cloud computing. Switching to digital technology is no longer an option – businesses need to embrace cloud solutions if they want to stay ahead of their competitors.

Retail businesses, in particular, need to not only meet customer expectations as and when they arise but also to pre-empt customer demands. For this reason, the retail industry is now leaning towards cloud solutions to enhance and improve business operations.

One of the major areas that retail businesses are revolutionizing using cloud solutions is – inventory management.

The Burden of Legacy Technology in The Retail Sector

Managing inventory can be a monumental task. This is one area that businesses need to optimize if they want to grow and expand their bottom line. However, the legacy systems and the huge maintenance costs involved in supporting in-house hardware infrastructure can make most areas of business operations such as inventory management cumbersome.

A major reason why retailers struggle with inventory management in the first place is the lack of proper technology platforms. Most retailers have been slow to upgrade or improve their retail point-of-sale technology platforms.

Markets and economies are moving at a fast pace which means retail businesses will be required to make decisions quickly. In addition, technology changes are presenting new challenges to retailers.

Constantly upgrading to new technology does not come cheap. While big chain-retailers can afford to incorporate these changes, small and medium-sized retailers find it extremely difficult to do so on their small budgets.

Without the right kind of technology solution to support inventory management operations, retail businesses often face inventory problems such as “overstocking or understocking” or worse “no stocks.” Not to mention, the added problem of capital getting tied up or having to worry about storage if you are overstocked. Striking the right balance for every product is almost next to impossible. The problem gets compounded for chain-retailers.

However, by switching to cloud computing, retailers can efficiently manage and optimize their inventory in multiple ways that benefit not only the business but also their most important asset – their customers.

Why Do Retail Businesses Need to Focus on Optimizing Inventory Management?

In today’s digital world – inventory management does not have to be complicated nor does it have to be time-consuming. A robust cloud point-of-sale (POS) system such as the QuickBooks POS Online can optimize all your inventory operations and make it more efficient.

You can use cloud-based POS solution to keep track of stock levels, ensure auto-replenishment, and because a cloud solution does not tie you down to a physical location, you can access the system and crucial data in real-time, from any location and using any device – all you need is an internet connection.

Here are five ways in which QuickBooks POS Hosting can transform inventory management for your business.

1. Add New Products with Ease

You no longer have to worry about storing huge amounts of inventory data into your point-of-sale register. With QuickBooks POS Hosting, you can go ahead and create multiple variants of different products and categorize them based on size or type or any other category for simplified and easy stock management.

This information can then be used to optimize stock control and improve purchasing decision and plan customer outreach programs such as promotions across multiple store locations in real-time.

2. Generate Key Reports & Insights

Access to key data on which product is selling fast or not moving, information on when your sales hit peak levels, analyzing data of products that are in high-demand are critical inputs to managing your inventory.

QuickBooks POS Hosting can provide you with quick access to different kinds of data sets in real-time allowing you to optimize your inventory management. Furthermore, because all your inventory and sales data is centralized, it can be automatically shared with any of your other store locations. This provides a business with the kind of flexibility and mobility required for quick decision-making.

3. Organize Your Register

Knowing the status and location of your products within your inventory chain is a critical aspect of inventory management.

82% of customers say they will stop shopping at a store if they have to wait for long.

Using QuickBooks POS Hosting you can organize your register efficiently for different products – you can customize your POS dashboard to list out popular products or fast moving products enabling faster checkout.

4. View Inventory Stock

Up-to-date information on the quantity of stock you have for each product saves you a lot of time and effort that would otherwise go into updating your records post a sale.

• QuickBooks POS Online will automatically sync and update stock quantities and provide you with up-to-date information in real-time regardless of your location.
• 83% of customers will stop shopping at a store if they find the store is out-of-stock. Detailed viewing of inventory also makes it easier for retail stores to move inventory between stores – if one of your stores is falling short of a particular product, you can quickly fill up the demand from a different location.
• If a customer demands a particular product and you are out of stock, if you know which products and sub-category types are available, you can make alternative suggestions to the customer in their moment of need.

5. Improve Customer Experience

To stay ahead of the competition, you need an intuitive and fully integrated POS solution that allows you to focus on delivering a stellar Customer Experience (CX).

Recommended Reading: Looking for Ways to Improve CX At Your Retail Store? 5 Trends To Consider

With QuickBooks POS Cloud Hosting capable of optimizing on tasks such as conducting real-time inventory tracking and tracking store orders and stock availability, your sales staff don’t have to worry about computing systems – they can just go ahead and focus all their attention on delivering great customer service experience.

To Wrap Up

Digitization and customer expectations are driving the need for greater mobility and flexibility within the retail industry. If a retail brand has multiple stores spanning a wide geographical area, the need for remote accessibility increases. This is where retailers who switch to a cloud POS system, such as QuickBooks POS Cloud stand to benefit the most.

Have you tried QuickBooks POS on the cloud to manage your retail inventory? Connect with our Solutions Consultants to know more.