Did you know that 43% of businesses either don't track inventory or use manual methods?
That's right. Nearly half of all businesses are practically winging it when it comes to managing their stock. And for WooCommerce store owners, this can mean lost sales, overselling, and countless hours spent updating spreadsheets … manually.
Managing inventory shouldn't make you feel like you are doing your own Cirque du Soleil act (get it? Because you're juggling everything from managing stock levels, order fulfillment, warehouse management, and so on.)
This is where good inventory management comes into play. With the right tools and systems in place, you can turn inventory chaos into a well-oiled machine that practically runs itself.
In this guide, we'll show you exactly how to optimize your WooCommerce inventory management using Zenventory, from basic setup to advanced features that will save you time and money.
Ready? Let's dive right in!
Running a WooCommerce store brings its own set of inventory problems that can affect how well your business does. Let's check out these problems to understand why the usual way of handling WooCommerce inventory might fall short for growing businesses.
Inventory management can be … challenging. Here are some critical inventory challenges that businesses might encounter:
While WooCommerce does provide basic inventory features to its users, its native features have some notable limitations. Let's take a look at some of those limitations.
WooCommerce cannot track raw materials or components needed for manufacturing. This forces businesses to rely on separate systems or spreadsheets.
One of the most significant limitations of WooCommerce is its inability to track inventory across different locations. So, if you have your stock in more than one place, you're going to have to get creative to track everything.
WooCommerce's stock management system only supports whole numbers, making it difficult for businesses to sell products by weight or in fractional units.
The platform requires manual updates when new stock arrives. Therefore, making the receiving process more time-consuming and error-prone because it has to be done manually.
WooCommerce's real-time syncing with other/external platforms or marketplaces also has limited capabilities.
When stores don't manage their stock well, they often lose money because they miss sales opportunities and give customers a bad experience. Take stock visibility problems as an example. These can cause issues with syncing across channels in real-time, which can lead to selling too much or not having enough in stock. This also has an impact on how happy customers are because not having items in stock can cause orders to be late or canceled. Nobody wants that to happen.
For stores with lots of items, just using WooCommerce's built-in stock features can slow down operations. This happens because you need to know the exact stock levels to keep things running.
Luckily, there is an all-in-one operations platform that makes backorders your competition's problem, not yours …
Setting up Zenventory with your WooCommerce store is your first step toward inventory management zen.
Let's walk through the essential steps to get your integration up and running smoothly.
Before we cover the integration process, let's take a moment to make sure your WooCommerce store meets the following requirements:
All good? Okay, let’s look at how to connect the two platforms.
Follow these steps to establish the connection between WooCommerce and Zenventory:
Pro Tip: Before going live, test the integration with a few sample products to check that stock levels sync correctly and order information flows smoothly between systems.
Interested in learning more about the pre-requisites and getting started with the WooCommerce + Zenventory integration? Check out our knowledge base article – Connecting WooCommerce to Zenventory.
Proper inventory sync configuration is needed if you want to achieve effective WooCommerce inventory management. So, let's take a look at the settings that will keep your stock levels accurate – across all sales channels.
(Spoiler: it's easy!)
Zenventory makes it easy-peasy when setting up stock synchronization. All you'll need to is:
Zenventory supports various WooCommerce product types with specific mappings. This includes:
To maintain precise inventory levels, Zenventory has a 15-minute update interval for all actions between platforms.
These actions include:
The system also provides real-time tracking and automated alerts to help you get ahead of inventory changes. So, when stock reaches predetermined levels, you'll receive notifications for replenishment. That way, you'll never miss a sales opportunity. Nifty, right?
For enhanced accuracy, you can enable the "Synchronize Items" option, which will allow Zenventory to update WooCommerce item details based on changes made in the system.
However, if you prefer to maintain separate item management, you can easily turn off this feature while still maintaining stock level synchronization.
Pro tip: Start with a test run and use a small product selection to make sure the sync settings are what you are looking for before you roll it out to your entire inventory.
To maintain efficient operations, the ability to streamline your order management can be a huge help. Luckily, Zenventory's integration capabilities make it possible to automate complex processes and reduce manual intervention in your WooCommerce store management.
Read on to learn a little more about it.
Zenventory automatically syncs order statuses with WooCommerce through a robust mapping system. The platform pulls new orders from WooCommerce that are in the "Processing" status.
How it works: Zenventory's system pushes status updates back to WooCommerce when orders are completed, shipped, or canceled, ensuring customers always have accurate order information.
Zenventory streamlines fulfillment through a four-step automated process:
Zenventory supports group-based picking for improved efficiency, allowing staff to customize batches based on location or type for later order consolidation. To enhance accuracy, you can also enable scan verification using Zenventory's companion app or compatible rugged scanning devices.
Return management in Zenventory is a two-step process.
The platform allows you to:
To create an RMA request in Zenventory, you will follow the following steps:
When it comes to processing returns, Zenventory enables efficient returns processing with features to help you record item conditions and automate inventory updates. You can use Zenventory to log damage, reconcile returns that can't be restocked, and maintain accurate inventory counts throughout the process.
Zenventory was created to grow with you. Let's take a look at Zenventory's powerful capabilities that can help scale your business effectively.
Built from the ground up for distributed warehouse networks, Zenventory excels at managing inventory across multiple locations. The platform provides:
Zenventory's flexibility ensures optimal inventory distribution while maintaining efficient fulfillment operations.
Zenventory's lot tracking capabilities provide comprehensive traceability from receipt to delivery.
The platform supports:
Set up Zenventory your way. Zenventory's automation capabilities allow you to create rules that streamline the way you do business. Create automation rules based on factors like:
Pro tip #1: When setting up automation rules in Zenventory, start with the most critical processes first and gradually expand as you become comfortable with the system's capabilities.
Zenventory also allows you to implement custom automation rules that can:
Pro tip #2: When it comes to enhanced control, you can implement "Stop processing rules" actions, which will halt further rule execution when specific conditions are met. This prevents unwanted rule cascades and ensures precise control over your automation workflow.
The system also supports tracking critical item attributes like serial numbers, expiration dates, and custom fields for electronics like IMEI and MAC addresses. This tracking capability makes sure you have complete visibility and control over your inventory, no matter the complex or special handling requirements.
Having your inventory game on point can make or break your WooCommerce store's success. Luckily, Zenventory turns tricky inventory problems into easy-peasy tasks.
Also, with stock synchronization across multiple warehouses, precise lot tracking, and customizable automation rules, Zenventory is a complete solution for growing WooCommerce businesses.
See the Zenventory difference yourself. Click here to book a product tour today!