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Inventory ties up cash. Too much stock means money sitting on shelves; too little means lost sales and unhappy customers. Inaccurate records make both problems worse, because decisions are based on numbers that do not match reality.
Custom inventory software brings stock data together across locations and channels, captures movements as they happen with barcode scanning and gives clear signals for reordering — tailored to how your products, units and locations actually work.
Problems we solve
- Stock levels that differ between the website, warehouse and accounting
- Overselling online items that are out of stock
- Manual stock counts that disrupt operations
- No clear reorder points, leading to stockouts and overstock
- Products with variants, batches or serial numbers tracked by hand
What’s included
Multi-location stock
Warehouses, stores, vans and bins with transfers between them.
Barcode & mobile scanning
Receiving, picking, counting and transfers on handheld devices.
Reorder automation
Reorder points, suggested purchase orders and supplier lead times.
Batch, lot & serial tracking
Traceability and expiry dates where required.
Channel sync
Stock synced with Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon and POS.
Valuation & reports
Stock value, turnover, slow movers and dead stock.
Cycle counting instead of shutdowns
Annual stock-takes often mean closing for a day and still ending up with errors. Cycle counting spreads the work: small sets of items are counted every day, prioritised by value and movement. Discrepancies are investigated while they are fresh, and accuracy improves continuously without stopping operations.
Inventory software or ERP?
If you need inventory together with purchasing, manufacturing and accounting, an ERP such as Odoo may be the better fit. If inventory is the main problem and your accounting is handled elsewhere, a focused inventory system is faster to implement and easier to use. We recommend honestly based on your needs.
Choosing a costing and stock method
| Method | Typical use |
|---|---|
| FIFO (first in, first out) | Most product businesses; matches physical flow |
| FEFO (first expired, first out) | Food, pharma and anything with expiry dates |
| Weighted average cost | Commodities and interchangeable items |
| Specific identification | High-value serialised items |
The method affects reported margins and tax, so we confirm it with your accountant before building and make sure stock valuation reconciles with your ledger.
Warehouse features that save the most time
- Barcode or QR scanning for receiving, picking, packing and counting
- Bin and location tracking with suggested put-away
- Batch, lot and serial number tracking with full traceability
- Pick lists optimised by route through the warehouse
- Cycle counting instead of annual shutdown stock-takes
- Reorder points and suggested purchase orders based on lead times and demand
Keeping stock accurate across channels
Selling on a website, marketplaces and in store from the same stock pool causes overselling if levels are not synchronised. We treat the inventory system as the single source of truth, publish available-to-sell quantities to every channel and reserve stock at the moment an order is placed. Safety buffers per channel reduce risk during busy periods.
Forecasting and purchasing
Static reorder points work for stable products, but seasonal and promotional demand needs more. Inventory systems can calculate suggested order quantities from sales history, supplier lead times, minimum order quantities and planned promotions. Purchasers review and adjust suggestions rather than building orders from scratch. Reports on slow-moving and dead stock show where cash is tied up, and ABC analysis focuses counting and attention on the items that matter most to revenue.
Purchase orders can then flow to suppliers through a vendor portal or EDI.
Questions to answer before you start
Inventory projects succeed when the operation is understood in detail first:
- How many warehouses, stores and sales channels draw on the same stock?
- Which items need batch, serial or expiry tracking?
- How are receiving, picking and counting done today?
- Which system owns product data and costs?
Barcode and scanning workflows
Scanning is where inventory accuracy is won or lost. Every movement — receiving, put-away, picking, transfers and counts — should be confirmed by a scan rather than typed. We design scanning flows that are quick enough for warehouse staff to follow consistently.
| Workflow | Scan steps | Common errors prevented |
|---|---|---|
| Receiving | Scan purchase order, then each item or carton | Short deliveries and wrong items accepted |
| Put-away | Scan item, then bin location | Stock placed in the wrong location |
| Picking | Scan bin, then item, quantity confirmed | Wrong item or quantity shipped |
| Transfers | Scan item, origin and destination | Stock lost between sites |
| Counting | Scan location, count items | Untracked shrinkage |
Multi-location and multi-channel stock
Businesses selling through several channels from several locations need a single view of available stock. Available-to-sell is rarely the same as on-hand: it subtracts allocated orders, safety stock and items in quarantine, and it may differ by channel.
- Allocation rules decide which location fulfils each order.
- Channel buffers hold back stock to avoid overselling on marketplaces.
- Transfer suggestions rebalance stock between sites based on demand.
- Reservations hold stock for quotes and B2B orders before they are confirmed.
Implementation walkthrough
-
Audit current processes1–2 weeks
Walk the warehouse, map stock movements and review data quality.
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Clean master data1–3 weeks
Standardise SKUs, units of measure, variants and locations.
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Build and integrate6–12 weeks
Core stock engine, scanning apps and integrations with store, accounting and shipping tools.
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Opening count and go-live1 week
Full count to set accurate opening balances, then switch over.
Timelines are typical; data clean-up is often the longest part.
Inventory metrics to track
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Inventory accuracy | How closely system stock matches physical stock |
| Stock turnover | How quickly inventory sells |
| Days of supply | How long current stock will last at current demand |
| Fill rate | Share of orders shipped complete |
| Dead stock | Items with no movement over a chosen period |
Common pitfalls
- Going live without a full opening count
- Allowing manual stock adjustments without reasons and approvals
- Treating units of measure inconsistently (each vs case vs pallet)
- Syncing stock to sales channels too infrequently
- Skipping training for temporary and seasonal staff
See also ERP integration and B2B e-commerce.
Lot, serial and expiry tracking
Some products need to be tracked individually rather than just counted. Food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals have lot numbers and expiry dates; electronics and equipment have serial numbers that matter for warranties and returns.
- Lot tracking records which batch each customer received, making recalls targeted rather than total.
- Expiry management enforces first-expired-first-out picking and flags stock nearing expiry.
- Serial tracking links each unit to its purchase, sale, warranty and repair history.
- Quarantine status holds stock awaiting inspection so it cannot be sold.
Tracking adds scanning steps, so we apply it only to the products that need it and keep simpler flows for the rest.
Returns and adjustments
Returns are where stock records often drift. A clear returns flow inspects each item, records its condition and decides whether it goes back to sellable stock, refurbishment, the supplier or write-off. Every adjustment carries a reason code and, above a set value, an approval — which turns shrinkage from a mystery into a report you can act on.
Replenishment rules
Reorder points work best when they reflect real lead times and demand. We calculate suggested reorder points and quantities from sales history and supplier lead times, show buyers why each suggestion was made and let them override it — keeping people in control while removing the guesswork that leads to stock-outs or overstock.
Related services
Part of business applications. Compare with ERP development and Odoo; see also POS software.
This page is part of Business Application Development — see the full overview for related services, approach and pricing.