Get Full Visibility Into All Your Stock Movements – Here’s How

At long last, know what’s happening with your in-transit inventory at any given moment – plus when that stock is scheduled to arrive.

Picture this: It’s June 1878, a decade before the first silent film. And photographer Eadweard Muybridge just shocked the world by capturing motion.

In a 12-frame photo series, Eadweard recorded every stage of a horse’s gallop – a movement that, until that point, folks had only guessed at.

We bring this up because, historically, that’s how ecommerce retailers tracked their inventory movements, too: With a lot of guesswork.

But not anymore.

Introducing a near-perfect snapshot of your inventory movements – to, from, and between locations.

Here are the highlights:

Easily hit your vendor’s MOQs with split shipments

One purchase order for every shipment? Great in theory; expensive in practice. That’s because this strategy often only works if you:

1. Push off placing your next purchase order until a single inventory location meets your vendor’s minimum order quantity (increasing your stockout risk).
2. Meet that MOQ and avoid a stockout by restocking at the perfect time – but do so at the expense of overstocking that location.

That’s where split shipments come in. With it, you can add multiple shipments to a single PO.

For instance, you might place a purchase order that covers several warehouses’ restock needs (this makes it easier to hit your vendor’s MOQ without overstocking).

Even better, you can send that inventory directly to its final storage location. No need to temporarily pass it through somewhere else.

Alternatively, you might order enough inventory to unlock a volume discount. But you negotiate vendor terms where that stock arrives in smaller shipments over several months. That way, you lock in a better supplier price and keep your holding costs down.

Always know the ETA on incoming shipments

Did you read about split shipments and think: “Great, more to manage”?

Don’t worry – we’ve also made tracking your shipments a whole lot easier! (Yes, even if you’re now managing 2x, 5x, or 10x as many.)

Inside Cogsy’s purchase order feature, see at-a-glance when incoming shipments are scheduled to arrive.

Plus, link each shipment to its unique tracking URL to get constant eyes on its movements.

But why bother? Doing this keeps your system of record (AKA, Cogsy) up-to-date. Thus, ensuring your demand forecasts and restock recommendations are always spot-on.

Never lose sight of internal transfers

But what happens if the unpredictable happens (like demand dramatically increases) and you don’t have time (or maybe it just doesn’t make sense) to place your next PO?

Or maybe you use Amazon and need to restock an FBA fulfillment center without exceeding your restock limits.

Cogsy’s got you covered in these situations too!

With transfers, get guidance on how to maintain optimal inventory levels at all your locations – using the stock you’ve already got.

How exactly? Simply compare your current inventory levels and stock targets at multiple locations. That way, you can make data-backed decisions regarding what inventory to transfer where.

(Coming soon: Personalized recommendations on what stock to transfer where.)

Plus, similar to incoming shipments, you can link these transfers to their corresponding tracking URLs. Again, giving you a clear timeline of when that inventory will arrive at your warehouse (and visibility into where it’s at).

These features are available to all Cogsy merchants. Log in now to track your inventory movements.

If you have any questions, drop us a line at help@cogsy.com – we’re happy to help.

Don’t use Cogsy yet? Start your 14-day free trial.