Creating an inventory of goods on the Internet offers an opportunity to reach an expanded customer base or increase your business's accessibility to existing business partners. Place your inventory online and connect it with a payment processing platform for an additional sales channel, or simply provide an online catalog for customer review. Customers will find your products online through search engine queries or by directly accessing your website. Enhance the success of your Internet-based inventory project by promoting your new product review options through email, in-store signs and in offline advertising venues.
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Establish your online business objective and needs. Placing your inventory online often increases your business requirements for phone and e-mail customer service, shipped goods and technical support for online purchases. Product images help consumers make purchasing decisions, so establish the number of images you want for each inventory listing and the optimal photo dimensions for your inventory layout. Decide whether you want customer responses or ratings for products. Determine whether you will need to integrate bar codes, web-based inventory entry or a coordinating system for ordering, processing and shipping.
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Select a technological inventory solution. Inventory management systems are often included as part of a web store software suite. Stand-alone inventory systems are also available that integrate your online and offline inventory management needs. Contact your website developer or hosting company to inquire about supported inventory solutions, options and recommendations. Select the type of solution that meets your near-term online requirements and allows for anticipated growth.
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Identify and catalog products for your online inventory. Take pictures, write descriptions and input all details regarding your products into your online inventory system. Be sure your online inventory relates to any offline management coding and product numbers to ensure your inventory counts remain accurate.
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Publish your inventory online. Ensure the back-end functionality between your inventory management system and Internet publishing is active. Entering photos, descriptions and information for each product into your system should automatically publish on your business website. Place a tab or link on your business website to your sales platform or online inventory.
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Test your online inventory system. Browse through all products, process an order and check links to ensure functionality. Make any necessary corrections. Have another employee review items for accuracy, consistency and clarity.
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Update your inventory. As you discontinue or add new products to your inventory, adjust the products in your online management system. If your inventory management system is not automatically linked to order processing, you will need to manually update your online inventory based on purchases and returns.
