Managing inventory across multiple channels?

[votrechien]

How does everyone manage their inventory across multiple channels?

Most successful eretailers offer their products through multiple channels (eBay, Amazon, websites, etc. not to mention all the shopping/search engines).

For us, we use a simple excel file that contains the necessary values for each product according to each channel and then manually upload it to each respected channel. Ahhh! Not to mention, we need to add all the product information to our accouting software and other backend software.

Finding a simple typo can mean an hours worth of work. Go find it in eBay, revise it. Go find it in Amazon, revise it. Go find it on our websites, revise it. And the list goes on...

Is there a better way? The closest thing I've found is Channel Advisor but the thought of giving away 1-2% is scary.

[wingslevel]

votrechien, sounds like things are going well for you and its time for the next step. think of a spreadsheet as 2 dimensional - its good for maybe 100 items or 10 sales a day, but, when you grow it can't keep up efficiently. to go to the next level, you can choose to use a packaged system like mail order manager or you can set up a relational database in mysql and write an app, maybe in php. these are more powerful options than can easily handle multiple channels, 1,000's of items and orders.

[fabulousyarn]

HI VOtrechien - just reading your post from way back - check out ORDORO... I am working with them right now - it is a shipping system that ties into your cart, and to amazon, etc and maintains inventory at the point of shipment, including reorders ... we are very excited about it ...it may be just what the doctor ordered.

j