INVENTORY MANAGEMENT | 9 minute read
There’s no better time to start or grow an eCommerce business, and WordPress makes it easy. Whether you’re an eCommerce pro or a newbie, you can turn any WordPress site into an online storefront thanks to the power of plugins.
WordPress powers 34.5% of all the websites on the Internet. It’s free, open-source and always scalable, allowing your website to grow and change along with your business. Although WordPress is synonymous with blogging, it also dominates other markets like eCommerce.
What makes WordPress so appealing is that it allows users of all skill levels to build fully-functional online stores. All made possible by plugins, or bits of software that can be uploaded to extend and expand the functionality of any WordPress site.
There are tons of WordPress plugins available as free downloads. Others are offered as premium plugins (or paid), which come with additional features, priority support, documentation, and regular updates.
The configuration of your WordPress eCommerce site will depend on your business goals, budget, technical skills and scope of your venture.
If you’re a merchant selling physical products, you will have to deal with inventory management.
The good news is that there are many great tools, particularly WordPress inventory plugins, that can help manage and control your stock efficiently.
“Like a shopping cart without the complexity of a cart,” as stated on the plugin’s site. With an easy-to-use, drag and drop interface and fully customizable labels, eCommerce sellers with a WordPress site can display inventory exactly how you want it.
The free version provides you with basic tools you need, whether you’re displaying 5 or 5,000 items. But there are no limits to the number of items you can store and manage.
While the free plugin continues to garner positive reviews, many have opted to upgrade to a $15/year license, which allows for one year of customer support and robust add-ons if desired.
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QuickBooks Commerce syncs with WooCommerce, an open-source eCommerce plugin for WordPress. This powerful integration allows you to manage your entire commerce and supply chain ecosystem from one central, integrated system – from production through to fulfillment.
Integration between WooCommerce and QuickBooks Commerce creates a myriad of opportunities and possibilities for WooCommerce-powered stores. In particular, business owners who also sell to retailers, manage different warehouses and online stores now have an easier, and integrated, inventory management solution. This enables them to focus on running their business, rather than worrying about inventory.
Effectively the WooCommerce integration allows QuickBooks Commerce to pull orders, along with customer data, down and keep the retail price and stock levels up to date. It also pushes fulfillment details back up-to your WooCommerce orders.
Transform your WordPress website into a thoroughbred eCommerce store for free.
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Billed as an advanced WooCommerce inventory management solution for serious shop owners. Beautifully carved into the WordPress interface, the system feels very familiar and user-friendly.
This free plugin provides you with full management of your online store stock, you can edit anything in your Woocommerce inventory, locations, SKUs, suppliers, weight, and prices quickly. The dashboard aims to become an “everyday screen” with a quick link to support, documentation and business stats.
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ATUM’s Extended Stock Central Control (Filters)For simple and variable products, WooCommerce Stock Manager’s for you. This WordPress plugin allows you to manage stock, set stock status, set backorders, set stock, set price, set sale price and set weight for each product and variation. It’s time-saving customizability makes it very appealing.
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A lightweight, easy to use plugin for WordPress that makes inventory management easier and more efficient. Organize your sales, purchase orders, shipments, receipts and more with a fast, simple WordPress plugin solution.
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As they state on their website "Katana’s WooCommerce inventory plugin has been specifically designed for the needs of modern manufacturers who want to scale."
The plugin is a great option for manufacturer, and enhances your online store by providing the tools to manage raw materials and schedule production.
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Note: As with any open-source plugin, they are susceptible to cyberattacks. Some of the free plugins may not check privileges or permissions before files are uploaded. As a result, bad actors/hackers could upload – and then execute – malicious files. Make sure to make securing your WordPress eCommerce site a top business priority.
Competition is fierce. Figure out what your eCommerce business needs, and find solutions that will grow and scale with you. WordPress plugins give you the power of integration and automation that will enhance your eCommerce store and help you turn a profit ASAP.
