How to Easily Synchronize Stock Across Multiple Sales Channels
Tags: synchronizestock, api, ecommerce, apiintegration
Published: 2022-08-25 06:51:28

Selling on multiple sales channels such as marketplaces, comparison shopping engines, social media, etc., is the [best way to expand the business](https://www.uschamber.com/co/grow/sales/selling-on-multiple-platforms) for online merchants. However, when it comes to actually managing product information and stock status, online store owners cannot do the inventory manually. It’s impossible to track of all the products, their specific characteristics, and their availability status on multiple selling channels. For online retailers to update their stock every time it gets reduced, it is important they are informed about it. This is where they need to synchronize stock across multiple sales channels to have all the updates in one place.  

Luckily, there are a lot of software solutions that allow merchants to synchronize their inventory with ease. Let’s see below some of them and how such systems can do inventory synchronization across different eCommerce platforms simply.

##What does the process of inventory synchronization look like in different eCommerce software?

###Inventory management software

Inventory management software helps the store owners keep track of all the items in an inventory that are sold out across the online stores on multiple eCommerce platforms. When these systems are able to synchronize stock on various sales channels, the stores won’t have to manually look into items being sold out on one platform and still available on the other. 

###ERP systems

ERP inventory synchronization is important because it helps the store owners to synchronize stock while keeping the inventory up-to-date and accurate on all the sales channels. To do this, ERP software decreases the inventory count as soon as the customer purchases a product.  This allows the inventory to update on other platforms as well automatically.

###Warehouse management systems

Warehouse management systems can monitor and control inventory on all the eCommerce platforms. When the stock is updated in its actual quantities, it gets updated on all the sales channels. Its functionality is similar to an inventory management system, but WMS has more features than the latter.

###Dropshipping automation software

Online store owners do not just sell their products; they diversify their reach by connecting with a number of suppliers in their industry. They even list their products on one platform and distribute them on other platforms. A dropshipping software that can assist store owners in these activities and synchronize stock across all the sales channels comes in handy. 

###Multi-channel software

[Multi-channel software](https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/multi-channel-inventory-management) also provides the store owners with the ability to synchronize stock across all the sales channels. In addition, with multi-channel systems, merchants can adjust stock and update inventory without bothering to manage everything manually.
![synchronize stock](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/rttpicqu3os6g9p5tdcx.png)
##What is the workflow of inventory synchronization?

B2B eCommerce software can synchronize stock every few minutes and even in real-time. The process is a blessing for merchants. This is how it works:
* The store owners create product listings and manually enter their quantity in the system. Then, they link these listings with the product quantity across all the sales channels. 
* The customer places their order on the online stores built on platforms like Amazon, eBay, or Shopify.  
* When the orders are placed, they are imported into the SaaS platform, leading to automatic inventory updates.
* Now, when the system starts recalculating the inventory, the actual status of the remaining items gets updated for listings across all the platforms.

This process is possible only if the SaaS application is connected with eCommerce platforms on which the merchants have built their store. In order to synchronize stock, eCommerce software needs to access the data available on those platforms.

##eCommerce integration difficulties

[Establishing integration](https://api2cart.medium.com/shopping-cart-api-integration-how-to-build-it-easily-3602aa44c7f0) between eCommerce platforms and SaaS applications is a tedious process. The software providers need to deal with the following difficulties:

* Integration is a complex process as every shopping platform has its own architecture and requires advanced developers to establish the connection. Unfortunately, such developers are hard to find.
* Developing an integration is a time-consuming process. It takes around 4 -8 weeks to establish just one integration. This time will be multiplied by the number of integrations you are willing to establish with the eCommerce platforms. 
* Integrations are expensive. Each of them takes around 4000 dollars to complete. Again, you need to multiply the cost of one integration with the number of integration you wish to develop. 

The development of integration is a dynamic process. It doesn’t stop when the connection is established. Upgrades and maintenance are two crucial steps that are required frequently after the integration is developed. 

##How to easily synchronize stock across multiple sales channels?

The answer is simple - using [third-party integration solution](https://api2cart.com/business-cases/automatic-synchronization-of-inventory/?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=stockh.ol). It helps eCommerce software vendors to establish a seamless integration with multiple eCommerce platforms and marketplaces. 

Moreover, to synchronize stock and access data from such platforms, the service provides methods like GET, PUT, POST, and DELETE. With these methods, you can update stock levels on the sales channels simultaneously.