The rise in online demand since the pandemic has put multichannel retailers (and their supply chains) under increased pressure. And research suggests that a large percentage of brands could be struggling to keep on top of it.

A survey by Profitero found that 41% of brand professionals do not have a specialised team or the processes in place to effectively manage their ecommerce supply chain. In turn, says Profitero, ecommerce brands can suffer multiple penalties including sales losses, longer sales recoveries, and lack of brand visibility to name just a few.

When it comes to preventing these issues, proper multichannel inventory management is key, with software enabling retailers to track and manage items through various stages along the supply chain. Not only can inventory management prevent stock-related issues from occurring, but it can also help multichannel brands to effectively streamline operations and improve overall business results.

Here’s more on the challenges of multichannel inventory management, including expert opinion from demand forecasting company Antuit and order management system OneStock on the challenges for multichannel brands.