Data is everywhere in eCommerce, but are you making the most of the metrics available to you? From orders and stock movements to returns and despatch times, fulfilment data can provide valuable insight into how your business is performing and where there may be opportunities to improve.
Retailers can use data analytics as a valuable business tool; it can help with forecasting, highlight potential problems and support better-informed decisions. The fulfilment experts at Hallmark Consumer Services look at some of the key ways data analytics can support your eCommerce operation.
Firstly, understand what data you have
The first step is understanding what information is available and how it can be used. Your fulfilment operation can generate a wealth of useful data, including:
- Orders and order volumes
- Stock movements and inventory levels
- Returns
- Despatch times
- Sales trends
- Customer activity
Looking at these different data sets together can give you a much clearer picture of what is happening across your business.
For example, an increase in orders is obviously positive, but if stock levels are falling faster than expected, you may need to act quickly to avoid running out of popular products. Equally, a rise in returns could point to a deeper issue with a product that needs investigating.
Look beyond operational reporting
Regularly analysing your data can help you answer some important questions:
- What is selling well?
- What isn’t selling?
- How does current performance compare with last year?
- Are we likely to run out of stock?
- Which products are becoming slow-moving?
- Are fulfilment volumes increasing or decreasing?
- Are we prepared for upcoming peaks?
- Are there any potential problems that need addressing?
These insights can help businesses make more informed commercial decisions. For example, sales information could influence purchasing decisions, while stock data may highlight where a promotion could help shift slow-moving products.
Combine historical and real-time data
Comparing current performance with previous years’ data can help you understand whether sales are following an expected pattern. You might also compare performance with the previous month or a similar promotional period.
For example, if you know that a particular product typically sells well in the run-up to Christmas, you can compare current sales against previous years. This can help you make more informed decisions about how much stock you are likely to need. Read our blog on how to optimise your Christmas logistics for further details.
Real-time data adds another layer of insight. If sales suddenly increase, you can spot the change as it happens rather than waiting until the end of the month to discover that demand was higher than expected.
At Hallmark Consumer Services, our reporting systems provide clients with access to real-time fulfilment data, helping them keep track of orders and stock across their operation.
Keep an eye on slow-moving stock
Slow-moving and non-moving stock can quietly become an expensive problem for eCommerce businesses. Products sitting in a warehouse take up valuable storage space and tie up working capital. They can also reduce the capacity available for faster-selling items.
Regularly reviewing stock data can help you identify products that aren’t selling as expected. This gives you the opportunity to take action, whether that’s through a promotion or a change in pricing. It can also help you adjust future purchasing levels and avoid carrying more stock than you need.
Use data to prepare for peaks
One of the biggest benefits of analysing fulfilment data is being able to spot patterns before they become problems.
By looking at previous sales peaks alongside current order volumes, businesses can build a better picture of what is likely to happen in the weeks and months ahead. This can help you plan your stock requirements and make sure your warehouse has enough capacity to cope with increased demand.
It can also highlight potential pinch points. If order volumes are increasing more quickly than expected, real-time data gives you the opportunity to respond before your fulfilment operation becomes overstretched. Find out more about how to manage peaks in seasonal sales.
Make faster, better-informed decisions
Ultimately, having access to up-to-date fulfilment data means businesses can identify stock issues earlier and respond more quickly when something isn’t going to plan.
It can also support wider business decisions. Knowing which products are performing well and where demand is changing gives you a stronger basis for planning future activity.
For growing eCommerce businesses, managing all this information in-house can be challenging. Working with an experienced fulfilment partner can provide access to detailed operational data without adding to the workload of your own team.
At Hallmark Consumer Services, we use fulfilment data to give our clients greater visibility of their stock, orders and warehouse activity. By combining historical reporting with real-time information, we can help identify trends and potential issues, giving businesses a clearer picture of what is happening within their fulfilment operation.
Our flexible fulfilment solutions can also be tailored to your individual requirements, whether you need support with warehousing, order processing or stock management.