--- title: Why Your Inventory Rules Are More Important Than Ever description: Fulfillment must get smarter to move your product. Brands have been relying on their 3PL systems for this, but why outsource the oversight and control? image: https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/online-selling-e-commerce-shipping-concept-2022-04-21-14-06-25-utc-1.jpg --- [![Full Color Logo - Cropped - New](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/2023%20Mega%20Menu%20Assets/Logos/Full%20Color%20Logo%20-%20Cropped%20-%20New.svg)](https://www.channelape.com) - Solutions - Resources ![grow-icon](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/2023%20Mega%20Menu%20Assets/Icons/grow-icon.svg) Grow [Wholesale channels Big Box - X12 EDI support](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/grow/b2b-wholesale) [Brick-and-mortar channels Enable smaller retailers](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/grow/brick-and-mortar-channels) [Dropship your products Let others easily sell for you](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/grow/dropship-your-products) [Pre-sale orders Without the headache later](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/grow/pre-sale-orders) [Distribution footprint Additional locations & partners](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/grow/distribution-footprint) ![manage-icon](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/2023%20Mega%20Menu%20Assets/Icons/manage-icon.svg) Manage [Reserve Inventory Influencers, wholesale & more](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/manage/reserve-inventory) [Inventory effective & expiration dates No more spreadsheets required](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/manage/inventory-effective-expiration-date) [Multi-status, multi-location inventory Warehouses, stores, and channels](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/manage/multi-status-multi-location-inventory) [Fulfillment holds & order edits Auto-hold on new CX ticket](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/manage/fulfillment-holds-order-edits) [Automate fulfillment rules Bundles, marketing SKUs, and more](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/manage/automate-fulfillment-rules) ![monitor-icon](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/2023%20Mega%20Menu%20Assets/Icons/monitor-icon.svg) Monitor [Inbounds - New & Returns By SKU & Date](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/monitor/inbounds-new-return) [Fulfillable Inventory By status and location](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/monitor/fulfillable-inventory) [Fulfillment Partners SLAs, exceptions, and overall activity](https://www.channelape.com/fulfillment-partners) [Dashboards & Reports Use ours or build your own](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/monitor/dashboards-reports) [Monitoring, Alerting, Export Email, Slack, GSheets, S3, 5Tran](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/monitor/monitoring-alerting) ![enable-icon](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/2023%20Mega%20Menu%20Assets/Icons/enable-icon.svg) Enable [Clearer financial picture Simplify monthly close](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/enable/clearer-financial-picture) [Store inventory online See your retail store inventory](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/enable/store-inventory) [One team to implement More than just a tool](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/enable/one-team-to-implement-customize-manage) [Customization - API Dozens of API endpoints](https://dev.channelape.com) [Integrations See all the apps](https://www.channelape.com/apps) [Support Get 24/7 help](https://www.channelape.com/support-landing) [Knowledge Base Read in-depth guides](https://www.channelape.com/support-landing?kb=true) [Guides & Whitepapers Improved inventory management](https://www.channelape.com/resources) [Fulfillment Partners Global 3PL warehouse companies](https://www.channelape.com/fulfillment-partners) ![book-icon](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/2023%20Mega%20Menu%20Assets/Icons/book-icon.svg) Featured Resources ![The Definitive Guide to 3PL’s-min](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/The%20Definitive%20Guide%20to%203PL%E2%80%99s-min.png) eBook The definitive guide to 3PL Get the information and insights you need to make better-informed decisions for your business. 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Download Now - Solutions ![grow-icon](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/2023%20Mega%20Menu%20Assets/Icons/grow-icon.svg) Grow [Wholesale channels Big Box - X12 EDI support](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/grow/b2b-wholesale) [Brick-and-mortar channels Enable smaller retailers](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/grow/brick-and-mortar-channels) [Dropship your products Let others easily sell for you](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/grow/dropship-your-products) [Pre-sale orders Without the headache later](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/grow/pre-sale-orders) [Distribution footprint Additional locations & partners](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/grow/distribution-footprint) ![manage-icon](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/2023%20Mega%20Menu%20Assets/Icons/manage-icon.svg) Manage [Reserve Inventory Influencers, wholesale & more](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/manage/reserve-inventory) [Inventory effective & expiration dates No more spreadsheets required](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/manage/inventory-effective-expiration-date) [Multi-status, multi-location inventory Warehouses, stores, and channels](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/manage/multi-status-multi-location-inventory) [Fulfillment holds & order edits Auto-hold on new CX ticket](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/manage/fulfillment-holds-order-edits) [Automate fulfillment rules Bundles, marketing SKUs, and more](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/manage/automate-fulfillment-rules) ![monitor-icon](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/2023%20Mega%20Menu%20Assets/Icons/monitor-icon.svg) Monitor [Inbounds - New & Returns By SKU & Date](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/monitor/inbounds-new-return) [Fulfillable Inventory By status and location](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/monitor/fulfillable-inventory) [Fulfillment Partners SLAs, exceptions, and overall activity](https://www.channelape.com/fulfillment-partners) [Dashboards & Reports Use ours or build your own](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/monitor/dashboards-reports) [Monitoring, Alerting, Export Email, Slack, GSheets, S3, 5Tran](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/monitor/monitoring-alerting) ![enable-icon](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/2023%20Mega%20Menu%20Assets/Icons/enable-icon.svg) Enable [Clearer financial picture Simplify monthly close](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/enable/clearer-financial-picture) [Store inventory online See your retail store inventory](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/enable/store-inventory) [One team to implement More than just a tool](https://www.channelape.com/solutions/enable/one-team-to-implement-customize-manage) [Customization - API Dozens of API endpoints](https://dev.channelape.com) - Resources [Integrations See all the apps](https://www.channelape.com/apps) [Support Get 24/7 help](https://www.channelape.com/support-landing) [Knowledge Base Read in-depth guides](https://www.channelape.com/support-landing?kb=true) [Guides & Whitepapers Improved inventory management](https://www.channelape.com/resources) [Fulfillment Partners Global 3PL warehouse companies](https://www.channelape.com/fulfillment-partners) [Login](https://appx.channelape.io/) Fulfillment # Why Your Inventory Rules Are More Important Than Ever Fulfillment must get smarter to move your product. Brands have been relying on their 3PL systems for this, but why outsource the oversight and control? [Paula Conlon](https://www.channelape.com/blog/author/paula-conlon) Aug 4, 2022 --- #### We know the past 18 months have been unstable. Brands went from having no inventory to suddenly sitting on too much.  According to [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevendennis/2022/06/07/too-much-of-a-goods-thing-retailers-are-drowning-in-inventory/?sh=4c141ebb12fd), “buying too much of the wrong stuff” and “the shift toward consumers spending more on services” instead of apparel caused even big-box retailers (with bigger supply chain and ops budgets) to suffer. Walmart’s inventory levels grew 33% while comp sales were up just 3%.  Dead inventory is estimated to cost the US retail industry a staggering [$50 billion](https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/retail/the-cost-of-dead-inventory-retails-dirty-little-secret/) a year. As much as [20–30%](https://whiplash.com/blog/preventing-dead-stock/) of the average retailer’s inventory is dead stock (it’s worth noting that “healthy” dead stock levels should be below 15%). You need to sell through your inventory, and you need to sell through it fast. That only happens when [inventory and ops teams](https://www.channelape.com/inventory-ops) are in sync with [CX and marketing](https://www.channelape.com/customer-support-and-service) on what needs to be sold, how to sell it, and—most importantly—how to pick, pack, and ship the right product(s) to your customer on time (the *first* time). [![Get Started](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6043565/87394644-cdaf-4237-8e44-e1c5adf6651a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6043565/87394644-cdaf-4237-8e44-e1c5adf6651a) ## Brand Loyalty is Different **Why is that last part so important?** [86% of consumers will leave a brand](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005525/en/86-Percent-of-Consumers-Will-Leave-a-Brand-They-Trusted-After-Only-Two-Poor-Customer-Experiences) they trusted after only two poor customer service experiences. And how is CX defined? Well, the same survey of 2000 consumers found that more than half expect brands to respond to online inquiries within an hour.  All those markdowns and bundles you offer will mean nothing long-term if you lose loyal customers. Even the most incredible products fail when the fulfillment process doesn't meet customer demand. You can love that dress… but how much will you love that brand after it took three weeks and two emails to the support department asking what the holdup is, only for you to have to go to FedEx to pick it up yourself? ## Better Fulfillment Starts Before The Warehouse Fulfillment has to get smarter to move the great product and brand messaging you’ve poured your hearts into. Brands have been relying on their 3PL systems for this, but why should you outsource the oversight and control of such a precious part of your business? ### Actionable Reporting Rather than ask your warehouse for metrics that live in *their* systems, wouldn’t it be better to have *your* important order information (exceptions, alerts, status, etc.) directly available for *your* teams… and housed in the same place as your real-time inventory level statuses?  That’s where ChannelApe comes in. To solve problems, you need to know they exist in the first place. With our fulfillments overview, you’ll know about potential problems so you can act on them before they affect your customers—impossible to do when you’re waiting on your 3PL to look into their WMS and get back to you (only after a customer sent through an order inquiry to your support team).    ![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ucCT1uxCLchsUCGqNHRgMdyQ7z2p0tvGMFpaF9cpfC9XFPzMSHi-crm9O3g7tdjHh7ESdU1O_XncvhHnkPqjrgSXHOIKthxX5Su1hd6RzpV8xBiVGQaG5iDL6lc3lXWuwcm8bbTizTMQJtl0H2BkVWo) Send the Low Inventory report to your head of marketing to avoid [disastrous promotions](https://www.channelape.com/blog/erp-is-not-the-answer) and the subsequent CX fallout of having to cancel orders. Review the Inventory Reorder report with your internal teams and factory partners to achieve balance—do you *really* need to reorder that item after calculating throughput of open versus closed versus orders still in process? ### Your Brand, Your Rules Your fulfillment partners should be focused on, well, fulfilling. Your brand’s digital business rules should be pre-defined and set by your brand. Enter automated rules for reserves and on-order into our system and let your 3PL manage on-hand inventory. With our [YesWindow](https://www.channelape.com/blog/open-the-yes-window), you can even set an order edit rule to automatically withhold orders from processing before they get sent to the warehouse, giving your customer support team time to respond to change requests within a specified window based on your brand’s requirements. How are you going the extra mile to make someone a repeat customer? Free shipping can help—[80% of consumers](https://smallbiztrends.com/2021/06/consumers-expecting-free-shipping.html) expect free shipping when ordering a certain dollar amount on online products. In ChannelApe, you can build a custom rule so that when someone places an order of $50 or more, they automatically have their shipping updated on the backend. Then, all your marketing team has to do is send that message. ChannelApe can help you sell through that excess inventory by giving you the data you need to take action. By complimenting Shopify, NetSuite (and other ERPs you use to handle finance), and your 3PL’s WMS, we enhance your data to sell through dead stock at the right pace—and mitigate the risk of overbuying in the first place. [Fulfillment](https://www.channelape.com/blog/tag/fulfillment) [Inventory Management](https://www.channelape.com/blog/tag/inventory-management) ## Similar posts Fulfillment ### [Strength in Numbers: Increase Fulfillment Success With More Warehouse Locations](https://www.channelape.com/blog/increase-fulfillment-success-with-more-warehouse-locations) 3PL partners are the secret to successful growth and scale. DTC brands should choose a network that boasts multiple warehouses instead of a single... Paula Conlon May 12, 2022 Ecommerce ### [The Good & Bad of Shipment Packaging: How 3 Big Brands Do It](https://www.channelape.com/blog/the-good-and-bad-of-shipment-packaging) The Good & Bad of Shipment Packaging: How 3 Big Brands Do It - 3PL Shipment packaging tips for direct-to-consumer brands. Jordan Stokes Dec 20, 2021 Fulfillment ### [Promise a delivery date on PDP & checkout](https://www.channelape.com/blog/promise-delivery-date-on-pdp-checkout) Enable pre-purchase delivery promises on your checkout and PDP with a simple API call. We’ve seen a 23.43% increase in conversation rate from early... Jordan Stokes May 3, 2020 [![channelape-white](https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/channelape-white.svg)](https://www.channelape.com/) 228 Park Ave S PMB 82108 New York, New York 10003-1502 ### Product - [Login](https://app.channelape.io/) - [API docs](https://docs.channelape.io/) - [Knowledgebase](https://www.channelape.com/support-landing?kb=true) - [Status](https://channelape.statuspage.io/) - [Support](https://www.channelape.com/support-landing) ### Company - [Blog](https://www.channelape.com/blog) - [Fulfillment partner program](https://www.channelape.com/partner) - [Careers](https://www.channelape.com/careers) - [Branding Guidelines](https://www.channelape.com/branding-guidelines) © 2022 ChannelApe [Privacy Policy](https://www.channelape.com/privacy) [Terms of Service](https://www.channelape.com/terms) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Paula Conlon", "url" : "https://www.channelape.com/blog/author/paula-conlon" }, "dateModified" : "2022-08-05T15:17:38.112Z", "datePublished" : "2022-08-04T13:34:12.000Z", "headline" : "Why Your Inventory Rules Are More Important Than Ever", "image" : [ "https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/online-selling-e-commerce-shipping-concept-2022-04-21-14-06-25-utc-1.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.channelape.com/blog/inventory-rules-fulfillment", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.channelape.com/hubfs/Full-Color-Logo.png" }, "name" : "ChannelApe Inc" } } ```