Inventory is the lifeblood of your business. If you’re a retail brand, wholesale distributor, or manufacturer, inventory is the core of your business. You buy inventory, bring it into your facility, and then hope to sell it for more than you paid to generate a profit. As your business grows, your catalog grows, and your sales channels grow. As this happens, maintaining accuracy and efficiency becomes increasingly difficult. Getting a handle on your inventory (and all of the value behind it) becomes even more crucial in a more complicated workflow.
Streamlining your inventory management is best powered by barcoding. There are two simple arguments for why you should be using barcodes – speed and accuracy. Using a barcode scanner takes a fraction of the time than it takes to manually key in that information into a computer. In most cases, it is first hand-written and later typed, which opens the door to the second benefit of barcodes – accuracy. Barcode scans are reliable and can hold dozens, sometimes hundreds of characters. A skilled typist manually keying a simple 12-digit part number is going to make a mistake, on average, every 300 keystrokes, which means 1 out of every 25 entries is going to be entered incorrectly, and not everyone is a skilled typist.
Using barcodes prompts debate, but there is no sound argument against it. Part numbers, lot IDs, quantities, warehouse locations, pick tickets…these are all items that need to be barcoded and scanned to ensure the highest possible accuracy at the fastest possible speed.
Implementing a Barcoding System
It starts with the barcode. Even while you implement new software or scope out the variety of barcode scanners available, you can start getting your inventory labeled. Don’t make the mistake of waiting until the week before you “go live” to run around the warehouse sticking labels on everything.
Pick the barcode symbology that makes sense for your requirements. If your products end up in a retail store, then you are almost certainly going to be using UPC labels, as it’s the industry standard. Some industries, like the automotive industry, have published standards on which barcodes must be used, on what size label, where they go on the product, etc. If you’re a member of an industry or trade association, check with them. For most businesses that simply need to encrypt a part number or SKU into a barcode, a simple Code 39 or Code 128 barcode will do just fine.
How to Create Labels for Your Warehouse
Decide what size labels and how you will print them on demand. There are reasonably affordable desktop label printers that can connect directly to a PC. Finale’s inventory management software can generate barcode labels on demand using a combination of product id and lot id. The actual blank labels are widely available online from suppliers like U-Line.
Next, apply labels to your inventory even if you’re not ready to start scanning them. The ideal time is to apply the labels when the inventory is received: make applying barcode labels part of your receiving process. Now that you apply labels during receiving, you’ll need to move through your non-labeled inventory to transition into your newly labeled stock. You can also explore having your vendors apply the labels before they get to your warehouse. If you’re distributing products to retail stores, the UPC barcodes will almost certainly already be on the products.
At the end of the day, you’ll probably have to play “catch up” and manually apply barcode labels to items in your inventory that didn’t get labeled for many reasons. Just double-check that the right barcode goes onto the right item. Barcodes are smart, but they can’t correct human errors.
Choosing the Right Barcode Scanning Mobile Computer
Now, to select the barcode scanner. You’ll need internet access to access your inventory management software and use your scanner. One option is to use smartphones or tablets with cellular service. There are lots of red flags here. For one, cellular service can be spotty, especially in a warehouse. Your service can fluctuate throughout the day or in different warehouse areas. Go with an internal Wi-Fi network. You can control how many access points you can install and where you install them, which means you can control the quality of your network. As most companies use Wi-Fi networks internally for devices, it’s often only a matter of extending it to the warehouse.
Now, where will the barcode scanners be used? Is it in a warehouse or a manufacturing plant with concrete floors? Is it busy with people working fast and furious? Don’t bring a consumer-grade device into this environment. Mobile devices aren’t ergonomic, and you can’t “hot-swap” the battery, so when the device dies, it has to be taken out of service and recharged. These mobile devices are not designed to be used all day, every day. Above all, they’re fragile, and when they inevitably break, they are costly to repair or replace.
Let’s discuss the best device for that warehouse environment. First, recognize a barcode scanner for what it is. It’s a mobile computer with a barcode scanner built in. It must be rugged, designed to survive multiple 6’ drops to a concrete floor. Your scanner needs to run a browser or mobile app in conjunction with your inventory management system, which means it needs to be an Android device. It needs to be ergonomically friendly to carry around most of the day and scan possibly hundreds or even thousands of barcodes. Give it a pistol-grip handle with a “trigger” that activates the scanner so the users aren’t getting carpal tunnel. Give it a tactile keypad in addition to the touch screen. Why? Touch screens are notoriously error-prone. Prove it to yourself by pulling out your phone, bringing up the calculator app, and adding three 3-digit numbers without making a mistake. There’s a reason someone invented auto-correct software for smartphones. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for non-conversational text like part numbers and quantities. Get a keypad. But really, the point is that you can have a say over how you equip your mobile scanner.
Barcoding Simplified
To recap, get on an inventory management software with all the features and functionality you need to streamline your workflows. Get started labeling your inventory early, making sure every item is properly labeled for when you go live. And finally, pick a barcode scanning device that does everything you need it to, the way you need to do it, and that will survive the day-to-day rigors of your environment. Remember, speed and accuracy are the rewards you reap from barcoding.
This is a blog created in partnership with AML. AML delivers a variety of built-for-purpose barcode-centric mobile computing devices that include batch and wireless handhelds. Learn more about AML barcode scanners and their seamless integration with Finale inventory.
What is the first thing I should fix if I want to scale operations?
Start with a unified view of inventory. The core of maturity starts with being able to accurately represent what you do have and make sure that you know where it’s located to get it to customers quickly. Without a unified view across your warehouses, 3PLs, and vendors, you cannot make the best decisions because you don’t have the best information at hand.
With Inventory Visibility, Businesses Can Make Smarter Allocation Decisions
Once inventory is centralized, businesses can move from reactive updates to intentional allocation. They can decide how much inventory to expose to each channel, when to use buffers, which marketplaces need extra protection, and how seasonality or campaign performance influence availability.
Once I know what inventory I have, how should I decide where to make it available?
Inventory allocation should reflect where orders are coming from, where marketing is working, and which channels carry the most risk. Once you know what you have and where it is located, you can think more strategically using centralized inventory to make prioritization happen automatically. One fertilizer company lost a little over 5,000 orders in one weekend because someone manually uploaded the wrong available inventory to Amazon.
Better Inventory Data Improves Planning, Purchasing, and Growth Bets
Better visibility turns inventory data into a planning tool. With insight into sales velocity, inventory levels, vendors, and channel performance, businesses can make more informed replenishment decisions, avoid overbuying, and test new product lines or vendor-supplied inventory without taking on unnecessary risk.
How does better inventory data help me make smarter buying decisions?
It lets you measure whether your plan is working before you commit more capital. A key question becomes: “Did my plan work? Am I overleveraged in one place or another?” Centralized systems can also help businesses test new product lines or vendor relationships by looking at sales velocity by channel, allowing them to take risks in a calculated and measured way.
Intelligent Order Routing Turns Inventory Complexity Into Automation
Once inventory and supplier data are reliable, businesses can automate fulfillment decisions. Orders can be routed based on cost, speed, margin, location, warehouse priority, vendor fallback, split-shipment rules, or customer expectations. This helps hybrid fulfillment scale because every order does not need a manual review.
How do I decide the best way to fulfill each order?
There is no single answer, which is why order routing needs to account for the context of each order. Intelligent order routing is not just sending an order to someone who has stock; it is taking each and every order and treating it like its own unique use case. Depending on the order, the business may prioritize speed, margin, an internal warehouse, vendor fallback, or preventing split shipments.
Supplier Inventory Sync Extends Inventory Beyond the Four Walls
For hybrid fulfillment to work, supplier inventory needs to become part of the operating model. Supplier sync does not always require advanced technology; it can happen through automated files, FTP, email, APIs, EDI, or ecommerce storefront integrations. The key is replacing manual updates with automated, reliable supplier data.
Can supplier inventory really be treated like part of my own inventory?
Yes, but the goal is not necessarily to force every supplier into a complex integration. Real-time supplier sync can be defined as any way to get an automated update from a supplier, such as Google Sheets, email, FTP, API, EDI, or ecommerce storefront connections. The key is that accurate supplier stock is foundational. If you don’t have an accurate view of what is in stock with your suppliers, you cannot tell your sales channel accurately what’s available.
Exception-Based Workflows Keep Humans Focused Where They Matter
Automation does not remove people from the process. Mature operations let technology handle the routine majority while humans focus on exceptions, such as high-value orders, fraud risk, compliance requirements, restricted products, export rules, or unusual fulfillment scenarios.
If my business has special cases, can automation still work?
Yes. The point is not to automate every possible decision; it is to automate the routine work and surface the exceptions. Businesses should not have to look at every single order. Instead, technology can highlight high-value orders, risky locations, or compliance requirements. The goal is to take care of the 80% of workflows that are obvious while still allowing human review when specific exceptions arise.
The Right Inventory Technology Should Fit the Business, Not Overwhelm It
Software decisions should be based on business fit, not popularity, feature volume, or broad “all-in-one” promises. Growing ecommerce businesses should identify their highest-impact bottleneck, prioritize what matters now, and choose technology that is right-sized but flexible enough to support future phases of growth.
How should I choose software without overbuying or picking the wrong system?
Start with your priorities, not the biggest feature list. Avoid an all-in-one system that claims to “do everything under the sun” and look for a “best of breed approach” with systems that can scale as you add channels or vendors. The practical advice is to stack rank what matters now, make sure the system can support future phases, and choose technology that fits your business rather than overwhelming it.
How to Scale Ecommerce Operations Beyond Spreadsheets
For many growing ecommerce businesses, Finale and Flxpoint work together as a practical answer to these challenges. Finale helps centralize and manage internal inventory, purchasing, warehouse operations, and stock visibility, while Flxpoint helps connect vendor inventory, automate supplier sync, and route orders across hybrid fulfillment networks. Together, they give businesses a best-of-breed way to improve inventory accuracy, reduce spreadsheet work, and scale fulfillment without forcing every process into a one-size-fits-all system.
Ecommerce Fulfillment Operations FAQ
What Is Ecommerce Fulfillment Operations?
Ecommerce fulfillment operations are the processes that move an online order from purchase to delivery. This includes managing inventory, syncing product availability across channels, routing orders to the right warehouse, 3PL, supplier, or vendor, and making sure the customer receives the right product on time. As discussed in the webinar, fulfillment is no longer limited to “what’s in my warehouse these days”; growing businesses may rely on internal warehouses, 3PLs, marketplace fulfillment services, and supplier inventory at the same time.
What Are Ecommerce Fulfillment Operation Examples?
Examples of ecommerce fulfillment operations include updating inventory across Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, and other sales channels; allocating inventory to specific marketplaces; sending orders to an internal warehouse, 3PL, or vendor; syncing supplier inventory through files, APIs, EDI, email, or FTP; replenishing warehouse stock based on sales velocity; and flagging exceptions such as high-value orders, compliance requirements, or restricted products. In the webinar, the speakers also discussed hybrid fulfillment examples where a business may fulfill some products from its own warehouse and use vendors as a fallback or extension of available inventory.
How Can I Track My Inventory at an Ecommerce Fulfillment Center?
The best way to track inventory at an ecommerce fulfillment center is to create a unified inventory view that shows what is available, where it is located, and how that inventory connects to each sales channel. That means tracking inventory across internal warehouses, fulfillment centers, 3PLs, marketplace fulfillment programs, and supplier locations instead of relying on disconnected spreadsheets. The webinar emphasized that businesses need to “accurately represent” what they have and know where it is located so they can get products to customers quickly.
How Can I Connect My Inventory to My Supplier?
You can connect supplier inventory through several methods, depending on what the supplier supports. The webinar discussed low-tech and advanced options, including automated Excel or CSV files, Google Sheets, email updates, FTP servers, APIs, EDI, and direct connections to ecommerce storefronts such as Shopify, BigCommerce, or Magento. The key is to ask suppliers how they share inventory today, then use a system that can automate that data flow instead of manually copying supplier inventory into spreadsheets.
What Is Ecommerce Order Routing?
Ecommerce order routing is the process of deciding where an order is fulfilled from after a customer buys. In a simple operation, every order may go to one warehouse. In a more complex or hybrid fulfillment model, the best fulfillment source may depend on inventory availability, shipping speed, cost, margin, customer location, warehouse priority, vendor fallback rules, or whether the order should be split. The webinar described intelligent order routing as treating each order like its own use case, so businesses can automate the best fulfillment decision without manually reviewing every order.
