Are you frustrated by inventory mismatch across your Amazon Seller Central and ERP systems like SAP Business One? It’s a serious problem for countless businesses, but the solution is simpler than you think. Find out how to reconcile Amazon FBA inventory and say goodbye to inventory discrepancies and missing items with powerful Amazon and SAP integration.
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Inventory Reconciliation – A Serious Problem for Amazon Sellers
In eCommerce, managing inventory effectively can make or break a business. For those who are selling with Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) and managing inventory with SAP Business One ERP system, inventory reconciliation becomes a critical yet challenging task. You must have found inventory issues such as misplaced stock, discrepancies, and missing items, which could lead to significant financial losses and operational headaches. And to make things worse, Amazon’s inventory ledger report doesn’t offer much help.
Here are some scenarios that can lead to inventory mismatch across both systems.
Stock Level Misalignment
Stock levels recorded in Amazon fulfillment centers do not align with those in SAP Business One. Such inventory discrepancy often occurs due to delays in updating inventory counts or errors during stock counts, leading to overstocking or stockouts.
Manual Data Entry Errors
Manual data entry errors are another common culprit. Whether updating stock levels, entering new products, or making adjustments, mistakes during data entry can lead to inconsistencies between Amazon FBA and SAP Business One.
Mistakes from Amazon
The Amazon fulfillment center handles warehousing and shipping, but mistakes can happen. Items might be shipped incorrectly or lost in transit, causing discrepancies between what’s sold and what’s available in your ERP system.
Poor Return Handling
Handling customer returns and adjustments can further complicate inventory reconciliation. When customers return items, the changes may not be reflected immediately in your ERP system, causing mismatches with Amazon’s records.
Lack of Real-time Sync
If your integration between Amazon FBA and SAP Business One is not real-time, synchronization delays can create significant gaps. Inventory updates may not reflect immediately, resulting in outdated stock information and discrepancies.
Why It’s Important to Reconcile Amazon FBA Inventory
Proper inventory reconciliation is crucial for the following reasons:
Prevent Stockouts and Overstocks:
Accurate inventory records help prevent stockouts, which prevents missed sales, and overstocks which can increase storage costs and tie up capital. This helps in making proper inventory adjustments.
Improve Cash Flow:
Knowing precisely what inventory you have prevents unnecessary purchases and helps optimize your cash flow.
Enhance Customer Satisfaction:
Timely and accurate order fulfillment depends on correct inventory records, which directly impacts customer satisfaction and reviews.
Maintain Accurate Financial Records:
Inventory is a significant asset on your balance sheet. Accurate reconciliation ensures your financial records reflect the true state of your inventory and matches the records in your accounting software or financial module.
The Essential Elements of an Inventory Reconciliation Report:
Business selling on Amazon must be well-versed with the following essential elements of the FBA inventory reconciliation report:
Amazon Customer Number
What It Is: This unique identifier is generated by Amazon for each customer transaction. It ensures that every order and delivery can be tracked accurately.
Why It Matters: Having the Amazon Customer Number in your reconciliation report allows for precise tracking of inventory associated with specific orders. This is crucial for:
- Order Verification: Ensuring that inventory records align with customer orders.
- Dispute Resolution: Quickly resolving discrepancies related to customer orders.
Material (Item Code of SAP)
What It Is: The material or item code is the unique identifier used in SAP to represent each product in your inventory.
Why It Matters: Including the SAP item code in your reconciliation report helps in:
- Accurate Matching: Ensuring that inventory data from Amazon matches with SAP’s item codes.
- Streamlined Management: Facilitating easier tracking and management of inventory across systems.
Amazon-Generated ID for Approved Consignments
What It Is: This ID is generated by Amazon when a consignment is approved, serving as a reference for the shipment.
Why It Matters: This ID is crucial for:
- Tracking Shipments: Verifying and tracking shipments from Amazon’s approval through to delivery.
- Integration: Ensuring that consignment details are accurately reflected in both Amazon and SAP systems.
Delivered Quantity
What It Is: The quantity of items that have been successfully delivered to the customer or warehouse.
Why It Matters: Documenting the delivered quantity helps in:
- Inventory Accuracy: Confirming that the delivered amount matches what is recorded in SAP.
- Customer Satisfaction: Ensuring that the correct quantity is delivered to customers, reducing the likelihood of disputes.
Offloaded Quantity
What It Is: The quantity of items that have been offloaded from a shipment but not yet processed into inventory.
Why It Matters: Tracking offloaded quantities is essential for:
- Inventory Management: Keeping an accurate record of items that are in the process of being added to inventory.
- Process Efficiency: Ensuring smooth transition from shipment to inventory without discrepancies.
Unfulfilled Quantity
What It Is: This includes quantities that were not fulfilled due to various reasons. It encompasses:
- Customer Damaged Quantity: Items damaged by the customer.
- Warehouse Damaged Quantity: Items damaged while in the warehouse.
- Distributor Damaged Quantity: Items damaged during distribution.
- Carrier Damaged Quantity: Items damaged by the carrier.
- Defective Quantity: Items that are defective and cannot be sold.
- Others: Any other reasons for unfulfilled quantities.
Why It Matters: Breaking down unfulfilled quantities into specific categories helps in:
- Detailed Analysis: Understanding the root causes of inventory discrepancies.
- Improving Processes: Implementing targeted improvements to reduce unfulfilled quantities.
- Customer Insights: Gaining insights into issues affecting customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Even with these details, the biggest problem is that business know the number of items that are delivered, offloaded, unfulfilled, etc., but they cannot pinpoint the reason or status of items that have not been delivered to Amazon’s warehouses.
This is where all the confusion appears, leaving sellers to dig deeper, analyze data across different date range, make multiple support calls, and still get no clarity. In many cases, there is a ‘reason code’ associated with certain items which explains the reason behind any discrepancy, but even those are complicated to understand and not presented in a user-friendly way.
So how do you solve this issue and seamlessly reconcile Amazon FBA inventory?
Proven Solution – Reconcile Amazon FBA Inventory with SAP Business One
Reconciling inventory between Amazon FBA and SAP Business One is no longer a daunting challenge. With our solution, we simplify and automate the entire process, ensuring seamless synchronization and accuracy across both systems. Here’s how we address the key aspects of inventory reconciliation:
Seamless Integration Between Amazon FBA and SAP Business One
Our solution creates a robust integration between Amazon FBA and SAP Business One, ensuring that your inventory data is synchronized between both platforms. This integration guarantees that inventory levels are consistent across your Amazon account and ERP system. By eliminating the gaps between these systems, you can avoid the common pitfalls of stock misalignment and discrepancies.
Real-Time Synchronization
Accuracy is crucial in inventory management, and our solution delivers it through real-time synchronization. Updates are instantly reflected across both Amazon FBA and SAP Business One, so you’re always working with the most current data. This immediate syncing reduces the risk of errors caused by delays or outdated information, ensuring that your inventory records are always accurate and up-to-date.
Comprehensive Reporting and Detailed Insights
Our integration doesn’t just sync data—it also provides powerful reporting capabilities. We’ve developed a unique workflow within SAP Business One that generates detailed reports, offering a complete view of your inventory status. Track the status of every item in detail and ensure that no item goes missing or unaccounted for, ever.
With our solution, you’ll experience seamless integration, real-time accuracy, and insightful reporting—all designed to make amazon inventory reconciliation easier and more efficient. Get full visibility into your daily inventory history, inventory misplaced, and other key details. Say goodbye to mismatches and embrace a precise, synchronized inventory management solution that supports your business growth and facilitates efficient inventory movements.
Take Control of Your Inventory Reconciliation Today
At APPSeCONNECT, we understand that seamless inventory management is essential for the success of your eCommerce business. Our powerful integration platform is designed to bridge the gap between Amazon FBA and SAP Business One, providing you with a robust solution to resolve all your inventory reconciliation issues.
With our advanced integration, you can eliminate discrepancies, ensure real-time accuracy, and gain comprehensive insights into your inventory. Our solution is tailored to meet the unique needs of your business, delivering precision and efficiency that transform how you manage stock levels and orders.
While this solution includes integration with SAP Business One, we also integrate Amazon with the following ERP systems:
- Amazon and SAP ECC Integration
- Amazon and SAP S/4Hana Integration
- Amazon and Dynamics NAV/Business Central Integration
- Amazon and Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (F&O) Integration
Contact us today to know how we can help you reconcile inventory efficiently for Amazon FBA, or schedule a demo to see our solution work its magic!
