By Waldemar Mayo – Solution Engineer Manager at Cloudgaia
Let’s say you launch an exclusive promotion on your online store—but within hours, products are sold out because the system didn’t account for inventory available in physical locations. Meanwhile, those same items are gathering dust on store shelves that no one is monitoring in real time. This scenario is more common than you’d think and reveals a persistent issue many businesses haven’t solved: effectively synchronizing inventory across all channels.
In today’s world, where consumers expect immediate availability—regardless of whether they shop online, via an app, or in-store—having a unified view of your inventory isn’t a luxury; it’s a strategic necessity. According to PYMNTS “2024 Global Digital Shopping Index: U.S. Edition”, 73% of consumers expect to see real-time inventory availability before making a purchase. And yet, few companies are able to deliver that seamless experience.
The problem? Fragmented systems. The opportunity? Turning inventory into a competitive advantage, not a source of friction.
Channel Disconnection: A Common Pitfall in Multichannel Inventory Management
Having multiple sales channels sounds like a clear win—ecommerce, brick-and-mortar stores, mobile apps, field reps—each touchpoint expands your reach and sales opportunities. But it also multiplies complexity, especially when it comes to inventory.
What happens when those channels don’t share the same information?
- Broken promises: a customer buys a product shown as available… but it isn’t.
- Overstock or stockouts: lack of centralized visibility leads to overbuying—or not buying enough.
- Blind decision-making: without integrated data, sales teams can’t respond in time to customer demand.
- Lost sales: if the product isn’t where the customer is looking, they simply don’t buy.
Ultimately, not having a synchronized omnichannel inventory leads to frustrating experiences, poor decision-making, and a direct hit to profitability.
Most common obstacles to achieving real-time inventory visibility
This challenge often stems from how sales channels developed over time within organizations. Each grew with its own tools, processes, and systems. Ecommerce has its platform, physical stores have their ERP, sales reps use spreadsheets—and every system speaks its own language.
Common aggravating factors include:
- Lack of system integration: without a unified data layer, synchronization is manual (and error-prone).
- Siloed processes: different teams managing each channel don’t always share goals or information.
- Outdated technology: legacy systems that don’t support real-time inventory visibility.
- Organizational mindset: inventory is still often treated as an operational task, not a strategic asset.
Omnichannel inventory is just one piece of a much broader transformation happening across the Consumer Goods industry. If you’re interested in how leading companies are redefining their operations, data strategies, and growth models, take a look at this related article: Reimagining Growth in Consumer Goods, by our COO Florencia Cattelani
The advantages of a synchronized omnichannel inventory strategy
Solving this isn’t just about being more efficient. It’s an opportunity to elevate the customer experience, streamline operations, and enable smarter decisions.
A well-implemented omnichannel inventory strategy includes:
- Unified stock visibility: in real time, regardless of channel or device.
- Process automation: automatic updates, smart replenishment alerts, and intelligent distribution rules.
- Frictionless experiences: the customer finds, buys, receives, or picks up the product how and where they want.
- Data-driven decision-making: anticipate demand, prevent stockouts, and optimize inventory turnover.
Implementing this approach requires clear processes, a data-driven culture, and a technology platform that connects all the dots.
How Salesforce helps synchronize your omnichannel inventory
At Cloudgaia, we work with companies facing this exact challenge: managing inventory across multiple channels without losing visibility or efficiency.
With Salesforce, you can centralize all your inventory data into a single source of truth—integrating your ecommerce, physical stores, management systems, and sales teams.
How does it make it possible?
- Centralized Inventory Management: Salesforce enables real-time inventory tracking by location, channel, or product type.
- Automatic Synchronization: Through native platforms like Salesforce Commerce Cloud and/or integrations with other internal systems, stock levels update automatically when a sale is made or new merchandise arrives.
- Order Orchestration: With Salesforce Order Management, you can set smart rules to fulfill each order from the most convenient location.
- Inventory Visibility for Sales Teams: Sales reps can check product availability from their mobile devices before closing a sale.
- Full Customer Transparency: Whether through a website or app, customers can view nearby store availability, reserve items, make purchases, and arrange pickups.
Curious to see how other companies are achieving full inventory visibility and delivering seamless customer experiences across every channel? Take a look at our customer success stories where we helped integrate systems, automate stock processes, and turn inventory into a competitive advantage:
From Fragmentation to Growth: Mastering Omnichannel Inventory
Keeping inventory up to date across all channels isn’t just an operational challenge—it’s essential for competing in today’s connected commerce landscape. When your systems don’t talk to each other, your channels compete instead of collaborate. But when you integrate your processes, technology, and teams under one vision, inventory becomes a growth engine.
Are you managing your inventory, or is your inventory managing you?
At Cloudgaia, we help organizations transform their omnichannel operations with the power of the Salesforce platform. If any of these challenges sound familiar, talk to one of our experts. There’s a smarter way to manage your inventory—and it starts with connecting the right dots.
