Predictive AI: Solving Manufacturing Inventory Refill Order Challenges
Maintaining stock inventory for manufacturing products is a standard process, that unfortunately is very manual for a customer. The existing inventory refill process can be quite time-consuming for customers, especially when it requires numerous parts per order. In an industry where a customer can have multiple options of where to source their parts and products, providing a customer with an easier way to manage this could be the difference between keeping a customer long term or having them shop around to a competitor. Finding efficient solutions to streamline these inventory management challenges is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction and competitiveness in the market. Businesses can automate efficient processes to increase their foresight and reorder success rate by leveraging the power of predictive AI for manufacturing inventory refill orders.
Predictive AI for Manufacturing Inventory Refill Orders
Manufacturers aim to get ahead of inventory refill demand by providing their customers a user-friendly ordering experience, enabling time-saving pre-created orders, and monitoring missed reorders for proactive sales follow-up. Let’s delve into the tactics that manufacturers can implement to enable predictive AI to solve their inventory refill order issues and streamline their operations, reducing their vulnerability to competitors.
1. Reorder Forecasting
Tapping to the order history of each customer from the company’s Salesforce Order Management System (OMS), the AI predictive model monitors customers order patterns over time and is able to predict reorder requirements. For example, if a customer goes through 10,000 gears every six weeks, and AI recognizes that they bought their last batch 5 weeks ago, it can alert the customer that a reorder is needed. This gets more complex when a customer stocks more than one of your products. They may have 25 different types of gears that need to be re-stocked. All of these can be consumed in different cycles, so automated order history tracking is essential to keep tabs on refill order needs.
2. Automated Reorder Reminders
When the reorder need is identified by predictive AI, seamless automated marketing communications can be sent via Marketing Cloud and/or Salesforce Platform to remind customers that it is time to refill their order. These timely messages can be tailored according to stock levels and purchasing behaviors. This not only ensures that customers are always stocked with what they need, but also drives repeat sales and fosters brand loyalty.
3. Pre-Built Carts for One-Click Purchasing
In a B2B scenario, ease of ordering is key. With the power of predictive AI, pre-built carts can be automated within B2B Commerce, reflecting each customer’s unique negotiated price per product, and linked to from the reorder reminders. This enables customers to review their suggested items and make purchases with just a single click, eliminating the tedious process of manual itemized order creation. These automated reorder lists, backed by AI’s predictive analysis, give customers a personalized shopping experience. AI predicts their needs based on past purchases, current trends, and real-time inventory levels.
4. MuleSoft Integration for Sales Visibility & Self Service
All too often, reorder opportunities go missed due to lack of follow up when sales team members do not realize that orders have gone unplaced until it is too late. Without proactive reminders and ease of reorder placement, the buyer may have shopped around and found another solution. The integration of MuleSoft allows all B2B Commerce order data to be fed directly to the manufacturer’s ERP. By utilizing B2B Commerce and OMS within Salesforce, sales reps can view customer orders within Salesforce, instead of being trapped in an ERP. This gives sales valuable visibility into whether or not orders have been placed and the chance to keep customers engaged. In addition, order history within the OMS can more easily be exposed to customers, opening the opportunity up for self-service efficiencies.
5. Abandoned Cart Intervention
A significant challenge for manufacturers tyring to nurture inventory refill orders is the abandoned cart. Customers often add items to their carts but, for various reasons, fail to complete the purchase. AI’s predictive analysis can monitor such behavior and offer timely intervention. Once AI identifies an abandoned cart, it can trigger alerts to sales teams. Sales representatives can follow up promptly by addressing any customer concerns, offering incentives, or simply reminding them to complete their purchases. These actions allow conversion of potential lost sales into successful transactions, ensuring that inventory refill orders remain consistent and predictable.
Integrate and Amplify
Predictive AI integration is more than just a fleeting trend for manufactures – it’s a business imperative. AI capabilities don’t just simplify the inventory refill order process; they amplify the customer experience, laying the foundation for repeat patronage and unwavering brand loyalty. RafterOne encourages businesses to harness the might of AI and predictive analytics solutions to stay ahead of the curve and meet the ever-growing demands of their customers. If you are ready to resolve your order management process with AI, we can help you ensure your data is prepared with a complimentary AI Readiness Assessment.