Hi Startup CPG Fam,

Running a CPG brand means managing a thousand moving pieces…often literally. Buying ingredients, making & storing your product, fulfilling online and retail orders, tracking shipments…inventory management becomes more than a full-time job.

For early-stage brands still building out ops teams, or fast-growing ones looking to supercharge them, inventory management software can be a game-changer. Goodbye Excel. Hello real-time, reliable data.

If you’re still stitching together spreadsheets and tools that weren’t built for consumer brands, here are six signs it’s time to level up and how Cin7 can help:

1. You’re frequently out of stock… or buried in it 📉

In the land of widgets, optimal stock positions are everything. Not just for happy customers and retailers, but for working capital and smooth backend operations. Guesswork doesn’t cut it. Cin7 gives you visibility into current stock levels, low-inventory alerts, and automated reordering, so you’re never caught off guard.

2. You’ve lost count (literally) 🔁

If you’re constantly rechecking numbers, redoing work, or second-guessing what’s in stock, Cin7 brings clarity with real-time tracking across every channel and warehouse.

3. Syncing inventory across sales channels is a nightmare 🔗

Amazon, Shopify, Faire, wholesale – selling everywhere is great… until it isn’t. Channel-specific sales trends and inventory levels can be hard to juggle. You might think you’re good until Prime Day hits and you’re scrambling to pull back 3PL inventory. It’s stressful and expensive. Cin7 syncs inventory automatically and accurately, across all your channels.

4. Your 3PL is running you, not the other way around 📦

Relying on people outside your business to know what’s happening inside it can be dangerous. With Cin7, you get direct 3PL integrations that streamline order flow, reduce errors, and give you full visibility into what’s being picked, packed, and shipped.

5. You don’t know your true cost of goods sold 💸

Freight, duties, packaging, and DTC shipping adds up fast. If you’re not accurately factoring in every cost, you’re likely underestimating your fully landed COGS. That has big implications for pricing and profitability. Cin7 helps you calculate true landed costs (before it’s too late), so you can price smart and grow sustainably.

6. Retailers keep asking for things you can’t deliver (yet) 🛒

Getting into retail is a huge win, don’t let backend mistakes blow it. Retailers expect EDI compliance, routing guides, ship windows, and more. Cin7’s built-in EDI tools make it easy to meet big-retail requirements without juggling separate systems or middleware.

Why Cin7?

Cin7 isn’t just inventory software, it’s your operations command center. With demand forecasting, real-time syncing, and built-in integrations from suppliers to sales channels, Cin7 helps you scale without the chaos.

Ready to lose the headaches and run your ops like a pro?
👉 Learn more at cin7.com

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