Keeping track of your inventory – knowing what you have, where it is, and when to order more – is crucial for any business selling products. If you’re a small to medium-sized business using HubSpot, you might be wondering how to make it work for managing your inventory. This guide will walk you through the essentials, highlighting potential hurdles and outlining smart solutions to help your business thrive.

Inventory Basics: Using HubSpot's Tools

HubSpot, known for its customer relationship management (CRM) prowess, can also manage your inventory. This is not out-of-the-box functionality present in HubSpot. HubSpots Custom Objects can be used to track inventory and stock levels, and in which warehouse it's stored.

This approach requires some configuration and has the advantage of having all the information stored within HubSpot. However, when you're business grows, you may run into scaling issues trying to handle the mountain of data you have produced.

When HubSpot Needs a Helping Hand: Understanding the Limitations

While HubSpot offers a convenient starting point, it’s important to be aware of its limitations, especially as your business expands. Auditing and reporting on this in house inventory management system may prove to be a challenge. The complexities of supplier delivery tracking and management of batch expiration dates can impact the usability of the whole system.

HubSpot wasn’t specifically designed for complex inventory tasks. Although features such as management of multiple warehouses, tracking inventory in real-time, or accurately forecasting future demand can be built in HubSpot, it wasn't designed with this in mind.

While HubSpot does provide reporting tools, these are primarily geared towards sales and marketing. Getting detailed insights into your inventory performance might require more specialized tools.

Real-World Scenarios: HubSpot in Action

Imagine a small business selling handmade soaps online. They use HubSpot's custom objects and automated workflows to manage their inventory, sending alerts when soap supplies run low and automatically updating stock levels after each sale. This streamlined approach allows them to focus on crafting their products and connecting with customers.

However, a rapidly expanding online clothing retailer found themselves struggling to keep up using only HubSpot. Manually updating hundreds of products became a time-consuming nightmare. They lacked the detailed inventory reports needed to make informed decisions about purchasing and stock management.

These examples illustrate how crucial it is to choose the right tools for your specific needs and understand that relying solely on HubSpot for inventory management might not be a long-term solution as your business grows.

The Power of Integration: Expanding HubSpot’s Capabilities

The good news is that you can overcome these limitations by integrating HubSpot with specialized inventory management platforms. These dedicated systems unlock a wealth of features, including barcode scanning, tracking inventory across multiple locations, managing purchase orders, and forecasting future demand – all essential for optimizing your inventory operations.

Imagine having your online store seamlessly connected to your inventory management system, so every time a sale is made, your stock levels are automatically updated in both places. No more manual data entry, less room for error, and a single, accurate view of your inventory in real-time.

These integrations also provide powerful reporting tools designed specifically for inventory analysis. This means you can make smarter decisions about stock levels, identify slow-moving products, and optimize your purchasing strategy to maximize profitability.

Why Choose a Dedicated Inventory Management System Over HubSpot?

When it comes to managing inventory, specialized systems often provide more comprehensive and scalable solutions compared to HubSpot. Here’s a look at some popular inventory management systems and why they might be a better choice for your business:

TradeGecko (now QuickBooks Commerce)

  • Comprehensive Features: TradeGecko offers robust inventory and order management features, including stock level tracking, order processing, and supplier management, which are more advanced than what you can achieve with HubSpot’s custom objects.
  • Seamless Integration: It integrates well with e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, providing a more seamless operation for businesses with online stores.
  • Scalability: As part of the QuickBooks ecosystem, it allows for easy financial management and scaling as your business grows.

Zoho Inventory

  • Affordability: Zoho Inventory is cost-effective, providing a wide range of features at a lower price point, which can be more appealing for small to medium-sized businesses.
  • Multi-Channel Management: It supports multi-channel selling, allowing you to manage inventory across various sales channels, which HubSpot’s CRM isn’t designed to handle efficiently.
  • Integration with Zoho Suite: Seamless integration with other Zoho products (e.g., Zoho CRM, Zoho Books) offers a unified platform for managing different aspects of your business.

Cin7 Core (formerly DEAR Systems)

  • Advanced Features: Cin7 Core offers advanced features like manufacturing management, multi-warehouse management, and batch tracking that HubSpot lacks.
  • E-commerce Integration: It integrates with various e-commerce platforms, providing real-time stock updates and order syncing, ensuring accuracy and efficiency.
  • User-Friendly Interface: The system is designed for ease of use, helping businesses streamline complex inventory processes without the limitations of HubSpot’s custom object structure.

NetSuite

  • Enterprise-Level Capabilities: NetSuite is an ERP solution that provides comprehensive inventory management suitable for large enterprises with complex needs, something HubSpot isn’t designed to handle.
  • Real-Time Visibility: It offers real-time visibility into inventory levels, demand forecasting, and supply chain management, crucial for large-scale operations.
  • Scalability: NetSuite’s robust architecture allows for scalability as your business grows, providing tools that support expansion and complex inventory needs. It also has a great API, and a native HubSpot Integration.

Odoo

  • Customizability: Odoo is an open-source ERP with a highly customizable inventory management module, allowing businesses to tailor the system to their specific needs.
  • Comprehensive Suite: It provides a complete suite of business applications, including CRM, accounting, and manufacturing, which can integrate seamlessly with inventory management.
  • Cost-Effectiveness: Being open-source, it offers a cost-effective solution with flexible pricing options compared to the cost of customizing HubSpot extensively.

SAP Business One

  • Robust Integration: SAP Business One offers robust integration capabilities, making it easier to sync inventory data with other business processes, unlike HubSpot which requires more complex integration solutions.
  • Advanced Features: It includes features like multi-location inventory, serial number tracking, and advanced analytics, which are essential for growing businesses with complex inventory needs.
  • Scalability: Designed for small to medium-sized enterprises, SAP Business One scales with your business, providing enterprise-level capabilities as you grow.

Cin7

  • Multi-Channel Retail Focus: Cin7 is designed specifically for multi-channel retailers, offering features like warehouse management and B2B e-commerce, which HubSpot’s CRM cannot efficiently support.
  • Streamlined Operations: It provides real-time inventory visibility and order management across multiple sales channels, ensuring synchronized operations and reducing manual effort.
  • E-commerce Integration: It integrates with various e-commerce platforms and accounting software, ensuring smooth data flow and accurate inventory management.

SkuVault

  • E-commerce and Omnichannel Focus: SkuVault is tailored for e-commerce and omnichannel retailers, providing real-time inventory visibility and management that is more sophisticated than HubSpot’s capabilities.
  • Warehouse Management: It offers robust warehouse management features, including barcode scanning and location tracking, which are essential for efficient inventory operations.
  • Integration Capabilities: SkuVault integrates with a wide range of e-commerce platforms and marketplaces, ensuring seamless data synchronization and reducing the risk of errors.

While HubSpot is a powerful CRM platform with customizable features, its inventory management capabilities are limited, especially for businesses with complex or large-scale needs.

Dedicated inventory management systems like TradeGecko, Zoho Inventory, Cin7 Core, NetSuite, Odoo, SAP Business One, Cin7, and SkuVault offer specialized features and better scalability. This can significantly enhance your inventory management processes, leading to improved efficiency, accuracy, and overall business performance.

Take Control of Your Inventory: Contact Automatec Today

Effectively managing your inventory can be the difference between smooth sailing and a logistical nightmare. While HubSpot offers helpful tools, understanding its limitations and embracing the power of integration is key, especially for growing businesses.

Ready to streamline your inventory management and unlock your business’s full potential? Contact Automatec Data Systems, your HubSpot integration experts. We’ll help you navigate the complexities of integration, tailor solutions to your specific needs, and empower you to make data-driven decisions that drive success. Don’t wait for a stock-out crisis – take control of your inventory today.