Scaling an e-commerce business isn’t just about growth—it’s about staying ahead. In this track, experts shared insights on AI-powered tools, multi-carrier strategies, and global solutions designed to future-proof your operations. Discover key takeaways on how to leverage innovation and keep your business on the cutting edge:
No More Guesswork: Align Stock, Supply and Strategy for Inventory Forecasting Bliss
Inventory forecasting can make or break an e-commerce business. At Sendcloud Connect, Monika Ratniece, Solutions Advisor at Inventory Planner by Sage, shared insights on how merchants can optimize stock levels, avoid costly mistakes, and use data-driven forecasting to stay ahead. This session explored the risks of poor inventory planning and the strategies businesses can use to align stock, supply, and strategy for long-term success.
Why inventory forecasting matters
Getting the right amount of stock at the right time is one of the biggest challenges in e-commerce. Order too much, and you’re stuck with excess inventory that eats into cash flow. Order too little, and you risk stockouts that frustrate customers and hurt your revenue.
Many businesses still rely on spreadsheets to track stock, but manual forecasting has its limits. It’s time-consuming, prone to errors, and doesn’t adapt well to sudden changes in demand. That’s where automated inventory forecasting tools come in.
Key takeaways from the session
✅ The cost of poor forecasting
- Overstocking: 68% of retailers end up with excess inventory. Too much inventory ties up capital and leads to markdowns.
- Understocking: Stockouts mean lost sales and unhappy customers.
- Operational inefficiencies: Businesses waste time manually managing inventory instead of focusing on growth.
✅ Data-driven forecasting saves time & money
75% of retailers report stockouts as a major reason for lost revenue. Retailers using automated forecasting tools save an average of 50 hours per week and significantly reduce holding costs. Instead of guessing, businesses can make inventory decisions based on real data.
✅ Customers expect products to be available
A bad delivery experience often starts with stock issues. If a product is out of stock, 80% of customers won’t come back. On the flip side, carrying too much stock means less budget for marketing and other investments. Also, 77% of negative customer reviews stem from operational issues.
How to improve your inventory forecasting
Use data, not gut feeling
- Track seasonality, demand spikes, and supplier lead times to predict inventory needs.
- Monitor fast-moving vs. slow-moving products to adjust stock levels.
Plan for uncertainty
- Supply chain delays happen. Keeping a buffer stock for high-demand products can prevent stockouts.
- Lead times fluctuate, so regularly updating forecasts helps businesses stay agile.
Balance stock & cash flow
- Overstocking means money is tied up in products that might not sell fast enough.
- A smart forecasting tool helps businesses invest in the right SKUs at the right time.
Q&A highlights
💡 How can businesses plan for unexpected supply chain disruptions?
- Keep track of supplier performance and adjust lead times in real-time.
- Have alternative suppliers ready to avoid last-minute shortages.
💡 How do you forecast for new products with no sales history?
- Use data from similar product launches to estimate demand.
- Adjust forecasts based on early sales trends.
Final thoughts
Inventory forecasting isn’t just about keeping shelves stocked—it’s about making smarter business decisions. The better your forecasts, the better your cash flow, customer experience, and overall growth.
Want to learn more? Check out the Inventory Planner blog on how to master inventory optimization!
Build a product. Make people angry.
Building a successful product isn’t just about pleasing your customers—it’s also about staying true to your vision and focusing on the right audience. At Sendcloud Connect, Casper Bakker, Co-Founder and CEO of Picqer, shared valuable insights on the importance of defining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and staying focused on the long-term goals, even if it means upsetting a few people along the way.
Why product vision and feedback matter
As your company grows, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to make everyone happy. However, Casper emphasized that chasing every piece of feedback can dilute your product and stray from your original mission. Instead, focus on building products for your dream customer and keep refining based on real, actionable feedback. As your business evolves, remembering your initial ICP and staying true to your vision becomes even more important.
Key takeaways from the session
✅ Feedback is critical, but not all feedback is equal
Listening to customer feedback is essential, but it’s important to differentiate between useful insights and noise. Understand your ICP’s needs and address their problems, not just their specific requests.
✅ Stay focused on your ICP
Your early adopters are the foundation of your product. While the broader customer base might present new opportunities, it’s crucial to maintain focus on the customers who align with your product’s vision and mission.
✅ Embrace the anger
Making decisions that prioritize the long-term vision may upset some customers, but it’s essential to keep the bigger picture in mind. As Steve Jobs once said, “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” Sometimes, making people angry is necessary to deliver the right product for your ICP.
How to keep your product vision intact
- Define your ICP early and use feedback to improve your product.
- Don’t make decisions based on the loudest voices—focus on long-term goals.
- Make tough choices that may upset a few, but serve your target audience and overall product vision.
Final thoughts
Building a product that serves your customers while staying true to your vision requires tough decisions. Embrace feedback, but don’t lose sight of the bigger picture. If you make the right choices, even if they’re unpopular, your product will thrive.
Can E-commerce administration be 100% automated?
Managing an online store isn’t just about selling products. It also involves VAT compliance, bookkeeping, and new regulations like EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility). While front-end operations in e-commerce have seen major automation, backend processes are often still manual, complex, and time-consuming.
At Sendcloud Connect, Ties den Dekker, Co-Founder and CEO of Staxxer, explored the real challenges of e-commerce administration and discussed whether full automation is possible. The session was highly interactive, with merchants sharing their biggest administrative pain points and discussing what could (and should) be automated.
Key takeaways: Why admin tasks are still manual
Three areas of automation:
- VAT & OSS (One-Stop-Shop): Cross-border sellers must register for VAT in multiple countries, making compliance a challenge. Upcoming VIDA (VAT in the Digital Age) regulations in 2028 will eliminate the need for separate VAT numbers but will increase complexity within OSS.
- EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility): New EU rules require merchants to pay for packaging waste disposal in every country they ship to—creating 50+ reporting categories per country.
- Bookkeeping: Many businesses still spend hours manually reconciling sales from marketplaces like Amazon, Shopify, and Bol.com, leading to inefficiencies and lost revenue.
Why automation is difficult:
Many e-commerce ERP and accounting systems struggle with high transaction volumes.
API restrictions make it hard to sync sales data across platforms.
Payment providers deposit large sums into bank accounts without clear order breakdowns, making reconciliation complex.
The future of e-commerce administration automation:
- VIDA will change how businesses handle VAT compliance—but they must start preparing now.
- EPR will be heavily enforced within five years, meaning merchants must track and report packaging waste across Europe.
- AI for bookkeeping is promising but risky: Accuracy is crucial, as tax filing mistakes can lead to major financial penalties.
Biggest challenges raised by attending merchants
- “Our ERP system can’t handle the volume—we have to batch transactions overnight.”
- “Amazon deposits large payments, and we manually match them to the right orders.”
- “We spend too much time on VAT & bookkeeping instead of growing our business.”
Many merchants agreed that while automation could solve these issues, the current tools on the market often lack full integration capabilities.
How to prepare for the future of e-commerce administration
📌 Track upcoming regulatory changes like VIDA and EPR—both will change how e-commerce businesses handle compliance.
📌 Improve system integrations to reduce manual data entry and reconciliation.
📌 Use automation where possible—but ensure accuracy, especially in financial processes.
Final thoughts
While full automation of e-commerce administration isn’t here yet, businesses can already reduce manual work, compliance risks, and inefficiencies by integrating smarter solutions. Regulations like VIDA and EPR will push merchants to rethink their administrative workflows, making automation not just an option, but a necessity.
Merchants who start optimizing now—whether by improving data visibility, streamlining VAT filings, or enhancing bookkeeping integrations—will be in the best position to scale their business while staying compliant. The key takeaway? The sooner you prepare, the fewer headaches you’ll face in the years ahead!
