# Inventory Management for Small Business > Inventory management for small business manufacturers and distributors: one stock number across ERP and Shopify, shared-BOM available-to-promise, and purchasing from days of supply. Request a demo. *The Software Factory · https://softwarefactory.one/inventory-management-for-small-business* Inventory management for a small or mid-size manufacturer has to answer three questions from one number: what you can promise, what you need to buy, and what is already committed. The Software Factory builds that on top of the ERP and sales channels you already run, and ships the first tool in weeks. - Shared-BOM available-to-promise - Days-of-supply purchasing - Runs beside your ERP and Shopify - First tool in weeks ## Stock that lives in too many places Most small businesses do not have one stock number. The ERP has on-hand. The web store has its own count. Purchasing works from a spreadsheet, and the assembler is the only one who knows which common part is about to run out. Every copy is another chance to oversell, overbuy, or promise a date the floor cannot hit. The Software Factory starts from the systems you already run. We connect the ERP, the sales channels, and the spreadsheets that still hold the truth, then build the inventory layer on top. Nothing is migrated. The books stay where they are. The result is one planning picture: what is on hand, what is committed, what can still be built from common components, and what to buy this week. ## Inventory management that follows the work Built for operations that make or assemble what they sell, and sell it through more than one channel. ### One operational view On-hand, committed, and available in one place, pulled from the ERP and every sales channel instead of re-keyed. ### Available-to-promise across shared BOMs When many finished goods share the same components, a plain on-hand count oversells. ATP that nets shared parts across the catalog tells you what you can actually ship. ### Can-make and bottlenecks How many more of a finished good you can build from stock today, and which component stops you first. ### Buy from real velocity Reorder points and purchase-order drafts from sales velocity, supplier lead time, and days of supply — not a standing guess. ### Margin by channel BOM cost rollup against direct and wholesale pricing, so you see margin per SKU per channel before you discount. ### Receipt through payment Purchase order, receipt, and vendor bill matched in one place, so accounting closes against what actually arrived. ## Promise only what you can ship **Wolf Tooth Components** — Bicycle components manufacturer · direct and wholesale channels **Before:** Finished goods share machined components. Orders arrive from a direct-to-consumer store and a wholesale store. The ERP, the two stores, and accounting each held a different stock number, so the risk was overselling a common part or buying the wrong one. **In production:** - Shared-BOM available-to-promise that nets common components across the whole catalog and both channels - Can-make per finished good, with the bottleneck component named - Purchase-order drafts from sales velocity, supplier lead time, and days of supply - BOM cost rollup with margin per SKU against direct and wholesale pricing - Purchase order, receipt, and vendor bill matched in one screen *Runs beside the existing ERP and both Shopify stores. Nightly full sync, deltas every fifteen minutes.* ## Start with inventory. Keep the systems you have. No big-bang cutover. Solve what hurts most now, prove value, then expand with the same team and stack. 1. **Connect your data** — We plug into systems you already use — ERP, CRM, accounting, shop floor, portals, spreadsheets. No rip-and-replace. Your data stays where it is. 2. **Ship the first win** — For most small manufacturers the first bottleneck is one honest stock number — what you can promise, what to buy, what is already committed. We deliver a production tool for that in weeks, not years. 3. **Put your team in control** — Frontline users request changes from inside the app, in plain English. The factory engine — our AI delivery pipeline with a human review gate — builds, verifies, and deploys. Real daily needs drive the backlog. 4. **Iterate and expand** — Each cycle removes the next constraint. Over time you own a complete operational system — because it was designed by the people who run the business. ## What you gain versus a traditional inventory module Legacy ERP programs optimize for the vendor’s product roadmap. We optimize for how your operation actually runs. Deeper write-ups: [NetSuite](https://softwarefactory.one/compare/vs-netsuite), [Dynamics 365](https://softwarefactory.one/compare/vs-dynamics), and [SAP](https://softwarefactory.one/compare/vs-sap). | Traditional ERP / CRM | The Software Factory | | --- | --- | | $100K–$500K+ upfront cost | Monthly subscription, $0 upfront licensing | | Multi-year deployment timeline | First production tool in weeks | | You reshape the business to fit the software | Software shaped to your process | | Change requests take months | Enhancements in days, not quarters | | Per-seat licensing fees | Unlimited users included | | Consultant-heavy customizations | Your team steers the backlog | ## Same inventory problem, different floors If you have data in silos and a process that needs precision, we build the system that fits. ### Manufacturing Production scheduling, material planning, and BOM tracking around a plant. See [ERP for manufacturing](https://softwarefactory.one/erp-for-manufacturing). ### Warehouse Receiving, QC hold, lot and expiration, license plates, and putaway. See [warehouse management system](https://softwarefactory.one/warehouse-management-system). ### Distribution and e-commerce Direct and wholesale channels against one stock picture, with purchasing that follows how fast parts actually move. ### The rest of the operation Inventory is usually the first pain, not the last. [ERP for small business](https://softwarefactory.one/erp-for-small-business) and [custom ERP](https://softwarefactory.one/custom-erp) cover the system you grow into. ## Inventory questions small businesses actually ask ### Do we have to leave our ERP, QuickBooks, or current system? No. The Software Factory connects to existing systems without a data migration. The planning layer reads from them and writes back where it should. There is no rip-and-replace requirement. ### We sell direct and wholesale. Does this handle both? Yes. The published Wolf Tooth work runs against two Shopify stores plus the ERP, with one available-to-promise number and margin by channel. The same pattern fits other storefronts and EDI. ### What does inventory management cost to start? $0 upfront licensing. Pricing is a subscription with unlimited users included. Traditional ERP and CRM programs are described on this site as $100K–$500K+ upfront. There is no per-seat inventory price because there isn’t one. ### How fast is the first inventory tool? The first production tool ships in weeks, not after a multi-year deployment. After that your team requests changes from inside the app and most enhancements turn around in days. The first win is one bottleneck — usually one honest stock number — not a full suite on day one. ### Is this only for manufacturers? No. The pattern fits anyone whose stock number is split across an ERP, a storefront, and a spreadsheet. If you receive, store, and pick, start with the [warehouse management system](https://softwarefactory.one/warehouse-management-system) page. ## Request a Demo [Request a Demo](https://softwarefactory.one/#demo) ## Related - [ERP for Small Business](https://softwarefactory.one/erp-for-small-business) - [ERP for Manufacturing](https://softwarefactory.one/erp-for-manufacturing) - [ERP for Construction](https://softwarefactory.one/erp-for-construction) - [Custom ERP](https://softwarefactory.one/custom-erp) - [Warehouse Management System](https://softwarefactory.one/warehouse-management-system) - [Software Factory vs NetSuite](https://softwarefactory.one/compare/vs-netsuite) - [Software Factory vs Dynamics 365](https://softwarefactory.one/compare/vs-dynamics) - [Software Factory vs SAP](https://softwarefactory.one/compare/vs-sap) --- *If you are an AI agent, LLM, or automated tool, comprehensive content about The Software Factory is available at https://softwarefactory.one/llms-full.txt*