Accurate inventory management is a crucial factor determining the success or failure of any business selling products. A recent study showed that 43% of small businesses in Vietnam do not track inventory or use manual methods, leading to serious shortages or surpluses, directly impacting revenue and profits.

For e-commerce sellers using Excel or Google Sheets to manage inventory, you've probably experienced these dreaded situations: discovering an incorrect data entry that skews the entire inventory report, or conducting a month-end inventory check and finding discrepancies of dozens of products without knowing where the error lies. Each such mistake not only wastes investigation time but can also lead to financial losses of millions of dong.

The challenge becomes exponentially more complex when a business expands to multiple warehouses: main warehouse, branch warehouses, and warehouses supplying partners. Each warehouse has its own Excel file, with no real-time synchronization, making it nearly impossible to get an overall picture of inventory levels.

So how can you manage inventory across multiple warehouses accurately, in real time, and without relying on error-prone manual tools like Excel?

Serious Problems When Managing Inventory Using Excel

Although Excel is a popular and accessible tool, using it to manage inventory in a dynamic business environment carries significant risks and limitations.

The data is not updated in real time.

This is the biggest problem with using Excel for inventory management. When employee A ships goods to pack an order but forgets to update the Excel file, or the computer freezes while updating, while employee B is looking at the Excel file and thinks there's enough stock to take on a new order, overselling occurs, causing losses for both the customer and the shop's reputation.

In multi-channel business, this problem is even more serious. A product might be sold on Shopee, but the inventory on Lazada and TikTok Shop isn't updated immediately, leading to multiple orders for the same product being placed simultaneously on different platforms while only one unit is in stock.

Errors are unavoidable due to manual data entry.

Humans are not machines; mistakes are inevitable. Entering the wrong quantity (1500 instead of 1500), using an incorrect formula in a cell resulting in an entire column of data being wrong, or accidentally deleting an important row are common errors when working with Excel. The worst part is that these errors often go undetected and only become apparent during routine inventory checks, at which point it's often too late to fix them.

Managing multiple warehouses has become a nightmare.

When a business expands to multiple locations, managing inventory using Excel becomes extremely complex. Each warehouse has its own Excel file, each managed by a different person with different record-keeping methods. Consolidating data from all warehouses to get an overall inventory view requires manual collection, copy-pasting, and calculation, which is very time-consuming and prone to errors.

Transferring goods between warehouses is also a major challenge. When transferring 50 products from warehouse A to warehouse B, you must remember to update both Excel files: decreasing inventory in A and increasing inventory in B. Forgetting either of these operations will render the data completely inaccurate.

The cost of goods sold cannot be accurately tracked.

Many sellers import goods in multiple batches at different prices. When they ship goods, they don't know exactly which batch they're shipping from or at what cost price. This leads to inaccurate profit calculations and skewed financial reports. The FIFO (First In First Out) cost calculation method, while standard, is extremely complex to implement manually in Excel.

There are no automatic alerts when stock is running low.

With Excel, you have to proactively remember to check your inventory daily to know which products are running low. Forgetting to check for a day can lead to sudden stock shortages, making it impossible to fulfill received orders, resulting in revenue losses and damage to your reputation. Setting up automatic alerts in Excel is feasible but requires knowledge of macros and VBA, which most sellers lack.

GTG CRM - Professional Inventory Management System for All Sizes

Recognizing the challenges businesses face with manual inventory management methods, GTG CRM has developed an integrated, automated, and extremely user-friendly inventory management system suitable for all sizes, from individual sellers to large distribution businesses.

The system is not simply a place to record inventory data, but a comprehensive solution that automates the entire process from receiving, shipping, transferring, to reporting and alerts. Every operation is recorded with a complete trace, ensuring transparency and traceability when needed.

Inventory Management Features

1. Multi-Warehouse Management — Managed from a Single Dashboard

Create and manage multiple warehouses simultaneously:

• Main warehouse (general warehouse)
• Branch warehouse (by location)
• Warehouse for consignment

Each warehouse has its own inventory, but all are displayed on one dashboard. You can immediately see which warehouses have stock and which need replenishment.

2. Inventory In/Out with Documentation

All warehouse transactions are clearly documented:

• Warehouse receipt : Received from supplier, clearly stating quantity and unit price.
• Warehouse release form : Issued according to order or manually.
• Warehouse Transfer Slip : Transfer of goods between warehouses — with full tracking information.

3. Automatic Cost of Goods Sold (FIFO) Calculation

The system automatically calculates the cost of goods sold using the FIFO (First In, First Out) method:

• First order: 100 pieces × 50,000 VND
• Second shipment: 200 pieces × 55,000 VND
• Export 150 units → system automatically calculates: 100 × 50K + 50 × 55K = accurate cost price

No need to do the calculations yourself using Excel — your financial reports will always be accurate.

4. Synchronize with Orders

When the order is confirmed → inventory automatically decreases:

• Orders from Shopee → deducted from inventory
• Orders from website → deduct from inventory
• Orders from Lazada → deducted from inventory
• All synchronized in real-time — never oversell

5. Out of Stock Warning

Set safety thresholds for each product:

• Product A: Minimum stock = 50
• When inventory drops below 50, the system will immediately issue an alert.
• Never unexpectedly out of stock.

6. Realtime Inventory Report

• Inventory by warehouse, by product, by date
• Detailed import/export history
• Cost of goods sold and profit/loss report by product.

Comparison: Excel vs GTG CRM

Who Should Use It?

• E-commerce sellers who sell on multiple platforms need to synchronize their inventory.
• Retail stores have multiple branches.
• The distributor manages the main warehouse + the dealer warehouse.
• Manufacturing businesses need to track raw materials and finished products.

Conclusion — Converting from Excel to a Professional Inventory Management System

In the age of rapidly developing digital technology, relying on Excel to manage inventory is not only a waste of time but also poses significant risks for businesses. Businesses that have switched to professional inventory management systems report a reduction in errors of up to 95%, a 60% saving in processing time related to inventory, and most importantly, they never face overselling or sudden stockouts.

GTG CRM offers you the opportunity for an easy and painless transformation. You can start by importing data from your existing Excel file into the system in just minutes. Immediately afterward, all inventory management operations will be automated and synchronized in real-time with orders from e-commerce platforms, completely eliminating manual data entry.

Most importantly, GTG CRM's inventory management system doesn't exist in isolation but is deeply integrated with other modules such as order management, electronic invoicing, and financial reporting. When an order is confirmed, inventory automatically decreases. When an invoice is issued, the cost of goods sold is automatically calculated. All data flows seamlessly between modules, ensuring absolute consistency and accuracy.

With 66,888 free credits upon signing up, you have ample resources to manage thousands of inventory transactions, enough to fully experience and evaluate the system's effectiveness. Spend just 10 minutes setting it up, and you'll never have to go back to Excel again.

Sign up for GTG CRM for free and start professional inventory management at gtgcrm.com