The key to sustaining a successful Amazon FBA business is managing the inventory properly. It is a challenging part, especially for the new FBA sellers.
What most sellers do is start searching for inventory management tools like Inventory Lab. But does the tool really reduce the legwork required to run an Amazon FBA business?
This post rounds up everything you need to know about Inventory Lab. From the features to pricing, and pros/cons this article has everything you need to decide if Inventory Lab is a useful tool.
Let’s get started with the inventory lab review, and explore each section of this tool.
What is Inventory Lab? Is It beneficial for Amazon FBA sellers?
The launch date of Inventory Lab isn’t available on the official site, but after some research, I found out that the tool got launched in 2012 with some simple features.
Now Inventory Lab is a full-fledged tool that offers several features beneficial for the Amazon FBA sellers. Talking about the interface, Inventory Lab has a simple interface, and even beginners can learn how to use it.
The tool makes it easier to manage and list the inventory, and that’s essential to run your Amazon FBA business without unnecessary efforts.
Here are the following benefits Amazon FBA sellers can expect from Inventory Lab:
Accelerates the Inventory Management Process
The only way to add product listings to your Amazon account is by using Amazon Seller Central. It’s a challenging task that consumes a lot of time if you deal in numerous products.
However, managing the inventory alongside adding product listings to Amazon is even more challenging.
But Inventory Lab has simplified the inventory management process to a great extent. Inventory Lab has two ways for adding the inventory to your system.
When you add the products to the software, you can scan them using a barcode scanner to check the following details, including category, Amazon price, supplier name, and more.
Furthermore, the tool lets you know the item’s current rank, size tier, category, and more.
In short, Inventory Lab helps you create a database of the products/inventory, and you can access details to any of the products just by scanning its barcode.
Helps in Managing Prices
Running a successful and profitable Amazon FBA business requires managing the listing prices effectively. With Inventory Lab, you can keep track of the product prices along with the information of the suppliers.
After adding the product to the database, you can modify the price at any time by checking the profit and ROI calculator.
I loved the presence of the ROI calculator, and it reduces the legwork as well.
When you click on a particular product, the tool displays its details, including the current offers and price history, so FBA sellers can keep regulating the prices when they want.
Reduces the Chances of Duplicate Listings
Managing duplicate product listings is a real challenge FBA sellers face every other day. But Inventory Lab reduces the chances of any duplicate entries. If you enter different offers on the pre-entered ASIN, then you’ll get a warning message from the tool.
Yes, you can overwrite the product with different offers, but the warning tells you about any current offers on a particular product or category.
Helps in Keeping Track of Date of Expiration
If you are an FBA seller that deals in perishable goods with the date of expiration, then you will find this feature useful.
Inventory Lab lets you add the expiry date of such products. You can create a listing of these products with the expiry dates.
The tool sends you notifications in case the date of expiration of any product is near so that you can plan to sell it quickly.
This feature will decrease product wastage, which ultimately increases the profit.
Helps You Determine the Proper Prep Way
The prep way is preparing the product for shipment. Amazon can apply several penalties if the product packaging is subpar or not good.
Inventory Lab helps you with the packaging as well. The smart software determines the type of product a customer has ordered and tells you about the right prep way. However, it is up to the FBA sellers if they want to use the suggested prep way or not.
The tool suggests using polybag, bubble wrap, and other packaging materials depending on the fragility of the product.
Good packaging is essential to achieve ultimate customer satisfaction. Also, packaging the products properly will save you from several penalties Amazon levies on sellers that ship the products with subpar packaging.
Helps You Print Barcodes for the Products
When you add the products to the database using Inventory Lab, the software creates barcodes for them. Every product has a different barcode, which is helpful in managing the products.
Just scan the product’s barcode, and the system will show you all the details about it, including price, supplier name, and more.
With Inventory Lab, sellers can print barcodes in a batch, and this is an amazing feature.
Maintain Inventory Easily
Even if you are an expert in adding ASINs to the database, finding a particular ASIN code can be difficult.
Some sellers have numerous products added to the database, and that’s why Inventory Lab is a helpful tool.
It has a search bar where the sellers can search for different ASIN codes. The sellers can even create batches of ASIN codes to keep the inventory well managed.
Inventory Lab: The Top Features
In this section, I’ll talk about the top features of Inventory Lab to give you a good idea of the benefits you can expect with this tool.
There are several features that the tool offers, but I found these features to be the most useful for FBA sellers.
It Lets You Print Product Labels
This feature is really amazing and useful for Amazon FBA sellers. You can print labels using the Scoutify App and attach them to the products you have in your Amazon inventory.
Printing labels with Inventory Lab can save you hours on every batch, and it requires lesser manpower.
No matter if you do the printing task yourself, or you have staff to manage it, using Inventory Lab will accelerate the task.
Access Detailed Business Reports
The tool helps you access detailed business reports that include the expenses required to run the FBA business. When using Inventory Lab, you don’t need other tools to track the reimbursements, sales, profits, and losses.
This is an all-in-one tool that Amazon FBA sellers can use to track their business’s performance. I liked the accuracy of the Inventory Lab.
You can keep track of the performance pretty well to figure out how much profit you are getting from the Amazon FBA business.
Create Detailed MSKUs
With Inventory Lab, you can create custom MSKUs (Merchant Stock Keeping Unit) that Amazon uses to track the inventory. The tool makes the process simpler, and FBA sellers can use details like item number and date for creating MSKUs.
By having custom MSKUs, sellers can track the products, and it helps them in quick repricing or finding information of particular products.
Furthermore, sellers can even include other product details such as supplier information, ASIN, and buying cost in the Merchant Stock Keeping Unit.
Works with the Scoutify App
Another impressive feature that Inventory Lab has is that it works with the Scoutify App. It’s a mobile app you (FBA sellers) can install on their Android and iOS devices to track the inventory.
No more sticking to the PC whenever you need some information about the products. Just use your phone, and you get everything displayed on it.
The Scoutify app is a part of Inventory Lab, and you can use it for tracking product competitors’ prices. Also, the app shows you if the products are in stock and what their sales rank percentage is.
The thing I liked the most is the ASIN’s Keepa graph. You can read the product chart to understand the prices, ranks, and other details in a better way.
Inventory Lab Review: My Take On It
It has been years since I’ve been into the Amazon FBA business and have used several inventory management tools.
Here’s what I think about Inventory Lab.
The Interface: How’s It?
The interface of Inventory Lab is pretty straightforward, and you don’t need any expertise to use it.
Everything on the tool is clear, and the menu is on the top with multiple sub-menus.
Each option listed in the menu has a sub-menu, and when you scroll the mouse over it, you can see them.
This is how the interface of Inventory Lab looks like:
The Dashboard
The Dashboard option listed in the menu provides access to important stats. You can easily filter the data based on the month and year as per your requirements.
The best part about using Inventory Lab’s dashboard is that you can export the data. The tool works in sync with your Amazon Seller Central Account and fetches all the details from there to keep you updated.
Research
Right next to the Dashboard, you will find the Research option. It works similar to Amazon Seller’s App search bar. You can search for any product you want to check its pricing, history, profit, and other such details FBA sellers should know.
Furthermore, you get the information regarding the cost of the product and how much you are selling it for.
There is no clutter in the Research menu, so it’s easy to understand and use.
List
Next comes the list. It’s helpful in creating product listings in your database, and you will be using this feature most of the time. The best part about the List feature is that it helps FBA sellers prepare the FBA shipment from scratch.
Inventory Lab complies with the FBA requirements, so selling your products on Amazon becomes easier.
Under the List menu option, you will find the following features:
- Open Batches
- Closed Batches
- Amazon Listing Errors
Managing a product listing with Inventory Lab is a systematic process, and FBA sellers can avoid other challenging ways of managing the inventory.
Inventory
Under the Inventory, you get two sub-menus, i.e., merchant and FBA. Choose FBA if you are an Amazon FBA seller and choose Merchant if you handle the fulfillment yourself.
When you click on Inventory, the tool displays everything, including total SKUs, total items in stock, total buy cost, and other important things FBA sellers need to know.
The Inventory gets displayed in a tabular form, making it easier for new sellers. On the bottom of the screen, the tool shows the total cost of items you have in stock and for how much you are selling them. Check the image to get an idea of how the Inventory Lab Inventory section displays the essential details.
Accounting
The Accounting section is really important and makes Inventory Lab a useful tool for the Amazon FBA sellers.
On clicking the Accounting button, you will see the following sub-headings:
- FBA sales
- Refunds
- Inbound Shipping Cost
- Mileage
- Other Expenses
FBA Sales
The FBA Sales section shows you the details related to the product. These include the profit status, order details, sales price, buy cost, profit, and ROI.
The FBA sellers can even import or export data using quick and advanced searching. The local accountants or CPAs working with you (FBA seller) can use the Accounting section for easy movement of data.
Refunds
With Inventory Lab managing the returns becomes easier. When you click on Returns, the tool will display the details related to the products returned to the warehouses.
The tool even tells you if the returned items are sellable or defective so that you make a selling plan accordingly.
Inbound Shipping Cost
I liked how Inventory Lab designed this section strategically to help Amazon FBA sellers know about the inbound shipping cost.
Choosing this section will show you details related to shipment arrival date, status, shipment ID, and other things you need to know.
Mileage
Some FBA sellers think that it is a useless feature, but it is essential if you want to keep track of every single penny you spend on your Amazon FBA business.
FBA sellers can add the expenses of gas their cars consume while driving for business-related purposes. After all, you will pay for the gas from the overall profit you are getting from the FBA business, so it is imperative to track every expense made for the business.
Other Expenses
When using Inventory Lab, there is no need to spend money on a QuickBook subscription. You can track all the other expenses and income with this tool.
These expenses can be product disposal fees, storage fees, and other expenses Amazon FBA sellers have to bear to run their business.
Reports
When you click on the Profitability section, it displays multiple submenus, such as:
- Supplier Profitability
- Category Profitability
- SKU Profitability
- Profit and Loss
- Sales Tax Report
- Help
The best part is that the reports cover everything sellers should know to calculate the overall expenses of running the business and knowing the profit they are generating.
Supplier Profitability
This section helps you calculate the profit you are making on the supplier level. The data is available in a tabular form with multiple rows and columns.
You can even check the ROI and profit on the supplier level, so knowing all the details is easier with Inventory Lab.
Category Profitability
With Inventory Lab, you can even check the profitability on the SKU level. Calculating the profit based on SKUs is challenging without a good tool like Inventory Lab.
When you click on the Category Profitability, you see several details, including the MSKUs and supplier’s name. The section even highlights the Profit and ROI, and that’s an added benefit.
Profit and Loss
The profit and loss section helps FBA sellers track details of profit and expenses of running an Amazon business.
The profit is displayed in black, whereas the expenses get displayed in red, making it easier for sellers, especially beginners, to read the chart.
This section even helps you calculate the net profit your business is making after reducing the expenses.
Inventory Lab: How Much Does It Cost?
Here is the most important thing that most FBA sellers want to know. How much does Inventory Lab cost?
Is it a cheap tool you can use to increase profitability?
Well, using Inventory Lab isn’t that expensive when compared to other tools available in the market. You either get billed annually or monthly, as there are only two options available on the official website.
When you choose the monthly plan, you get the tool at $49 for a month. On the other hand, the yearly subscription costs around $40 a month.
You can even try the free trial for 30 days to determine the potential of the Inventory Lab.
Pros and Cons: Inventory Lab Review
It is crucial to know about the pros and cons to decide if you should use this tool for Amazon FBA business or not.
Pros
User-friendly Interface
The interface is user-friendly, and anyone can easily figure out how to use Inventory Lab. Even new sellers won’t find it hard.
It Lets You Print Labels
Amazon FBA sellers can print product labels before shipping using Inventory Lab. Sellers can even print labels in a batch to save time.
You Get Access to the Scoutify App
When you take a subscription to the Inventory Lab tool, you get access to the Scoutify app as well. The app works on Android and iOS devices and is helpful in scanning product details.
No Extra Expenses
Every feature comes included in the subscription, and you don’t have to pay anything extra for it.
Cons
Slower Development
You won’t see a lot of new features in Inventory Lab even after several months. Yes, all the features it has are useful, but some extra features can enhance its performance.
No Community
Inventory Lab used to work with Facebook Group, but it has its own community channel now. The Facebook group was much more helpful in resolving queries.
Accounting Reports Can be Confusing for the Beginners
Reading the accounting reports takes time. If you are a new Amazon FBA seller, you may find it challenging to read the reports.
Top Alternatives to Inventory Lab
If you think that Inventory Lab is not the right tool for you, then here are some worthy alternatives. I’ve listed the top five alternatives Amazon FBA sellers should consider.
1. Helium 10
You might have heard its name before, as Helium 10 is a popular tool Amazon FBA sellers use. From finding products to launching and keeping track of the inventory, you can do almost everything with Helium 10.
2. Viral Launch
Another tool you can use to scale the Amazon FBA business is Viral Launch. The tool lets you search for reliable product ideas quickly while giving you insights regarding sales trends, accurate customer estimates, and more.
3. Jazva
If you are a high-volume wholesaler or seller, you should use Jazva. It’s a cloud-based tool you can use to track the sales your Amazon FBA business makes. The tool can do a lot of things that Inventory Lab isn’t able to do.
4. Seller Mobile
FBA sellers can use this tool to streamline and automate the operations for generating better sales. The price of this tool is $10 more than Inventory Lab, but it has a lot more features as well.
5. AccerlerList
AccerList is a popular alternative to Inventory Lab. The tool even works with eBay, so if you are a multi-channel seller that uses Amazon and eBay, you should go for this tool. The site of AccerList contains some valuable information every seller should know, and that’s what I liked about it.
Frequently Asked Questions: Inventory Lab Review
Q: Is the inventory lab a Repricer?
A: Inventory Lab is a full-fledged software that helps you track the profit/loss and other essential things you should know about the Amazon FBA business. It even lets you change the prices, so yes, it’s a repricer.
Q: Is Scoutify free with Inventory Lab?
A: Yes, you get access to the Scoutify 2 app with an Inventory Lab subscription. Just download it on your iPhone and Android to get the database on your phone.
Q: Does inventory lab work with Quickbooks?
A: When using Inventory Lab, you don’t need QuickBooks. Inventory Lab has all the features you need to track profits/losses and other expenses related to the Amazon FBA business.
Q: How much does Inventory Lab cost?
A: There are two options available when you take Inventory Lab subscription:
- The monthly plan costs $49
- The annual plan costs $40 ($480 per year)
Q: How to get the Inventory Lab free trial?
A: To get the Inventory Lab free trial, all you need to do is click here: https://app.inventorylab.com/signup.
Enter the details it asks for, and the tool will redirect you to Amazon to log in to your Amazon Seller’s Account.
Final Thoughts
Inventory Lab is an easy-to-use inventory management tool you can use to track your expenses, profit, loss, and other factors. Amazon FBA sellers find it easy to use this tool, so if you think Helium 10 and other such tools are too hard to use, you can use Inventory Lab.
I would suggest you take the free trial first to evaluate the performance of this tool. The free trial doesn’t require adding the credit card info so you won’t get charged at all.
If you find the tool useful, you can upgrade to the monthly/annual subscription at any time to keep using it. For more helpful tips on Amazon FBA selling, be sure to read my complete Amazon FBA guide to help you succeed with your Amazon FBA business.