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You open a shelf in your warehouse expecting neatly stacked tees, but instead, you're staring at a pile of track pants.
Meanwhile, a worker confidently packed 40 orders this morning, only to realize later they accidentally shipped pants instead of tees.
Manually managing apparel inventory doesn’t just cause such mix-ups, it leads to returns, unhappy customers, and lost revenue.
A well-managed warehouse ensures stock is always where it should be, orders go out accurately, and your operations run smoothly. Warehouse inventory management software makes all this possible without any manual intervention, reducing errors and expediting order fulfillment.
In this guide, we dive deep into warehouse inventory management for clothing & apparel Shopify stores along with a review of six popular tools you can use.
Why Do You Need Warehouse Inventory Management for Clothing & Apparel?
A warehouse is like your business's closet and it needs to be kept organized to achieve favorable outcomes.
Here's how a structured approach to warehouse inventory management can help
01. Meet fast-changing fashion demand
The fashion industry is a moving target, trends rise and fall overnight, and customer preferences change as quickly.
Inventory management for warehouse allows you to respond proactively to customer demands, prioritize restocking hot items, shift slow movers to clearance, and even collaborate with suppliers to speed up the production of trending pieces.
02. Manage high product variety efficiently
Clothing lines often come with a wide range of SKUs; different sizes, colors, patterns, and seasonal collections. Disorganization of this huge variety leads to misplaced shipments, duplicated tracking, or shelves cluttered with unsorted stock.
A warehouse inventory management system organizes and tracks every item so that you can find a single red medium-sized hoodie in seconds, even among thousands of other items.
This slashes time spent on manual searches, minimizes human error, and allows your team to focus on fulfilling orders rather than wrestling disorganization.
03. Maintain optimal stock levels
You obviously don’t want last season’s unsold puffer coats eating up storage and cash flow while empty shelves of cotton tees during summer send customers to your competitors. Fashion supply chain software helps you maintain the right balance by analyzing sales patterns, forecasting demand and setting reorder points along with the right apparel inventory management tool.
The result? A lean, responsive inventory that keeps your business profitable and your customers happy (without clogging your warehouse with excess).
04. Faster customer deliveries
Today, Amazon has set the bar with next-day or even same-day shipping. This is why, customers aren’t just hoping for quick deliveries; they’re demanding it. A poorly managed warehouse can choke this expectation with delays as workers hunt for misplaced items or struggle to pack orders from a cluttered layout.
Warehouse inventory management optimizes every step of the fulfillment process: inventory is stored strategically (say, bestsellers near packing stations), picking routes are pre-planned, and stock levels are synced for quick order fulfillment.
Faster deliveries encourage repeat purchases and build a reputation for reliability that’s gold in the apparel industry.
05. Handle returns effectively
Returns are a big part of apparel retail with the average return rate of online apparel orders in the US being 24.4%, translating into $38 billion in 2023.
A well-maintained warehouse makes it easy to process returned items, inspect them, and get them back into circulation quickly so that they are reshelved and resold within hours, not weeks.
This reduces waste, recovers value, and keeps your inventory fluid while improving the customer experience with hassle-free returns.
Comparison of the Top Warehouse Inventory Management Apps for Clothing Brands
Top 6 Warehouse Inventory Management Apps for Clothing & Apparel Stores
The rise of warehouse inventory management apps has brought a lot of options to the table.
To cut through the noise, we have curated a list of the top six choices best suited for clothing and apparel Shopify stores.
1. Prediko
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Kicking off our list is Prediko, an AI-powered inventory management app suitable for apparel brands. It centralizes real-time sales and inventory data across different stores and warehouses, giving you a single source of truth to make stock-related decisions.
Its intuitive interface and deep integration with Shopify make it easy to set up workflows for small to medium-sized apparel retailers.
Prediko’s emphasis on predictive AI positions it as a perfect choice for warehouses and stores looking to stay on top of seasonal shifts, market trends, and customer preferences without drowning in spreadsheets.
Key Features
- AI demand and supply planning: Uses AI to forecast demand at the products and SKU level across different warehouses. Get restock suggestions based on historical sales, seasonality, and growth trends to avoid over- or under-stocking
- Purchase order management: Track, manage, create, and place purchase orders, based on recommendations. Easily coordinate restocking across suppliers and warehouse locations
- Raw materials management: Track and forecast raw materials in the warehouse for timely ordering and availability for production or assembly
- Replenishment alerts: Receive automated ‘buy now’ or ‘buy before’ alerts when stock levels drop across different warehouses, ensuring on-time reorders to maintain availability
- Analytics and reports: See which products are performing well and which ones are not. Track upcoming POs, percentage of plan achieved, and other granular insights.
Pricing
Prediko’s plans start at just $119/per month for unlimited users and SKUs. You can get started with a free 14-day trial.
2. Fishbowl Inventory
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Fishbowl is an inventory and warehouse solution that helps optimize order fulfillment through automated picking, packing, and shipping processes, integrating with carriers like FedEx and UPS via the ShipExpress plugin.
The software also automates purchasing with reordering based on demand and vendor rules, preventing stockouts or overages.
Key Features
- Real-time inventory tracking across multiple warehouses
- Barcode and QR code scanning for picking up
- Automated packing slips and invoices
- Sets auto-purchase orders based on stock levels and demand
- Track costs, lead times, and vendor details across multiple suppliers
- Integration with QuickBooks
- Fishbowl ShipExpress plugin to connect to major carriers
Pricing
Custom pricing based on your business needs
3. Zoho Inventory
Zoho also offers a warehouse inventory tracking system, allowing you to manage multiple warehouses, track stock, and fulfill orders efficiently.
Perfect for businesses with up to 7 warehouses, it offers features like barcode scanning, stock transfers, and detailed reporting.
Key Features
- Add multiple warehouses to visualize and manage stock
- Dispatch orders from the nearest warehouse
- Transfer stock from one warehouse to another
- Generate warehouse-specific reports for sales and purchase trends
Pricing
Starts at $29 per month for up to 2 users
4. Unleashed Software
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Unleashed Software helps with warehouse inventory management by automating repetitive tasks like stocktaking, improving tracking accuracy, and providing reordering insights.
It’s particularly beneficial for small to medium-sized apparel businesses, helping them scale while maintaining control over their inventory. By syncing sales from multiple channels (Shopify, Amazon, offline stores, etc), the app ensures your warehouse records stay accurate and up to date.
Key Features
- Barcode scanning for stocktaking
- Real-time stock tracking across multiple warehouses in multiple locations
- Connect with 3PLs to manage fulfillment
- Omnichannel view of reordering and production needs
Pricing
Starts at $349 per month
5. Cin7
Cin7 has integrated functionalities to speed up and improve warehouse operations for businesses of different sizes.
It gives you real-time visibility into stock levels, automates processes, and adds efficiency to order fulfillment. Cin7 lets you manage everything from receiving inventory to picking, packing, and shipping orders.
Key Features
- Barcode scanning and automation to receive, process, and fulfill orders
- Guided walk paths, bin location suggestions, and the ability to pick multiple orders
- Generate package labels and shipping documents
- AI-powered sales and inventory forecasting
- Batch and expiration date tracking
Pricing
Plans start at $349 per month for up to 5 users.
6. Brightpearl
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Brightpearl has dedicated features to help apparel brands manage warehouse inventory with ease. It’s good for keeping track of sizes, colors, and styles, using barcodes and automation to cut down on mistakes and speed up shipping.
Brightpearl also makes the return and refund process simple for both your customers and employees.
Key Features
- Scanning to receive goods, create and process returns and transfers
- Full or partial flexible inventory counts with a click
- Offers customizable picking options beyond FIFO
- Create your own goods out workflows
- Automates sales credits for returned apparel items upon receipt
- Provides a dedicated interface for warehouse staff
Pricing
Custom pricing based on your business needs
Key Challenges in Warehouse Inventory Management for Clothing Stores
Here’s a breakdown of key challenges you might face while managing apparel warehouse inventory and practical solutions to tackle them.
1. Handling multiple sizes, colors, and styles
Clothing inventory is complex as each product often comes in multiple sizes, colors, and styles. This creates a high SKU count, making it easy for items to be misplaced or mixed up during fulfillment.
In peak seasons, like holiday sales, the chaos multiplies as new collections come in, making it tough to keep everything organized and accessible.
Tips to solve
- Implement an inventory management app like Prediko with hierarchical categorization that groups related SKUs under a category
- Set up ABC classification to prioritize high-volume items for prime warehouse locations
- Consider RFID or barcode technology to track item movement and improve inventory accuracy
- Establish minimum stock thresholds by variant, with automated reordering triggers
2. Managing slow-moving inventory
Clothing retailers frequently face the issue of "dead stock" i.e. items that sell much slower than anticipated or don't sell at all due to changing fashion trends. If left unchecked, you may have to sell slow-moving stock at steep discounts or write off the inventory entirely.
Tips to solve
- Use demand forecasting tools like Prediko to predict sales trends and avoid overstocking
- Implement a first-in, first-out (FIFO) system to ensure older inventory sells before newer stock
- Run seasonal promotions or bundle products to clear slow-moving items before they become dead stock
- Donate or recycle unsellable items to free up space and claim tax benefits, keeping your warehouse lean and profitable
3. Warehouse space optimization
Apparel inventory can quickly eat up warehouse space, especially with bulkier items like jackets or seasonal stock.
Poor space management can lead to cluttered aisles, longer picking times, and even safety hazards.
Without optimization, you’re either renting more space (costly) or turning away new inventory (lost sales).
Tips to solve
- Maximize vertical space with tall shelving units or mezzanine floors. Store lightweight items like t-shirts up high and heavier goods like boots lower down.
- Use adjustable racks and modular bins to adapt to changing stock, hangers for dresses, and flat shelves for folded jeans
- Keep fast-moving items near packing stations and slow movers in the back
- Use vacuum storage solutions for off-season bulky items like coats and jackets
- Use zone-picking, grouping similar items together to improve picking efficiency
4. High Return and exchange rates
In the apparel and clothing industry, returns are just part of the cycle, and managing them well is important.
Each return needs inspecting, sorting, and restocking, often burdening staff and delaying resale.
During peak return periods (like, post-holidays), the influx can slow down operations, push fresh inventory into backlog, and frustrate customers with slow refunds or exchanges.
Tips to solve
- Create a dedicated returns/exchanges processing area and assign a team
- Have a clear workflow: scan returns on arrival, assess condition for next steps (restocking, repair, markdown, disposal), and update inventory instantly
- For sellable returns, prioritize restocking items that are in demand
- For damaged goods, set up a discount pipeline or partner with liquidators. This keeps returns from clogging your warehouse and brings in recoverable revenue
- Prioritize stock for exchanges, set it aside for shipping, and communicate the exchange timeline to customers
- Analyze returns data to identify problematic products and improve descriptions/sizing information
How to Choose the Right Warehouse Inventory Management for Your Clothing Store?
The perfect inventory management system for warehouses can change how you operate the backend operations of your apparel and clothing business.
But how do you make the right choice?
- Start by evaluating your current operations. Is manual stock tracking causing errors? Do you wanna sync multiple warehouses? Are stockouts or overstocks common? Understanding your pain points helps you define what you need from a system.
- Next, explore the market. Look beyond generic apps and focus on the ones built for retail or Shopify stores. Dig into user reviews and case studies to see how each can help. Compare pricing models too, some charge per user or warehouse, while others scale with transaction volume.
- Not all systems are created equal, so look for features that will add to your warehouse efficiency. These include
- Real-time inventory tracking
- Multi-warehouse sync
- SKU management
- Demand forecasting and reordering automation
- Picking, packing, and stocktaking automation
- Scalability
- Narrow your list to a few options. Request demos or sign up for trials to see how intuitive the interface is and how well it integrates with your existing tools. Involve your team, especially those who’d be using the software to see if it works for them.
- Once you’ve found the best fit, commit to it. Plan a smooth rollout with staff training and data migration (e.g., uploading your product catalog).
Prediko offers a free 14-day trial, giving you a chance to explore the platform before committing. The setup is simple, and you can connect it to multi-warehouse inventory with just one click.
FAQs
What is inventory management in the garment industry?
Inventory management in the garment industry involves tracking raw materials, finished products, and stock levels to prevent overstocking or stockouts while optimizing supply chains.
Which inventory system is most used in clothing stores?
Most clothing stores use the perpetual inventory system, which updates stock levels in real-time through POS systems, reducing manual tracking errors.
How do you manage warehouse inventory effectively?
Effective warehouse inventory management includes using real-time tracking software, setting reorder points, organizing stock efficiently, and forecasting demand accurately.
