Poor inventory management is the #1 reason Amazon sellers lose money—either from stockouts killing sales or overstocking racking up fees.

At InfoBeam Solutions, we’ve helped 500+ sellers optimize inventory for maximum profitability. In this guide, you’ll learn:
✔ 9 proven inventory management strategies
✔ How to avoid Amazon’s costly storage penalties
✔ Tools to automate and scale efficiently

Why Amazon Inventory Management Matters

🚫 Stockouts = Lost sales + Lower rankings
🚫 Overstocking = Long-term storage fees (up to $6.90/cubic foot/month)
🚫 Stranded inventory = Dead capital

💡 Smart inventory management can:
✅ Reduce storage costs by 30-50%
✅ Increase in-stock rate to 98%+
✅ Boost profitability by optimizing cash flow

9 Amazon Inventory Management Best Practices

1. Forecast Demand Accurately

🔹 Problem: Guessing leads to stockouts or dead stock.
🔹 Solution:

• Use Amazon’s Restock Inventory tool + third-party tools (e.g., Forecastly)
• Factor in seasonality, trends, and promo calendars
• Adjust for Amazon sales velocity changes (e.g., Prime Day spikes)

📈 Pro Tip: For new products, start with 3-month sales data before forecasting.

2. Maintain 4-8 Weeks of Inventory

🔹 Ideal stock levels:

• Fast-moving ASINs: 6-8 weeks
• Slow/seasonal ASINs: 3-4 weeks
• New launches: Start with 4 weeks, adjust fast

⚠️ Avoid: Holding >90 days of inventory (triggers long-term fees).

3. Optimize FBA Shipments

🔹 Problem: Small, frequent shipments increase costs.
🔹 Solution:

• Use Amazon’s “Send to Amazon” (STA) bulk shipments
• Ship 3-4 weeks of stock at once (reduces per-unit costs)
• Choose lowest-cost carriers (UPS vs. FedEx vs. Amazon Partnered)

📦 Cost-Saver: Palletize shipments when possible (50% cheaper than small parcels).

4. Monitor IPI Score Religiously

Amazon’s Inventory Performance Index (IPI) (0-1,000 scale) affects storage limits:

• <400 IPI: Storage restrictions apply
• >600 IPI: Unlimited space

✅ Boost IPI by:
✔ Reducing stranded inventory
✔ Increasing sell-through rate
✔ Fixing listing problems (e.g., suppressed ASINs)

5. Automate Repricing & Purchasing

🔹 Tools to Use:

• RepricerExpress (Avoid price wars + stay Buy Box eligible)
• RestockPro (Auto-PO generation based on sales)

⚡ Pro Tip: Link repricing to inventory levels (raise prices when stock is low).

6. Prevent Stranded Inventory

🔹 Common Causes:

• Listing suppressed (missing info, policy violations)
• Expired/FBA-uneligible products

✅ Fix:

• Check Fix Stranded Inventory dashboard weekly
• Use automated alerts (via SellerCentral or tools like SellerBoard)

7. Liquidate Slow-Movers Fast

🔹 Options for dead stock:

• Amazon Outlet (Discount deals)
• Liquidations.com (Bulk buyers)
• Donations (Tax write-offs + no removal fees)

💰 Pro Tip: It’s better to recover 20-30% via liquidation than pay storage fees.

8. Diversify with Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF)

🔹 Problem: Relying only on Amazon = risk during stockouts.
🔹 Solution:

• Use MCF for Walmart/eBay/Shopify orders
• Keep emergency stock at 3PLs

🌐 Stat: Sellers using MCF see 15-25% higher inventory turnover.

9. Audit Amazon’s Fees Monthly

🔹 Hidden costs to check:

• Storage overage fees
• Unnecessary fulfillment fees (incorrect size/weight)
• Disposal/removal fees

🔍 Tool: Use Amazon Fee Analytics (Seller Central) or ProfitBandit.

Case Study: How We Cut Storage Costs by 62%

Client: Home decor seller with $12k/month in storage fees.
Actions Taken:

1. Liquidated 8,000 stagnant units (via Outlet)
2. Optimized shipment sizes (reduced shipments by 40%)
3. Automated IPI monitoring (score rose from 380 → 720)
   Results:

• Storage fees down to $4.5k/month
• Stockout rate dropped from 25% → 3%

Top Amazon Inventory Management Tools

How InfoBeam Solutions Optimizes Your Inventory

We provide end-to-end inventory management, including:
📊 AI-powered demand forecasting
📦 FBA prep & shipment optimization
💸 Liquidation strategy for dead stock
🔄 Multi-channel fulfillment setup

🚀 Drowning in inventory chaos? Get a free audit