Xero Third Party App Review – Cin7 (Integrated Inventory, POS, 3PL & E-commerce system)

In this series of blogs, we review popular third-party applications which integrate with Xero to boost productivity and improve margins and cash flow for your business. This article focuses on Cin7, an all-in-one cloud Inventory, POS, EDI, and 3PL application that enables complex retail and wholesale.

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About CIN7

Cin7 is a cloud-based app that helps get products to customers quickly and efficiently, no matter where they are, no matter what sales channel they use. It provides real-time inventory management with automated procurement, production, ordering, and fulfillment solutions. It is a single platform for small businesses such as retail, e-commerce, and wholesale to be able to manage their entire supply chain. It is also ideal for brands growing their revenue above the $1 million mark and synchronizes stock with sales and orders across every physical and online sales channel which then automates order processes for better efficiency.

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Features

Cin7’S features include managing inventory software with order fulfillment, connecting B2B sales channels with your warehouse, and managing stock across multiple entities and franchises. Cin7 also connects with Xero to provide automatic updates with your latest purchases, sales, and inventory values while gaining clear landing costs and gross profit reports. It also integrates with other related software and service providers such as:

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• E-commerce – Magento, Shopify, Neto, Big Commerce
• Marketplaces – Amazon, eBay, Joor, The Iconic
• Retailers – Nordstrom, Woolworths, Amazon, Walmart
• Suppliers – Synnex, Tech Data
• Third-Party Logistics – Amazon, DHL
• Sales and Marketing – SalesForce, Mailchimp, Google Shopping

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Pricing

The cost of running Cin7 comes in at $299 per month, given that this is probably too expensive for start-up retailers and e-commerce businesses, it is ideal for companies earning revenues of more than $1 million.

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Rating

Cin7 is a highly rated application; on the Xero third party application website, it is rated as 4 out of 5 stars based on 228 reviews, and on the Capterra website, it is rated as 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 297 reviews.

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Case Study – Retail & E-commerce store

To better understand how this would work for your business we have also included a brief case study to learn the potential Cin7 can provide to your business. In this example, we provide information on how a retail store with eight outlets plus an online store has benefited from Cin7. This business was previously struggling with a standalone front office point of sale system that hadn’t been set upright, and an outdated back-office system both of which were not integrated. This retail store decided to migrate to Cin7, Magento, and Xero eighteen months ago and since then, sales and profits have shot up.

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Real-time stock data increased sales

Due to its seamless integration with Magento, which means customers can access more accurate stock levels online. Before using Cin7, if customers place an order online, one out of 10 times they would need to be contacted after the sale to notify them that the stock was sold out. With Cin7, staff now only have to load items once for them to show up on the website, point of sale, and backend. Previously, manual work was tripled as they had to load onto each platform separately. As a result of Cin7, the business can have more items loaded up faster with more consistent stock levels. Customers can see instantly whether no stock is available which increases online sales.

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Finding a system that fits

When the business opened its first store, staff used Infusion but it didn’t satisfy their needs as a retail business. They then switched to Advanced Retail, but this system wasn’t right either. Advanced Retail is more focused on the point of sale front and was never set up right or integrated correctly; it was user-friendly and easy to use but the business needed a one-stop-shop.

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Cloud-based application

Cin7 is flexible as it’s cloud-based which means that you can access the system from anywhere and can tap into the live updated sales and stock and purchasing records to make instant, informed decisions. Staff issues or errors can also be resolved on the go, when staff members transferred the wrong product, the business was required to visit two separate branches to fix the problem. With Cin7 you can easily fix the problem from anywhere.

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Staff happier to use Cin7

Cin7’s Pivot-table Reporting is also beneficial. With Cin7 reports, you can drag a specific filter which will give you a different report rather than having a lot of useful information. From a customer support perspective, Cin7 is superior to previously used systems, when an urgent issue occurs Cin7 normally provides instant response. If you would like to know more about Xero or would like to take up our discounted implementation offer, submit your contact details here and one of our consultants will be in touch.

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DISCLAIMER

This article contains extracts from the Cin7 website and is written in general terms and therefore cannot be relied on to cover specific situations; application of the principles set out will depend upon the particular circumstances involved and we recommend that you obtain professional advice before acting or refraining from acting on any of its contents.

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