Building a Shopify App and Selling Through the Shopify App Store as a VC backed company

Introduction to Building a Shopify App

In this episode, Bahadir Efeoglu, CEO and Co-founder of Fabrikatör, shares his experience of building a successful Shopify app and launching it in the Shopify App Store. Fabrikatör has grown to become a highly valuable inventory management tool for Shopify, providing ecommerce brands with the solutions they need to manage their stock efficiently and optimize their supply chains. As a VC-backed company, Bahadir explains the challenges and milestones Fabrikatör has overcome on its journey.

‍

Podcast Overview: Solving Inventory Management Challenges for Shopify Brands

Bahadir delves into the reasons why inventory management is one of the hardest challenges ecommerce brands face today. He describes how Fabrikatör was designed to be the "virtual head of operations" for D2C brands, offering solutions that help businesses of all sizes tackle inventory management effectively.

Some key themes from the podcast include:

• Ecommerce inventory management and its complexities as brands scale.
• The importance of building a robust inventory management tool for Shopify.
• How Fabrikatör helps brands handle stockouts, demand spikes, and real-time stock tracking.

‍

The Challenges of Scaling a Shopify App

From Bootstrapping to VC Backing

Bahadir shares how Fabrikatör started as a bootstrapped company, initially focusing on manufacturing planning. Over time, the team pivoted to address the challenges faced by Shopify merchants and ecommerce inventory management. This pivot eventually led to VC funding, allowing the company to scale globally and serve thousands of merchants worldwide.

‍

The Importance of Demand and Supply Forecasting

Fabrikatör offers sophisticated demand forecasting and supply forecasting tools, helping brands predict their stock needs accurately. These features allow Shopify merchants to plan ahead, ensuring that their inventory levels match market demand without overstocking or running out of key products.

Key Takeaways:

• Inventory planning is essential for Shopify merchants looking to scale.
• Demand forecasting and supply forecasting are critical for balancing inventory levels, especially during peak shopping seasons.

‍

Selling Through the Shopify App Store

Bahadir discusses the strategies Fabrikatör used to succeed in the Shopify App Store. By focusing on a simple feature, such as stock alerts, Fabrikatör was able to attract merchants dealing with inventory management challenges. Over time, the app evolved into a more comprehensive solution, offering tools for inventory forecasting and stock management.

‍

Key Insights for Shopify App Developers:

• Start small with a simple feature that solves a common problem.
• Use customer feedback to develop and expand your app.
• Align your product messaging with the pain points merchants are searching for, such as Shopify inventory management and ecommerce inventory management.

‍

How Fabrikatör Helps Shopify Brands

Fabrikatör has become a go-to inventory management tool for Shopify, providing solutions for:

• Real-time stock tracking
• Inventory planning for peak sales periods
• Managing backorders and pre-orders

By integrating seamlessly with Shopify, Fabrikatör helps brands optimize their supply chains, reduce stockouts, and increase efficiency.

‍

Efficient Inventory Plans with Fabrikatör 🚀

What do you think your eCommerce store needs the most? Forecasting, automated replenishment, backorders? 🤔 Well, you don’t have to choose because Fabrikatör offers all for you to maximize your sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024. 🎊

Get ready for the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday season with Fabrikatör! 👇

• With analytics and comprehensive reports of Fabrikatör,  identify past sales changes, trends, and the most popular products in your store,
• Forecast BFCM demand to make more realistic plans,
• Apply a growth rate to your previous year's BFCM data and make a comprehensive and realistic inventory plan for the upcoming season,
• Plan your upcoming purchase orders, avoid last-minute rushes, and prevent unexpected delays that cause out of stock during the most busy shopping time of the year,
• Keep track of the inventory in real-time and automate the replenishment process to avoid stockout,
• Accept backorders when you’re temporarily out of stock during BFCM and keep earning revenue.

By using a more profitable inventory planning solution with minimized inventory issues, you can manage the BFCM period much more easily. In 30 minutes, you can successfully learn how to manage the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period with Fabrikatör!