The Ecommerce Edge Podcast with Jason Greenwood: Prevent Stockouts & Improve Cashflow on Your Shopify Store

In a recent E-commerce Edge podcast episode, Bahadir Efeoglu, CEO of Fabrikatör, shared insights on solving inventory challenges that SMBs face in today’s e-commerce landscape. Here's an in-depth look at how Fabrikatör is empowering e-commerce businesses to navigate demand forecasting, scale smartly, and leverage inventory automation.

The Journey of Fabrikatör: From Humble Beginnings to Essential E-commerce Tool

Bahadir started Fabrikatör with a straightforward goal: to offer an inventory solution that supports e-commerce brands without a major ERP investment. He and his co-founder were inspired by their experience in tech and product management to create something more than a mere inventory tracker—an affordable tool that prioritizes usability, efficiency, and automation. Originally, the platform served small manufacturers but has since evolved to serve D2C and e-commerce brands, addressing inventory planning, demand forecasting, and dynamic stock management.

Bahadir's journey highlights the power of product adaptability, especially when SMBs find traditional ERP systems too complex or costly. By blending insights from his work with data analysis, product management, and e-commerce, he recognized a market gap for flexible and straightforward inventory solutions, which has since propelled Fabrikatör into a pivotal role for many brands managing inventory complexities.

Meeting E-commerce Demand Planning Challenges with Adaptive Solutions

One of the core principles of Fabrikatör is bridging demand planning with supply logistics—a challenge for any e-commerce business that must anticipate customer needs while managing long production lead times and fluctuating demand.

Bahadir explains that traditional demand planning methods can be problematic for SMBs, who lack resources for full ERP systems. Fabrikatör enables brands to:

1. Forecast Demand Dynamically: By incorporating data from e-commerce platforms and enabling brands to project growth, Fabrikatör provides insights that help SMBs keep their inventory in sync with customer demands.
2. Automate Inventory Decisions: Fabrikatör’s platform leverages AI-driven models to adjust forecasts based on real-time data and demand trends, avoiding the pitfalls of minimum stock levels and outdated spreadsheet methods.
3. Balance Cash Flow & Marketing Goals: Efeoglu emphasizes the need for SMBs to balance purchasing strategies with marketing campaigns, a particularly crucial step for high-selling periods like Black Friday or seasonal spikes.

Addressing Stockouts and Missed Sales with Backorder Automation

In a competitive e-commerce environment, stockouts can lead to lost revenue and customer disappointment. Fabrikatör introduces backorder and pre-order automation to address this issue directly. The platform seamlessly updates out-of-stock pages, converting “sold out” into “pre-order now,” displaying estimated arrival dates, and transparently communicating timelines to customers.

Fabrikatör’s backorder functionality offers three critical benefits:

1. Minimizing Stockout Impact: Brands no longer experience the sharp drop in revenue typically associated with out-of-stock items.
2. Enhanced Customer Communication: Integrations with email marketing platforms like Klaviyo enable automatic notifications if delays arise, reducing customer support requests by up to 80%.
3. Boosting Revenue Potential: By turning potential lost sales into backorders, brands can maintain momentum during stock shortages, enhancing long-term customer satisfaction.

Setting Fabrikatör Apart in a Crowded Market

While many apps claim to tackle inventory planning, Fabrikatör differentiates itself by blending inventory forecasting with real-time customer insights. Unlike traditional tools that require extensive onboarding, Fabrikatör is designed to be user-friendly, empowering small teams to streamline inventory management, even in the absence of an in-house inventory specialist.

Bahadir explains that Fabrikatör is a valuable alternative for brands that need a stopgap before adopting large ERP systems. While other apps may cater to high-level forecasting, Fabrikatör’s focus on inventory flow and pre-order management makes it ideal for smaller D2C brands and marketplaces.

Future Growth: Expanding the Platform’s Capabilities

Looking forward, Efeoglu plans to enhance Fabrikatör’s Plan feature, helping brands manage both demand and supply chain complexities over 12–18 month periods. Key expansions include:

1. Omni-Channel Inventory Management: Allowing SMBs to manage inventory across multiple channels and warehouses.
2. Pre-built Demand Templates: Including season-specific and event-driven planning templates for easier setup during high-sales periods.
3. Collaborative Marketing Planning: Integrating demand planning with marketing data from platforms like Meta and Google, offering holistic analytics.

For SMBs, Fabrikatör is more than a software tool; it’s a pathway to scaling without the overhead of complex ERP systems, empowering e-commerce businesses to be proactive, data-driven, and resilient in the face of inventory challenges.

Final Thoughts: How Fabrikatör Enables SMB Growth

Fabrikatör exemplifies the kind of customer-centric product development that meets modern e-commerce needs. For brands seeking to streamline their inventory processes and leverage demand planning effectively, Fabrikatör offers a unique blend of simplicity and innovation, ensuring that SMBs can confidently navigate demand forecasting, customer satisfaction, and inventory management—all while minimizing costs.