StockAI against an Excel spreadsheet, plainly.
Excel is the tool almost all of us start buying with, and for a small catalogue it is still a great option. This page says what it does well, where it stops being enough and what changes if you move to StockAI.
What Excel does well
It is flexible and you know it
You build the sheet the way you think, learn nothing new and depend on nobody. For a few products it is hard to beat.
It is cheap and it is yours
It is on your computer, there is nothing to sign up for, and the file is yours forever.
It is good for notes and a quick look
A pivot table tells you in a minute how much of what you sold. For looking at the past it is excellent.
With 30 or 50 products it is enough
If the catalogue is small and sales are steady, a good sheet may be all you need.
Where it stops being enough
A stockout depends on lead time, and the sheet does not know it
Having stock today does not tell you whether the next order arrives before it runs out. To know, you must cross, product by product, expected sales with how long that supplier takes. In a sheet that is done by hand, and by hand it is done for a few.
Many products
Beyond a few dozen, nobody reviews row by row every morning. You review the usual ones, and the shortage appears in the one nobody was watching.
Promotions and seasons
Testing what happens if you double demand in December means new formulas every time. And payday, Holy Week or Mother’s Day are remembered from memory, or not at all.
Several warehouses
One sheet per warehouse, or one huge sheet, and nobody sees in one place that one has surplus of what another lacks.
The supplier’s lead time changes and nobody writes it down
The lead-time column is typed once and stays that way. Measuring it on every delivery takes a discipline that rarely survives a busy month.
The sheet depends on one person
The formulas, the exceptions and the judgement live in the head of whoever built the file. If they leave, the sheet stays without the judgement.
Side by side
What you need
Excel spreadsheet
StockAI
Take notes and look at the pastVery goodUpload your file; you see sales and forecast per product
Know what to order todayRow by row, with your own formulasA list sorted by urgency: PEDIR YA, PEDIR PRONTO, OK, SOBRESTOCK
How much to orderAt the buyer’s discretionSuggested quantity: subtracts what is on its way and respects the minimum order
Each supplier’s real lead timeA column you typeMeasured on each reception; used from the third
Many products at onceDozens, with attentionThe whole catalogue, every day
Products that sell now and thenAn average that misleadsModels of their own for intermittent sales
Test a promotion or a delayNew formulas every timeScenario simulator, against the current plan
Several warehousesOne sheet per warehousePer-warehouse and consolidated views; transfer before purchase
Warn you before a stockoutIt does notDaily summary by email; by WhatsApp
Total freedom to build whatever you wantTotalLimited to purchasing and inventory, on purpose
What does not change
- You keep using Excel for what Excel does well: StockAI accepts your file as it comes out of your system, as CSV or Excel.
- You need to migrate nothing to try it: upload the sales file and see the first list of what to order.
- StockAI reports export to Excel and PDF, to share with whoever works in spreadsheets.
When to stay with Excel
If you have few products, steady sales, one main supplier and time to review the sheet every morning, you do not need StockAI yet. StockAI is for when the sheet starts to fall short.
Put your own AI to work forecasting your sales. Today.
Three ways to start, depending on how much you want to commit right now. All three lead to the same product.
Create your account
With the whole engine. Upload your sales file and see your first forecast, and with it your first list of what to order.
Create my accountLook before giving your email
An instant trial account with sample data. It lasts 24 hours and is then erased.
Try it without signing upTalk to us
For the corporate plan, the source code, or to see it with your data and someone beside you. We answer within 24 hours.
Sales and contact: contacto@stockai.es. Phone: +506 7186 2820.
Sales forecasting made in Costa Rica, for companies across Latin America.