A guide to efficient inventory control using Fishbowl Inventory

In the fast-paced world of modern business, effective inventory management is crucial to ensure smooth operations and maintain profitability. Poor inventory control can lead to stockouts, overstocking, and poor cash flow, all of which negatively impact business performance. Enter Fishbowl Inventory, a powerful and comprehensive solution designed to streamline inventory management, optimize stock levels, and provide real-time insights into your operations.

At ConverSight, we help businesses get even more from Fishbowl Inventory by layering in AI for inventory optimization, demand forecasting, and reporting using advanced analytics, machine learning, and supply chain expertise —transforming raw Fishbowl data into real-time, actionable AI Insights.  

Fishbowl Inventory is an advanced inventory management system that offers businesses the tools they need to manage their inventory efficiently. Whether you run a small business or a large enterprise, Fishbowl can help you track products, automate processes, and make data-driven decisions to enhance inventory control. 

In this blog, we’ll dive into the following key aspects of the Fishbowl Inventory Management System—and how ConverSight can help unlock even greater value from each: 

• How Fishbowl Inventory works 

• How to optimize inventory with Fishbowl 

• Using Fishbowl AI Insights for inventory reporting 

• Sharing inventory reports with your team in Fishbowl 

How Does Fishbowl Inventory Work? 

Before diving into optimization strategies and reporting features, it’s important to understand how Fishbowl Inventory works as an inventory management system. 

Core Features of Fishbowl Inventory 

Fishbowl Inventory is a comprehensive software solution designed to meet the needs of businesses that manage stock in warehouses, retail locations, and across multiple sites. It integrates seamlessly with accounting software such as QuickBooks and Xero and offers advanced features to streamline inventory and order management. ConverSight enhances these capabilities by offering predictive AI insights, contextual reporting, and a conversational interface to interact with your data effortlessly. 

1. Real-Time Inventory Tracking 

Fishbowl Inventory uses real-time tracking of inventory levels across all locations, making it easy for businesses to maintain accurate records of their stock. Whether you’re managing inventory in one warehouse or across several locations, Fishbowl ensures that you always have up-to-date data on your inventory. This includes barcode scanning and RFID support, which minimizes human error and ensures more accurate stock counts. With ConverSight, users can go beyond tracking and instantly ask questions like “Which items are at risk of stockout next week?” and receive immediate AI-driven answers to plan ahead. 

2. Multi-Location and Multi-Warehouse Support 

For businesses that operate across multiple locations, Fishbowl provides the ability to track and manage inventory at multiple warehouses or retail stores. This feature gives businesses a consolidated view of their stock, no matter where it’s located, making it easier to move products between locations and ensure that each warehouse maintains optimal inventory levels. ConverSight builds on this by helping you compare performance across warehouses, highlight imbalances, and suggest stock transfers—all through a single dashboard.  

3. Order Management 

Fishbowl integrates order management with inventory control, allowing businesses to track sales and purchase orders in real time. When a sale is made, inventory levels are automatically updated, and new orders can be created to replenish stock as needed. This helps prevent stockouts and ensures that you always have the right amount of stock on hand. ConverSight brings order data into a broader context, showing the financial and operational impact while providing reorder suggestions based on trends and forecasts. 

4. Manufacturing and Production Management 

Fishbowl is also a robust solution for manufacturers. It supports production management, allowing businesses to track the movement of raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods. Fishbowl makes it easy to create production schedules, monitor the flow of materials, and ensure that everything needed for manufacturing is in stock. ConverSight helps predict material shortages, align production planning with demand signals, and detect bottlenecks using AI-powered visualizations. 

5. Integrations with Accounting Software 

Fishbowl integrates with popular accounting solutions like QuickBooks and Xero, ensuring that your financial and inventory data stay synchronized. This integration reduces the need for manual data entry and helps ensure more accurate financial reporting, saving time and reducing errors. With ConverSight, businesses can view financial and inventory performance side by side, using AI to identify cash flow risks tied to inventory decisions. 

How Fishbowl Helps with Inventory Management 

At its core, Fishbowl Inventory helps businesses maintain an optimal level of stock by providing real-time visibility into inventory levels and streamlining processes. It does so through features like: 

• Inventory tracking and automation: Ensures that your stock levels are always up to date. 

• Order management: Helps businesses automatically update stock levels when sales or purchases occur. 

• Reporting: Provides valuable data to track inventory turnover, sales, and other metrics. 

• Integration with accounting software: Reduces manual data entry and ensures accuracy across systems. 

ConverSight enhances these processes by turning data into insights—automatically surfacing trends, alerts, and recommendations—so teams can act quickly and confidently. 

How to Optimize Inventory with Fishbowl 

Optimizing inventory is about balance—meeting demand without overstocking. Fishbowl provides essential tools to achieve this, and ConverSight supports these efforts by helping businesses surface the most critical actions from their data. 

1. Implementing Real-Time Inventory Tracking 

The first step in optimizing inventory is knowing where your stock is at all times. Fishbowl’s real-time inventory tracking gives you up-to-date data on stock levels, so you can make quick decisions about reordering or moving stock between locations. With accurate, real-time tracking, you can: 

• Identify slow-moving inventory and take action to reduce excess stock, preventing unnecessary carrying costs. 

• Spot stockouts and take immediate steps to reorder products before they run out. 

• Monitor inventory across multiple locations, ensuring that each warehouse has the right amount of stock. 

ConverSight adds AI-generated insights, alerting you to anomalies or risks like unusual depletion rates or seasonal surges you may need to prepare for. 

2. Leverage Automated Replenishment 

One of the biggest challenges in inventory management is knowing when to reorder stock. With Fishbowl, you can use automated replenishment features to make data-driven decisions about when and how much to reorder. By setting minimum and maximum stock levels, Fishbowl automatically triggers reorder alerts when stock levels fall below a defined threshold. This ensures that: 

• You can avoid stockouts by automatically replenishing inventory at the right time. 

• You don’t overstock, as Fishbowl only orders what’s necessary to keep your stock at optimal levels. 

• You reduce the risk of dead stock (inventory that doesn’t sell) by placing orders based on sales trends and real-time data. 

ConverSight analyzes trends over time, enabling smarter reorder decisions based on historical patterns, forecasts, and changing demand. 

3. Optimize Your Warehouse Layout 

Fishbowl allows you to optimize your warehouse or retail space by organizing stock based on factors like sales volume and product demand. This can significantly improve your warehouse efficiency, reducing time spent picking and packing orders. Some tips for optimizing your warehouse layout in Fishbowl include: 

• Group high-demand products near the shipping area for faster picking. 

• Use FIFO (First In, First Out) principles for perishable or time-sensitive products. 

• Track product movements and optimize the layout as needed based on sales trends. 

ConverSight takes this further by helping you visualize picking inefficiencies, product flow paths, and opportunities to improve warehouse throughput. 

4. Track Inventory Turnover Rates 

A key indicator of effective inventory management is the inventory turnover rate, which tells you how quickly your products are selling. Fishbowl’s reporting features allow you to track turnover rates across different product categories, helping you identify which products are moving quickly and which are stagnating. By regularly reviewing your inventory turnover, you can: 

• Adjust purchasing decisions to ensure you’re not overstocking slow-moving items. 

• Promote high-turnover products to take advantage of demand. 

• Cut back on low-performing products that are tying up valuable space and resources. 

ConverSight enables dynamic reporting of high- and low-turnover SKUs, surfacing insights on what to scale up, scale down, or phase out—automatically. 

5. Monitor Seasonal Trends 

Certain products may experience seasonal spikes in demand, which can create challenges for inventory management. Fishbowl helps you monitor seasonal trends and adjust your inventory accordingly. For example, Fishbowl can help you: 

• Plan for seasonal inventory increases by setting up forecasting models that predict demand based on historical data. 

• Stock up on high-demand items well in advance of seasonal surges. 

• Adjust your stock levels as the season winds down, reducing the risk of overstocking. 

By combining real-time tracking, automated replenishment, and intelligent forecasting, Fishbowl helps businesses optimize their inventory management processes, reducing waste and maximizing profitability. 

ConverSight layers in historical comparisons and forecast models to anticipate upcoming spikes and dips more accurately. 

Inventory Reporting with Fishbowl AI Insights Powered by ConverSight 

Effective inventory management also relies on accurate, actionable reporting. Fishbowl AI Insights gives businesses valuable data to optimize performance. 

ConverSight enhances this experience by letting users explore these reports in real time through AI-powered queries—turning reporting into a conversational, decision-ready experience. 

1. AI-Driven Reports for Inventory Optimization 

Fishbowl AI Insights can analyze historical data, sales patterns, and market trends to generate accurate forecasts for future demand. By leveraging these AI-powered reports, businesses can: 

• Forecast demand more accurately based on factors like seasonal changes, market trends, and sales history. 

• Identify underperforming inventory and make data-driven decisions about which products to discontinue or liquidate. 

• Track stock levels in real time to ensure that you’re not overstocked or understocked. 

ConverSight gives these reports context—answering questions like “What changed since last quarter?” or “Why did SKU123 spike in March?”—so you’re not just seeing data, you’re understanding it. 

2. Inventory Turnover and Replenishment Reports 

Fishbowl provides specialized reports that track inventory turnover rates and offer insights into when to reorder stock. These reports give you: 

• Real-time visibility into stock levels, so you know exactly when inventory needs to be replenished. 

• Historical sales data to identify trends and plan for future demand. 

• Insights into slow-moving items, so you can take action to reduce excess inventory. 

ConverSight connects the dots between these trends and business goals, helping teams determine where to cut losses or invest in faster-selling lines. 

3. Customizable Reporting 

Fishbowl also allows you to customize your reports based on specific business needs. For example, you can create: 

• Custom dashboards that display KPIs and metrics most important to your business. 

• Inventory performance reports based on specific categories, locations, or product lines. 

• Reorder reports to automate purchase orders and stock level recommendations. 

These customizable reports allow businesses to make more informed decisions about inventory management, reducing inefficiencies and optimizing stock levels. 

ConverSight simplifies that process even more—users can ask for a custom dashboard or report verbally or by text, and Athena will generate it automatically. 

Sharing Inventory Reports in Fishbowl 

Fishbowl makes it easy to share and collaborate on inventory insights. With the combination of ConverSight, you can enhance team collaboration by ensuring everyone has real-time access to AI-generated summaries, alerts, and visual dashboards. 

1. Share Reports with Team Members 

Fishbowl allows you to email or export reports in multiple formats (e.g., PDF, Excel, CSV) so you can easily share them with team members, suppliers, or managers. You can also set up automatic report generation, ensuring that stakeholders receive updated reports on a regular basis. ConverSight can also send reports to team members automatically on a schedule or alert stakeholders when inventory KPIs cross thresholds. 

2. Collaborate on Data 

Fishbowl’s cloud-based platform allows your team members to collaborate on inventory data in real time. This ensures that everyone has access to the same information and can make decisions based on the most current data available. ConverSight enables shared, interactive dashboards and conversations around data—within tools like Slack, Teams, or email. 

3. Custom Access Permissions 

Fishbowl allows you to set custom access levels for different users, ensuring that only authorized individuals can view or modify inventory reports. This is particularly useful for maintaining data security and ensuring that sensitive information is only accessible to the right people. 

By making it easy to share and collaborate on inventory reports, Fishbowl ensures that all team members are on the same page when it comes to managing inventory. ConverSight respects those same roles, ensuring only authorized users access sensitive insights while promoting collaboration across departments. 

Conclusion 

The Fishbowl Inventory Management System provides businesses with a powerful, flexible solution to streamline inventory processes, optimize stock levels, and generate actionable insights. 

With ConverSight integrated, Fishbowl becomes even more powerful—transforming data into decisions through AI-powered forecasting, real-time alerts, and accessible, on-demand reporting. 

Whether you’re looking to reduce excess stock, optimize your warehouse layout, or forecast demand with greater confidence, Fishbowl + ConverSight offers the tools and intelligence to take your inventory strategy to the next level.