The current technology used for inventory management is outdated and has begun to show its age, an issue small business owners know all too well. They often feel neglected by today's inventory management and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, and their small businesses struggle as a result. This is where Kaizntree, an AI-powered inventory management software that helps solopreneurs streamline production and sales, comes in.
Brushing a Layer of Dust from Inventory Management
Marcos Brisson, co-founder and CEO of Kaizntree, recognized that small businesses' inventory management problems were largely rooted in the lack of a centralized overview of their operations. There are existing systems that attempt to do this; however, they remain largely unchanged and have failed to keep up with the pace at which e-commerce has developed. On top of this, Marcos realized that there's a big population of business owners who are searching for a way to automate their business but are put off by the complexity of existing solutions, so they continue using spreadsheets for as long as possible.
"My co-founder, Benoît, and I just started to explore the space," Marcos said in an interview. "We looked at the existing solutions out there, and we just saw that they looked like there was dust on them; they are very cumbersome. It didn't seem like they were even helping people save time but actually just adding more complexity to their existing workflows."
Three Issues, Solved with Innovation
Kaizntree addresses the three main aspects of the inventory management problem: first, keeping up with demand, specifically losing sales due to poor inventory planning errors; second, manual data entry, such as reconciling orders from sales channels that don't connect; and third, not having an accurate point of truth.
Initial reactions to Kaizntree have been extremely positive. "[Businesses] will have some data on Shopify, some data on spreadsheets," Benoît explains, "some data on their accounting software, some data on other sales channels... It's completely disconnected, so each platform serves as a partial point of truth that business owners have to piece together... It's very refreshing when they're like, 'Okay, wow, I can log in here, and I see my entire business with real time sales data.'"
The Company's Goal for Small Business Success
Kaizntree aims to reduce inventory management workload by consolidating data into one easy-to-use platform and avoiding the confusion that results from huge amounts of diverse data. When Kazintree first started, Marcos could tell it was helping immediately, but he lacked the necessary funding to get it off the ground. He attributes the company's participation in the NYU Summer Launchpad and the NYU Yale pitch-off to the start-up's growth. Getting to pitch Kaizntree to a big audience was vital to spreading awareness of its mission.
Marcos' pitch for Kaizntree involved the story of one of his earliest customers, someone who was pouring everything into her business. He explained how this woman made him realize that inventory management is one of the last things you want to deal with while running a business. Kaizntree solves this problem by managing inventory without the need for manual input.
"Solo entrepreneurs wear many hats and then have to deal with the nightmare of inventory management and getting orders from different sales channels...That really resonated with people," Marcos states.
The pitch proved successful, winning Audience Choice at both the NYU Yale pitch-off and then later at the NYU start-up demo day last year.
Kaizntree's Continued Innovation
One of Kaizntree's key innovations is the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) tools into its inventory management software. Where traditional methods rely on manual input, Kaizntree's AI takes existing data, whether from spreadsheets or sales channels, and incorporates it all into a single resource that accounts for what needs to be made, what product components need to be reordered to keep manufacturing steady, and what orders need to be fulfilled for various sales channels. The AI can onboard this information in less than 30 minutes and fits seamlessly into existing workflows, making integration with Kaizntree incredibly simple and intuitive.
Kaizntree promises to recover up to 30 hours each month that would otherwise have been spent on the complexities of inventory management. This is valuable time that a small business owner can instead direct toward efforts to grow their company—without inventory headaches!
Streamlined Operations and AI Assistance
Kaizntree continues to innovate in an otherwise stagnant field. Their ultimate goal is to become the operating system for small business owners around the world. "Our focus is on the actual essential things," Benoît said, "not just the nice-to-haves that you never use, and to do it in a way that's very easy to use."
The company also uses two distinct AI components to run its services, both of which they continually innovate. The first is forecasting AI, which anticipates product demand and says what orders must be placed and when. The second handles the onboarding side of the Kaizntree software, automatically inputting business data to consolidate and streamline the process of inventory data tracking. Their innovative AI continues to improve, making Kaizntree all the more promising for small business owners.
A Promising Future for Kaizntree
The company is currently in 500 Global's Flagship Accelerator program, promising to garner even greater attention for its services to small business owners who previously relied on antiquated technology.
Kaizntree is more than just inventory management software; it's changing how small businesses operate. The software helps entrepreneurs handle their stock by using AI, freeing up valuable time and resources to focus on growth. With its ability to forecast demand, streamline operations, and eliminate manual data entry, Kaizntree is positioned to become an important operating system for small businesses looking to optimize efficiency and profitability. As the company continues to evolve and expand, the future of inventory management for small business owners is exciting.
