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Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides an incredible number of powerful capabilities to help businesses engage customers. Manufacturing Cloud is equally capable, providing the ability to plan and optimize manufacturing operations.

Many organizations are leveraging these two clouds together, creating a more integrated experience for their customers by better connecting marketing with manufacturing operations. Combining these two solutions allows you access to enhanced data about your customer relationships in addition to greater control over inventory management. Excess inventory is minimized in this scenario, which boosts profitability while also helping manufacturers make the most of the materials at their disposal. Detailed below are 4 ways in which integrating Marketing Cloud with Manufacturing Cloud can improve your inventory management process:

1. Identify Excess Inventory Faster With More Accurate Data

Marketing Cloud collects data about your customers' interactions with your business, including their online behaviour and preferences. This information is then correlated to the Manufacturing Cloud to make informed decisions about how best to meet customer demands and manage inventory.

When Marketing Cloud recognizes a purchase such as an accessory for a product made using the Manufacturing Cloud, it provides this information back to Salesforce to compare manufacturing plans and inventory levels. Excess inventory is more readily identifiable when these two clouds are integrated: you're able to match customers' actual purchasing behaviours with existing production and inventory plans without requiring additional time-consuming manual analysis.

2. Increase Inventory Turnover With More Exact Forecasts

Manufacturers can decide how many items to produce and stock by combining marketing data with the Manufacturing Cloud. Not only is it easier for manufacturers to comprehend their inventory situation, but they're able to leverage Marketing Cloud and Salesforce together to create forecasts and plans that are much more accurate than when using just one of these tools on its own.

3. Minimize Inventory While Maximizing Customer Satisfaction

Your customers want the products they need when they need them. That's why marketers must take an integrated approach when determining customer demand and forecasting future purchasing trends—and this is where Marketing Cloud data combined with Manufacturing Cloud come into play. Marketing Cloud understands your customers' preferences and can use this understanding to create informed forecasts that minimize inventory while meeting customer expectations.

4. Respond Faster With Easier Collaboration

Efficient manufacturing processes rely on manufacturers working together with their suppliers to manage inventory levels effectively. Excess inventory leads to decreased profits, yet distributors and other parties may be unwilling or unable to provide compatible items for production purposes when this situation occurs. Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud is designed with collaboration at its core—and Marketing Cloud takes advantage of these collaborative tools by allowing manufacturers to share information about planned orders (and how much excess stock exists) more efficiently than ever before.