Last month, I discussed how managing your inventory with AI can help you make sure that your store stocks what sells — not merchandise that gathers dust. That’s because AI tools can analyze data, identify trends and predict demand for thousands of items across multiple locations, all within minutes. AI doesn’t get tired or need coffee, and it won’t let a nebulous “gut feeling” override the math.
I also touched upon your three main options: “DIY,” prebuilt SaaS tools and enterprise/custom solutions. This month, let’s take a more in-depth look at those options so we can get you to your next step: moving ahead and implementing AI tools in a way that matches your business’s needs and capacity.
AI can accomplish great things once it understands your needs, but reaching that point requires patience and clear communication.
The DIY Route: Using General AI Tools
Not quite ready to invest in a dedicated system? You can start by feeding your sales into general-purpose AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity. These run from free to about $20 per month, and are ideal for tinkerers looking to upload sales reports and experiment with prompts. Even a basic setup will give you insights you never had before, and you can always upgrade later.
The important thing to remember about these tools, however, is that while the price may sound unbeatable, you also have to factor in the time you will have to spend. Setting up a “DIY” AI project means you become the project manager, data analyst and prompt engineer all at once. That means you’ll need to execute the following tasks:
- Create the entire context. “Explain” your business model, seasonal patterns, vendor constraints and storage limitations to an AI that knows nothing about your industry.
- Design your output specifications. Specify the exact format you want recommendations in, how to handle “edge” cases — rare or unexpected scenarios that might not “compute” — and what assumptions to incorporate.
- Gather and clean your data. Export sales reports, inventory levels, vendor catalogs and any other relevant information the AI needs to make smart recommendations.
- Iterate on prompts. Your first attempt won’t work perfectly, so plan on refining your instructions until you get useful results.
Think of this process as training a highly intelligent intern who has never worked in retail. AI can accomplish great things once it understands your needs, but reaching that point requires patience and clear communication.
Stand-Alone Tools: The Middle Ground
Some tools are positioned in between fully DIY options and integrated platforms. These specialized inventory forecasting tools don’t plug directly into your POS, but they are built specifically for retail calculations, so they need less guidance than general AI solutions.
The trade-off is that while you still need to download and upload your data regularly — on a weekly or monthly basis — the tool already understands retail concepts like seasonality, lead times and reorder points. Essentially, you’re handling the data transfer in exchange for prebuilt retail insights and a more streamlined setup.
This category is the sweet spot for most adult retailers. It’s retail-smart from day one, at reasonable monthly cost, and you can be up and running useful forecasts within a week.
Here are some tools that fall into this category:
- StockTrim. $199/month for up to 100 SKUs. Clear dashboards, forecasts for new products, and fast insights.
- Inventory Planner by Sage. Approximately $245/month and up, with custom tiers. Deeper forecasting, open-to-buy planning, strong multistore support.
- Zoho Inventory. $29/month. Budget-friendly entry point.
- Katana. Approximately $99/month and up. Real-time tracking, great for small manufacturing-and-retail combos.
- Streamline. Approximately $79/month and up. A good “Excel killer” for simplified forecasting.
Integrated Platforms: Set It and Forget It
Enterprise/custom solutions are best for chains or distributors where the complexity and volume justify the investment in fully automated systems.
These built-in tools connect directly to your POS and are the closest thing to “install and ignore” you’ll find. After initial setup — primarily involving connecting your systems and establishing your business rules (such as minimum stock levels, vendor case packs, and storage limits) — these tools operate in the background. No more downloading reports, uploading spreadsheets, or explaining what “adult retail” means to an AI that thinks you sell office supplies. The platform already accesses your live sales data, knows your inventory levels in real-time, and can generate alerts and recommendations automatically. Your main task becomes reviewing recommendations instead of creating them.
Here are some tools that fall under this enterprise/custom category, all of which have quote-based pricing:
- Oracle NetSuite. ERP with inventory modules for chains.
- Relex Solutions. Advanced demand planning for high SKU counts.
- C3 AI Inventory Optimization. Enterprise-scale supply-chain AI.
- SAP, Anaplan, Kinaxis. Heavyweights in integrated forecasting.
If you are looking for systems with dynamic pricing and margin optimization, there is also Engage3, Pricefx, PROS and Zilliant. And remember: Costs scale with SKU counts, store locations and how ambitious you get.
Getting Started: What Actually Happens
Here’s a rough timeline of what you can expect once you start implementing your chosen AI tools.
- Days 1-30: Data gathering and setup. You’ll spend time cleaning up your product catalog, setting reorder rules and teaching the system your business logic.
- Days 30-60: The system starts making recommendations, but expect to override it frequently as you fine-tune the settings.
- Months 3-6: This is where the magic happens. The AI has enough data to recognize patterns, and starts making recommendations that actually make sense.
Common Setup “Gotchas” to Avoid
Ramping up your AI tools will go smoother if you are careful to:
- Make sure your POS can export clean, consistent data.
- Double-check that vendor lead times are accurate in the system.
- Start with a small subset of SKUs to test before rolling out everything.
- Have realistic expectations — AI won’t fix fundamental problems with your buying process.
Of course, humans still matter. You understand your customers, your store’s vibe, and your marketing strategies. AI won’t change that — but it can handle some of the heavy lifting when it comes to tasks like turning messy spreadsheets into clear reorder suggestions. With that covered, you can spend less time staring at reports, and more time selling.
Zondre Watson is the general manager of technology and analytics for adult retail chain Ero-Tech. With a background in finance, chocolate and controlled chaos, he blends retail know-how with AI tools to keep 17,000 products moving smoothly.
