Inventory Service Business

3 Inventory Service Business Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

•

Updated: October 8th, 2024

Taking stock of business opportunities? Consider starting an inventory service business. This venture revolves around assisting companies in maintaining accurate inventory records, optimizing stock levels, and ensuring inventory accuracy.

Your role involves conducting physical counts, data entry, and recommending inventory control solutions tailored to each client's needs. It's a business that caters to a wide array of industries—retail, manufacturing, and healthcare, to name a few—offering a stable market for your services.

With an inventory service business, you're entering a sector where the demand for precision is high and ongoing. Investing in this idea means developing long-term relationships with clients reliant on your expertise to reduce errors and streamline their operations. If you're detail-oriented and thrive on organization, this business could be an excellent fit for you.

In this list, you'll find real-world inventory service business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a inventory service business that makes money.

1. 365 Retail Markets ($86.4M/year)

Joe Hessling, the founder of 365 Retail Markets, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the potential of self-checkout convenience. Starting with one MicroMarket, he turned it into 29,000 worldwide, generating $72 million in revenue in 2019. Hessling's previous experience in the food business and understanding of the blue-collar workforce played a crucial role in the success of his innovative concept.

How much money it makes: $86.4M/year
How many people on the team: 239

The Story Behind This $72M/Year Grab-N-Go MicroMarkets Company

365 Retail Markets, founded by Joe Hessling, started with one MicroMarket and turned it into a global industry leader with 29,000 locations worldwide, generating revenue of $72 million in 2019 by offering grab-n-go convenience through self-checkout kiosks and healthy snacks.

Read this case study

Read by 9,712 founders

2. Third Wave Analytics ($3.96M/year)

Savitra Sharma, the founder of Third Wave Analytics, came up with the idea for her business after witnessing the inefficiencies of technology in laboratories during her previous consulting roles. Realizing the need for a more optimal system, she reached out to Salesforce and proposed a collaboration to bring a new kind of software into the laboratory. With just $200 in capital, Sharma started Third Wave Analytics and built the world's first cloud-based laboratory information management system (LIMS) called Lockbox LIMS, which is now used internationally by organizations in various industries.

How much money it makes: $3.96M/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
How many people on the team: 7

How We Partnered With Salesforce To Develop A $330K/Month Laboratory Information Management SaaS

Third Wave Analytics developed the world's first cloud-based and customizable LIMS platform on Salesforce, generating $330k monthly revenue from clients such as Ohio State University and Boston University School of Medicine while partnering with the University of California-Berkeley for a COVID-19 study; founder Savitra Sharma advises aspiring entrepreneurs to focus on clear objectives to meet their goals.

Read this case study

Read by 8,143 founders

3. Inventora ($6K/year)

Dianna Allen and Jeremy Blalock co-founded Inventora after Dianna, who runs a home fragrance shop, struggled to find an affordable inventory system that could track both products and supplies. They soft-launched Inventora as a free system and gained over 2,500 users in just four months. They introduced premium features and have already reached $500 in monthly recurring revenue, with a goal of hitting $3k MRR by September.

How much money it makes: $6K/year
How much did it cost to start: $30
How many people on the team: 1

This Couple Solved Their Own Problem & Built A Profitable Inventory SaaS

Inventora is a niche inventory management system designed for artisan businesses that tracks both products and supplies, and the relationship between the two, has gained 2,500 free users in just four months and has hit $500 in MRR after introducing premium features a month ago, with the founders expecting to hit $3k MRR target shortly.

Read this case study

Read by 3,557 founders