The July 28 report says spreadsheets remain the primary inventory tool for 85% of operators, including 53% of companies with 500-plus employees, despite persistent accuracy and stockout problems.
inFlow Inventory said its State of Inventory Management 2026 report found strong interest in AI across warehouse and operations teams, but very limited day-to-day adoption. The survey of 400 professionals across 33 industries showed 81% want to implement AI in inventory or warehouse operations, while only 11% currently use any AI tool. The report said operators are primarily looking for demand forecasting and automated replenishment, meaning software that recommends what to reorder and when based on sales history, rather than chatbots or dashboards. It also found spreadsheets still dominate inventory management: 85% use them as a primary tool and 74% rely on them as their only or main system, including 53% of companies with 500 or more employees. Despite 92% saying they are satisfied with their current approach, 49.5% cited inventory accuracy as their top area for improvement, 44% reported stockouts at least once a month, and 52% named supplier reliability as their biggest challenge. Cost pressure was split almost evenly among product and material costs at 23%, freight and shipping at 23%, and labor at 22%, while 84% said they buy ahead at least occasionally to hedge against uncertainty. inFlow said the findings point to a market at an inflection point, where adoption depends less on proving a tool works than on reducing barriers such as cost, implementation, and integration.