Managing inventory is something all business leaders need to master, especially ones who are involved in sales-based businesses. If you don’t have the right number of the right products, you can end up being seriously choked out by the competition. These are some ways your success is dependent on your inventory management.
Newest Products
You don’t want to wait until a product starts flying off other stores’ shelves before you get it for your business. It’s not always easy to gauge which products will be sensations and which will be flops, but some perception always helps. Having these newer products can help your company to be much more attractive through how it’s focused on what’s hot. You want to be where people immediately go for the most-desirable new products. Talk with your fellow supervisors and other advisors about what strategies to implement for different seasons, such as the holiday rush. You need to concentrate on what’s happening now as well as what the future could hold.
Quick Restocking
Sometimes you may need to restock high demand products quickly. If you’re confident something will sell out in a week, you need to make sure you have more than a week’s supply. Your inventory supply should be a reflection of what your customers want. Pay attention to changes in purchase trends. If one product was a big hit for some time but has since been in decline due to things like a change of season and other circumstances out of your control, you can start to phase it out of your inventory.
Inventory Counts
Businesses keep track of inventory because they need to account for losses or anything else that might be affecting their profit margins. If you don’t know how many of a certain item you should have, you might not realize that you’re operating at a potential deficit. Inventory should be kept organized and safe. Keep expensive merchandise locked up and only accessible to employees with the proper credentials. You also need to do regular inventory counts to make sure what’s in your stockroom is equal with what’s on your count sheets. Do these counts at the beginning and end of each shift and get to the bottom of any discrepancies.
You need to have your priorities straight as a business owner. Managing inventory lets you be sure you know what is in-stock and what needs to be replenished. You’ve already got the skills to get a business off the ground. You can definitely pull through with some inventory excellence.
Check out this article for more information about inventory management.