Employing the right inventory management strategies is essential for maximising your business’ resources to successfully grow your eCommerce. Businesses who deal with high volumes of inventory can benefit greatly from implementing good inventory management, as it gives your business more room for product line expansion without having to worry about accumulating excess stock and spare capacity.
Follow through these useful inventory management strategies to boost business efficiency, and meet customer demands more effectively.
Keep stock at par levels
Manage inventory by keeping stock of products at par levels. Par levels are the minimum amounts of products that must be on hand at all times. This allows you to fulfill current and expected orders, without going beyond what’s being demanded. When inventory stocks dip below your predetermined levels, that’s the time you should order for more. Par levels will vary by product and greatly depend on the demand and the time it takes to get these products back in stock. This is why research and data analysis is needed before ordering your minimum quantity.
Order in bulk
Bulk shipment is a popular way to cut costs because it is cheaper. However, bulk shipping should only be employed by businesses with goods that have high customer demand. Bulk shipments work well for a business’s staple products—those that have predictable demand and longer shelf lives.
Study data and analytics
Monitoring stocks through data and analytics give you the product information you need, to make accurate sales forecasts at a moment’s notice. Businesses that study their data are better equipped to predict product market demand and correspondingly scale their inventory up or down, depending on the need.
Regularly audit your stock
Stock reconciliation is vital when doing inventory, that’s why you need to perform regular auditing, which you can do in a variety of ways. For instance, you could employ the help of mobile technology and download inventory management tools, giving you access to critical stock data. However, it’s important to make sure the facts are accurate, and match up—try not to trust digital tools alone.
Do a physical inventory can be hugely beneficial. Though most businesses do this only once a year, it’s good practice to do spot-checking or cycle counting more often, just to make sure there are no discrepancies in your inventory.
Cycle counting is a method of stock take that saves you from doing a full physical inventory at once, by spreading reconciliation throughout the year. Each day, week, or month, a different product can be checked on a rotating schedule.
Create a contingency plan
Inventory management will not always be perfect. A multitude of issues can arise and cripple your business, especially when you don’t have a contingency plan. These issues can range from running into a cash flow shortfall, your warehouse failing to accommodate seasonal spikes, miscalculating your inventory, or slow-moving products taking up all your storage space. Thinking about these issues ahead of time is the best way to deal with them—be sure you have contingencies in place.
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Adopting effective inventory management strategies help you reduce costs and keep your business profitable. But when issues arise that lead to the piling up of excess stock, it can certainly take a toll on your company’s profits. With Bartercard, you can manage your slow-moving stock and sell it without heavy discounting. Manage your inventory with the help of our expansive network and increase your earning potential by becoming a member today!
