Many companies invest heavily into fancy new marketing automation features, bringing in a lot of new traffic and even the desired conversions. However, if your inventory management system lacks real-time tracking, automation, cross-system communication, and data-driven forecasting, it could easily hinder all your marketing efforts.
Having overstock damaged merchandise is probably one of the retailer’s biggest nightmares. It does not only take up space in the stock room, but it also prevents businesses from making further investments and purchases. Observing proper inventory, liquidation plays a vital role in a business’s success in a highly competitive industry. If you cannot manage and oversee your inventory on a regular basis, you can hire inventory liquidators. However, you still need to observe your stocks every once a while for you to have a careful insight into your operations. Here are some important reminders for inventory management-
- If a particular product is not selling, it may have something to do with the way it is positioned in a store. For example, if your business is a grocery store, make sure that all products are arranged according to categories. By doing so, customers can easily find what they are looking for.
- If, after some time, a particular product is still not selling at an expected pace even if you have arranged your shelves categorically, consider getting rid of it to prevent it from having a negative impact on your balance sheets. Remember, you have to be absolutely objective. Do not let your emotions get in the play as it’s just plain business as usual. If you find it hard getting rid of your closeout inventory, you can always consult inventory liquidators.
- If you have a couple of store locations, consider transferring excess inventories occasionally from one branch to another. Review each store’s sales records every now and then so that you may know in which store a particular product sells the most and not. Demands can always vary in every location.
- Putting items on sale and bundling products is a common trick among retailers. Consumers always tend to take advantage of substantial discount offerings. As a result, retailers are able to sell out their products easily. If the regular prices of your excess inventory items are no longer working out, always consider bundling them with products that have higher demands.
- If none of the above still works out for you, the next option you would want to try is to contact other suppliers. As aforementioned, consumer demands often vary depending on locations and demographics. For example, if you’re selling winter clothing in a highly humid area, the chances are you are just going to have an excess inventory. To solve this, try negotiating with fellow suppliers in locations where people are likely to purchase winter clothes.
- Make it a practice to always make donations to nonprofit organizations at least once a year. If you can no longer make money out of it, at least some people can still benefit from them.
The last thing you would want to do is to throw your excess inventory away. If the items are absolute of no use or benefit, throw them away. However, as much as possible, don’t allow your business to reach this low point by checking your inventory regularly.