Take Stock of Your Inventory Management System
If you’re a small business owner, you know there are a variety of responsibilities and “musts” that go along with operating your own business. There are office and/or retail space rent and insurance, electronics and technology, everyday supplies, employee salaries, and, of course, the goods you’re selling! And what goes hand-in-hand with products? Inventory. It’s vital to have a well-stocked inventory so you don’t find yourself in the catch-22 scenario of business going so well that you run out of stock, which could deter future buyers. So now that you’re bursting with inventory, here are some tips on how to manage it effectively and efficiently:
Prioritize Reorders Based on Top-Sellers
As a proud business owner, you probably love every item you sell equally—but that doesn’t mean your customers don’t prefer certain ones to others. Keep an eye on sales trends and create forecasts so you can keep the best sellers up front and easily accessible for faster restocking.
Have a System That Works for Everyone
Sure, you know that a blue colored item is stored in row two, shelf four, because “b” is the second letter of the alphabet and it has four letters…but that probably won’t mean much to anyone else. Instead, opt for more traditional systems, have a scaled map of the stock room, and, when in doubt, label, label, label.
Free Up Some Space
Do you have seasonal products that don’t sell as well during other times of the year? Don’t bog down the sales floor or the stockroom when that space can be put to better use holding popular items. Rent a storage unit that you can access whenever you need from a trusted local company, like Gotham Mini Storage. You should also select a climate-controlled unit to better protect your wares.
Perform Quality Checks
This may vary based on what you sell (ensuring that clothing isn’t wrinkled or compromised from storage isn’t the same as making sure a piece of equipment still functions properly after months of disuse), but the concept is the same. Inventory is not a “set it and forget it” scenario. Your goods represent your business; it’s vital that they are the same quality the day they get delivered to the day they go home with a customer.
Let an App Do the Heavy Lifting
Inventory management can be time consuming and complicated—luckily for you, we live in the golden age of technology. There are a variety of inventory apps that can make things much easier, like Asset & Inventory Tracker, Emerge, Sortly Pro, and SOS Inventory. These apps offer a range of functions, from managing sales order, purchases, and payments to grouping, shortage alerts, and GPS coordinate tracking.
Now that you know how to build an effective and efficient inventory management system, it’s time to contact the leader in Manhattan mini storage, Gotham Mini Storage for a secure place to keep extra inventory and office/store supplies, and to meet any of your other business storage needs.