Efficient stock management is a challenge for the sector. Find out how you can simplify this process.
Stock management is one of the retail sector's main challenges. When done consciously and efficiently, it boosts business growth, provides better service and even greater profitability.
Good stock management can save your company money, time and space. How? It's very simple.
All the products you have available need to be stored. Therefore, the larger the stock, the higher the storage costs.
What's more, it helps you to have a more comprehensive view of all the products you have in your possession and to eliminate losses with stock that you identify as "dead stock" - spoilt food, damaged furniture or out-of-date footwear.
Finally, correct stock management contributes to a better cash flow, since by regularly checking and optimising your inventory, you'll be able to make more sales and reduce stock-outs, thus earning more revenue for the company.
Some of the techniques for achieving efficient stock management that you can start using in your company right now are:
- Conduct regular audits
Either manually or using automatic stock management software connected to your points of sale, check the stock you have available on a regular basis. Only in this way will you be able to identify the real quantity of stock, which products can no longer be sold, which items have more sales or which are constantly in "dead stock".
It's better to detect an error during a regular audit than to discover this inconsistency at a time when you don't have time to correct it.
- Identify and register articles
Identify all the items in stock - with a barcode, colour system or by reference -, their quantities, description, origin, batch or supplier.
Make sure that every time items enter your establishment, they are registered, taking into account the data identified above.
Stock errors and money losses often occur because items are received in the shop, for example, and sold without being registered first, losing the history of the products.
- Plan consciously
Estimating demand per item is one of the most important and complex steps in stock management. You have to pay attention to all the variables and information in order to arrive at a figure that is very close to reality.
In this way, you need to take into account the volume of sales, the current year's growth rate, seasonality, market trends and needs, orders already placed, among other variables.
If you are a customer REDUNIQSome of the functionalities you can access through the Merchant area is the invoicing your business by POS or even the transactions of your e-commerce platform.
- Choose the best suppliers
After analysing all your business data, it's time to plan your orders. Good stock management depends a lot on the relationship you establish with your suppliers.
This way you'll get better prices and quality, help with unexpected problems or a quicker response to out-of-hours requests.
Choose the best suppliers who offer the most benefits for your business, build strong relationships with them and, believe me, you'll have extra support that will make a difference to your company's development.
- Draw up a contingency plan
No matter how organised stock management is, sometimes we come across unexpected situations and, without a plan B, we can run risks that seriously affect the business.
To avoid complications and unnecessary costs, draw up a plan to help you deal with these unforeseen events. Imagine all the possibilities that could arise and the solutions that could be used to resolve these problems.
Whenever these complications arise, you already know how to proceed.
