Are you afraid of losing customers due to a stock shortage? Here are some tips to keep stock levels up and keep customers satisfied!
Keeping a clear view of your inventory is a difficult task. It takes time, and storage space is expensive, especially when it is empty. There are several factors that determine how you set up your warehouse. If you do not do it, you may lose money because customers choose to order from the competition instead of from you!
Below are our tips that are important when setting up good inventory management.
1. Think about what you sell
The type of products you keep in stock determines how you organize your inventory. Perishable products must be sold quickly. Other products must be refrigerated. Some products are large, others are small. You have products that sell quickly and products that remain in stock longer.
Here are a number of questions that will help you assess the situation:
Is the inventory time-sensitive (for example perishable, quickly outdated or out of fashion)?
Does the inventory have specific temperature requirements?
How large are the items?
How quickly can you sell them?
Is it necessary to keep these items in stock or can they be delivered directly from the supplier to the customer?
2. Look at alternatives
It may be that having your own warehouse with stock is not the best solution for you. If the inventory has only a few movements, then a warehouse employee costs you more than it yields. In this case, you can consider outsourcing your inventory. It gives you the opportunity to concentrate on your company's core activities while external companies manage your inventory.
3. Know when to keep it in stock
Some products are seasonal, so it is important that you know when they come in and when they go out again. For example, it makes no sense to have the whole warehouse full of winter coats in the middle of summer.
4. Know where you source your inventory
Stock the warehouse in a smart way. Save on transport costs by ordering multiple items at the same time if you can. A good relationship with a supplier can lead to better deals, which can also help reduce costs and perhaps increase the margin.
5. Ensure multiple suppliers per product
Make a list of all suppliers that can deliver the products you need. It is always good to have a backup plan in case your usual supplier cannot meet the demand. If you know there are alternative suppliers, this means less stress, less rush, or lower costs.
6. Plan your deliveries
Some days of the week are busier than others. Receiving deliveries outside peak hours gives you more time to organize the inventory.
7. Push and Pull rules
The 'push rule' assumes that market research has been done and that you have made forecasts based on it. Based on this, you order the products and keep them in stock.
The advantage of this is that you have enough stock for every sale that is made. The disadvantage is that if you do not sell the product, it takes up space and therefore costs money.
The 'pull rule' does exactly the opposite. For every sales order you receive from the customer, you send an order to the supplier. The supplier provides you with the required quantity. The advantage of this is that it saves space and eliminates unsold stock.
The disadvantage is that you run the risk of longer delivery times and that you are dependent on the supplier's available stock. If your supplier cannot deliver, or cannot deliver within a reasonable time, this can seriously disrupt the relationship with your customer.
8. Ensure 'carefree' inventory
One technique you can consider is 'consignment stock'. This is a portion of the inventory that your supplier places in your warehouse, but for which the supplier still remains the legal owner. As soon as the stock is sold, the supplier sends you the invoice. The advantage of this technique is that, for standard products, you can return unsold stock to your supplier, with the only cost being the space it occupied in inventory.
9. The best inventory is still no inventory
Among the list of products you sell, there are some products for which you should not keep stock. The best solution to keep them out of the warehouse is to use 'drop-shipping'. This means sending all orders you receive from your customers for these items directly to your supplier. Your supplier will ship these products directly to the customer. This results in more space in the warehouse and usually faster shipping thanks to fewer steps.
10. Embrace technology
Getting the work done is a full-time job if you have to do everything by yourself. 
With the help of good inventory management software, this task will become easier, faster, and more efficient. Include every part of the inventory in the system; it will help you manage inventory by giving you clear insight into stock levels.
The use of barcode scanners will also help save time and provide immediate updates on what is coming in and going out. It also gives the exact location of each product.
11. Automate what is possible
After some time, you will have enough information to determine when which products should be ordered and in what quantity. Use automated features on these products so that the system orders these products itself, while you keep an eye on the rest of the inventory.
Once you have completed these tasks, things should go well in most situations and you can prevent stock shortages, resulting in satisfied customers. And if your customers know they can count on you, they will never look anywhere else!
