We know that it’s just now autumn, but those in the retail industry know all too well that Christmas is less than 100 days away. As specialists in the warehousing, inventory control and fulfillment industry, we’ve learned a few things about how to best manage your inventory during the holiday season.
So why are we talking about this now? We firmly believe in planning ahead for success. But also, people won’t be waiting until Christmas to do their shopping so it’s really not that far in advance!
4 tips for retail inventory management
Forecasting is a necessary business management strategy for the entire year but with retail sales usually increasing around the holidays, it is prudent to do research on the holiday sales forecast. These four tips will help you answer necessary questions to create that forecast.
Consider the economic times
Sounds obvious, right? More specifically, consider last year’s holiday sales and the previous full year’s sales. How have your sales been so far this year? How do you think that will translate to this year’s holiday sales based on the previous sales history? What are financial experts predicting for the holiday season when they look at consumer confidence? How are others in the industry doing? What is your local economy like?
Analyze your inventory
If you don’t do this already, consider categorizing your inventory. Even if you already categorize it, holiday purchases can be a game changer so consider categorizing your inventory based on how it is most likely to sell during the holidays. If you sell products, consider packaging items differently or promoting them differently. If your business “inventory” is a number of services that are available, you can apply the same principles.
Know your profit centers
A common retail theory is that 80 percent of your profits should come from 20 percent of your inventory. Is that true for you? When you analyze your inventory, are you keeping in mind what is most likely to be your biggest seller and capitalizing on that in your inventory ordering process?
Use technology for frequently updated info
If you use manual inventory counting and spreadsheets, you face the possibility or more errors and for sure an inventory count that is not up to date in a given moment. If you use technology for your inventory, you can much easier track how much different items are moving (or not moving). This is also true when you use a warehouse an fulfillment service such as what we have at On Time Logistics. Our computerized system lets you know exactly what is in our warehouse and where it was sent when a customer orders it online or if you’ve asked for more pieces of inventory to be delivered to a given store.
What plans are you implementing to get ready for the holiday retail season? If you need help with warehousing or white glove service deliveries, give us a call at On Time Logistics. We have offices in Northwest Arkansas (Springdale), Little Rock, and Tulsa.