The extent and quality of your purchase planning has a direct impact on your inventory levels. While it’s not the most exciting topic in the world, purchase planning is one of those important areas of stock management that can help you optimize stock and maximize product availability. You don’t need an expensive sales forecasting app or an enterprise-grade inventory management system to do good purchase planning. But you do need to pay attention to three different factors.
The Needs of Your Customers
You need to have the right stock available at the right time. Without good stock availability, customer satisfaction will go down, and the other factors won’t even matter. Track and monitor customer purchases and pay attention to any obvious purchasing patterns that are emerging from your data. Go for an inventory system that includes a sales forecasting component. It will help you understand demand better.
The Needs of Your Business
For your inventory system to function well, you need both a good working capital and a good revenue flow. You won’t have any of these if you get carried away by the needs of your customers and overstock on popular items. Consider your business needs can balance out the needs of your customers, resulting in optimal stock values that promote both customer satisfaction and smooth inventory operations.
Storage Capacity
Storing goods in your warehouse adds up to the cost of your inventory. But drop shipping may not be an option for you. That’s why you have to make the best use possible of the storage space available. This may mean redesigning an old warehouse or changing storage protocols. Although these changes can require massive upfront investments, over time they can help you save money by extending your storage capacity. For best results, manage all your warehouses in one place with a mobile inventory app like DataQlick.
With an effective inventory management system, you may be able to streamline your purchase planning strategy and reduce warehouse and inventory staffing costs. You can also automate inventory replenishment based on dynamic rules and low stock levels. Save time and manage your inventory better now.
