The demand for sustainable products is growing every year, as more and more consumers become conscious of the many environmental challenges our planet is facing. At the same time, consumers have come to expect businesses themselves to become more sustainable. Apart from making your e-commerce business look better in the eyes of your customers, green inventory management is healthy for your business, helping you use resources more effectively, preventing waste and reducing energy costs. Make your inventory management more sustainable with the following ideas:
- Use a sustainable automated inventory control app that comes with an integrated purchase order management system
A complete inventory solution such as DataQlick automates routine inventory tasks, simplifies orders, and can be integrated with accounting apps (QuickBooks and Xero), so that your employees don’t have to manually manage all of these using spreadsheets. Such a system reduces the amount of time you have to invest in managing your inventory, as well as the hardware costs involved. - Implement a barcode scanning and tracking process into your inventory management
This can help reduce the carbon footprint of your inventory by allowing you to maintain optimal stock levels and eliminating overstock. What’s more, it will relieve your inventory or warehouse employees from the need to manually enter inventory data, a time-consuming, error-prone process. - Choose to work with local vendors and suppliers
The obvious benefit of this is a significant reduction in transportation costs, as well as shorter waiting times before your orders are fulfilled. Your inventory won’t spend nearly as much time on the road, and carbon emissions will be lowered. Also, working with local vendors can help you resolve more quickly any stock-related issues that may arise. - Use the first, first out inventory management technique
Unlike the Last In, First Out (LIFO) inventory management approach, First In, First Out (FIFO) ensures your oldest inventory gets sold first, reducing the amount of obsolete or spoiled stock you have to deal with. The FIFO approach to inventory management is especially valuable if you sell products that may get damaged or become obsolete. At the same time, it can improve the flow of goods. - Understand your customers
Business analysis and sales forecasting tools can help you understand customer behavior, what items sell, and what items don’t. It helps you maintain optimal stock levels and ensure you’re not overspending on items that are not going to sell anyway. The good news is that a capable inventory management app comes with integrated business intelligence and sales forecasting tools, so that you don’t have to invest in these separately.
Making your inventory management system more sustainable becomes a lot easier with an online inventory control app that comes with built-in business intelligence and sales forecasting tools, and that can easily integrate with your accounting software, like DataQlick.
