During holiday season many retailers see a sharp spike in their sales. In order to maximize the yield from holiday season, it is crucial that a retail stores’ inventory is managed correctly. The worst thing that can happen is to run out of stock of products that are in demand. This damages the businesses bottom line and also the customers’ impression of the business. That’s why inventory control planning is highly important during the holiday season.
There are a couple of things that retail stores can do to help ensure that they don’t run into this problem.
- Centralize Inventory — Managing various different sales columns, order forms, invoices and sales data can be confusing at the best of times. During the holiday season it is near impossible. By synchronizing all sales, orders and inventory to one easily accessible location, many man hours and a lot of confusion is saved. This inventory control planning strategy will be the biggest change you can make to your business that will have an immediate positive impact.
- Avoid Overselling — Telling customers that you don’t have the thing that they want will damage both your reputation and your bottom line. Avoid overselling and implement an order management system that automatically orders products when they reach a certain quantity. This is really an effective inventory control and planning solution.
- Anticipate Market Needs – Another inventory control and planning solution is to use your sales data to predict what items your store should stock up on for the holiday season. As well as this, research what products are highly in demand and stock up on these products. This allows your retail store to maximize profit potential from the holiday season.
It is said that for many retail stores, holiday season contributes 40% to their entire annual revenue. There is no doubt that this time of year is crucial for success of any small retail business. Introducing an inventory control and planning solution, particularly a cloud-based inventory management system, is a key discerning factor between success and failure. Inventory management can give you confidence that your business will maximize its potential this holiday season.
