If you’re a small business owner in e-commerce, then taking steps to improve your inventory management is something that can really help you to boost your business, as well as identify the opportunities that you have to be able to free up the limited capital in the business.
Beyond the allocation of capital, having improved or correct inventory tracking and management will be something that can help you to use the storage space that you have, as well as transportation, much more efficiently. This is definitely something that you need to make much more efficient if you have a business based from home, and you have limited storage space. You could look to put together steel framed agricultural buildings in order to create more space, but it does make a difference to the space you need when your inventory is much better managed. It can also help you to identify trends in what your customers want, as well as what are the popular products, be proactive in meeting the stocking needs. So here are some of the things that you can be doing to make sure that you’re able to improve inventory tracking and management.
Regular Cycle Counts
When you are looking to automate the inventory that you have, you need to conduct some physical counts of the inventory, but make sure that you are doing that all more than just once a year. If you don’t, then something that starts out as a small problem will be something that can snowball and be a much bigger problem than if you were able to deal with it quickly. Regular cycle counts will allow you to find and spot small discrepancies as soon as these things happen. This whole counting cycle doesn’t need to be daunting, but it just needs to be regular. This is something that can be done seasonably, as well as around bestsellers.
Label All Items
Having a well organized warehouse is something that is a dream for many. But it can be done and it does make a big difference. This can start with labeling the storage space and all pieces in your inventory too. At first, you might run into problems that need to be solved. But soon after organizing the space, you will discover that there are all sorts of opportunities. You might find that your top-selling items need to be moved to be easier to reach, in order to reduce mess and traffic in a warehouse, for example. You will be able to store much more of something else if you put in smaller shelving, for example. So the sooner that you are able to organize your space and inventory, then the better.
Driving Toward Automation
If you have a team helping you to run the business, then you will know that the more time that your team can cut out, the better the business will be as everything will be much more efficient. Inventory tracking and improving the management will need some investment in time, but it does lead to higher profitability, more accuracy with your orders, meaning fewer returns, as well as reducing the risk of there being shipping errors. It will help to provide better customer service overall.
