If your business adopts drop shipping methods, you can sell products without actually holding the inventory yourself. Many businesses find it helpful to have tighter controls over higher-value items by grouping inventory items into A, B, and C categories.
A stock controller processes all purchase orders, receives deliveries, and makes sure that everything coming in matches what was ordered. If you have a lot of inventory, you might need one person who is responsible for it. Stock control is used to show the amount of inventory you have at a given time and applies to all items from raw materials to finished goods. It could be as simple as having employees do a quick examination during stock audits that includes a checklist for signs of damage and correct product labeling. No matter your specialty, it’s important to ensure that all your products look great and are working well. Monitoring your machinery and its parts is crucial to understanding its life cycle, so you can be prepared before issues arise. A broken piece of machinery can be costly. Essential machinery isn’t always in working order, so it’s important to manage those assets.
Effective software saves you time and money by doing much of the heavy lifting for you. Have a solid system in place for tracking your stock levels, prioritizing the most expensive products. Receive daily stock alert emails so you always know which items are low or out of stock so you can order more in time. Square’s software connects directly to your point of sale, so your stock levels are automatically adjusted every time you make a sale. Look for software with real-time sales analytics.
You might also consider different strategies for getting rid of that stock - like a special discount or promotion - since excess stock wastes both your space and capital. If you have stock that hasn’t sold at all in the last six to 12 months, it’s probably time to stop stocking that item. The best way to apply FIFO in a storeroom or warehouse is to add new items from the back so the older products are at the front. It’s also a good idea for nonperishable goods since items sitting around for too long might become damaged, or otherwise out of date and unsellable. A bar owner, for example, has to be cognizant of the materials behind the bar and apply FIFO methods to improve bar inventory. This is especially important for perishable products like food, flowers, and makeup. Goods should be sold in the same chronological order as they were purchased or created.
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