5 Signs of Inventory management Troubles

Inventory management is quite a tricky subject. We often see how people end up with negative consequences because of the inability that they have to manage inventory. It is possible for you to overcome inventory management troubles by taking a look at the early signs of them taking place. Here is a list of 5 such prominent signs, which indicate that you are getting into inventory management troubles.

• Overselling

Businesses in today’s world tend to sell their products through numerous channels. Due to the same reason, we often see how they end up with overselling their inventory. This is one of the biggest inventory management troubles that businesses out there in the world have to deal with as well.

You can think about calling multi-channel eCommerce as a double edged sword. That’s because you will be reaching more customers with opening your business to more channels. However, you will also have to be mindful about the sales that you do through each and every channel. Otherwise, you will run out of inventory.

Imagine what would happen when you forget to update inventory in a single channel. Then you will eventually end up with overselling. Once a customer buys an order, but you don’t have any stocks left, you will be forced to cancel the order. By doing that, you don’t offer the best customer service to the clients. That’s why you need to think about overcoming overselling, especially when you are dealing with multiple channels.

In case if you cancel an order, even after the customer has made a payment, you will be losing the customer. Such a customer might never return back to your business. Hence, you need to make sure that it doesn’t take place.

• Missing inventory

You can also consider missing inventory as another sign that indicate inventory management troubles. Hence, you need to be mindful about it as well.

Businesses in today’s world tend to provide more products to the customers. When you are providing more products like that, you will find it as a difficult task to keep track of the products you offer. In other words, you will come across numerous challenges when you are trying to retain 100% accuracy with the inventory that you have. In other words, it will make you end up with missing inventory.

Missing inventory can even take place due to a mistake done by a warehouse worker. However, statistics have shown that missing inventory takes place mostly due to mismanagement of operational teams. That’s why you need to be concerned about it and make sure that it doesn’t take place. You need to take ideas from this and then take appropriate measures to end up with securing positive results.

• Storage fee that is applied on the stagnant items

Some of the items in your stock will not sell at all. This is something common and you don’t need to worry too much about it. However, you need to double check and see if you are having lots of such stagnant items. In case if you have lots of them, you will have to allocate more space from your inventory to store them. This can be an overhead, which you don’t want to deal with.

You must take a walk around the warehouse and see if you can find lots of stagnant items. Then you need to take that as a sign, which indicates inventory mismanagement. Upon learning the lesson, you should take appropriate measures to overcome the hassle and frustration that you have to deal with.

• Losing time in data entry

Lots of time is required to do data entry in Excel. You must check and see whether you are spending time unnecessarily for data entry work. If you are doing like that, you are dealing with a sign that involves inventory management troubles.

Selling your products is not all about selling. You will have to worry about the source of the products and the brand that you sell them. Likewise, you will have to pay attention to numerous other parameters like that. Due to the presence of such a large number of parameters, you will end up with wasting your time unnecessarily. That’s where you should take a look at the data entry work that you do.

Data entry cannot be taken as a productive work that you can do. That’s because it can lead you towards busy work at all times. On the other hand, it is a brainless work that you have to do. Any person will be able to do it. Hence, you should not be wasting valuable time that you have on inventory management. Time is equivalent to money and you must think about reducing the overall time that is being spent on inventory management as much as possible.

• Not sticking to correct stocking schedules

You must also make sure that you are sticking to correct stocking schedules at all times. In case if you are doing inventory management in the perfect way, you will never come up with out of stock messages. In other words, you will be able to manage the stock that you are getting in and the stock that you are selling out in an efficient manner. Along with that, you will be able to cater the demand that you are getting from your customers as well. Hence, you can ensure that you don’t spend too much of money for storage as well.

If you are not sticking to regular stocking schedules, you will come across inventory management troubles. This is where you need to take your time and come up with a proper stocking schedule. Then you must stick to it at all times. The time and effort that you spend to create the stocking schedule is totally worth when compared to the results that you will be able to end up with.