Whether it’s inventory for multiple warehouses, physical stores, or both, creating a physical space for stocking inventory is essential. No matter how organized the inventory may be, there can always be sudden changes that may lead to excess inventory that needs proper management.
There are tools that can be used for inventory management; hence let’s have a quick glance at some of the suggestions that can help us to understand how to deal with excess inventory.
1.Offering Discounts in Bulk:
One of the most effective ways to keep items or products moving off your shelves is to facilitate the transfer of excess inventories. We can also use bundling to introduce the new items.
2. Leveraging new products as incentives:
A referral campaign can be created where we can incentivize customers to promote the brand in exchange for a free product. In this scenario, word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective way to move forward, while getting rid of the products that need to be moved out.
In the age of social media, it has become extremely easy to share the brand on any platform, suitable to our needs. Social media or the internet helps to market a product in various ways that serve the purpose of reaching out to the right kind of people.
3. The role of the Liquidator:
Liquidators are ready to buy the product in bulk and to sell it elsewhere on your behalf. There are retailers that take help from sites like Liquidation.com or B-stock solutions to help clear out excess inventory.
4. The Subscription Box Model:
When subscription boxes entered the market, consumers treated them as gifts like-products. But today, retailers are realizing the importance of leveraging these services as channels. These channels have become a means for the consumers to discover new products to which they become loyal. The subscription box model enables retailers to make their products reach out to the target audience and help manufacturers’ products off the shelves.
5. Hot and Flash Sale:
You can create a sense of urgency by hosting a sale for a limited period of time. With the help of campaigns and emails, we could create anticipation among the people. On-site promotion, and offering additional savings to items that haven’t been moving as quickly as you’d like can also be other ways.
6. Donation for Tax Reduction:
After all your resources get exhausted and you simply have to get them removed from your shelves. Donating it will be the best option. You can earn above cost, federal income tax deduction for donating the inventories. If you know of any charity which is complimentary to your brand, you can donate the items there as well and this can be also be promoted as a public relation event for better exposure.
Excess inventory is the age old problems faced by retailers, both, big and small. The good part of it is that there isn’t much to lose when considering the best way to move this inventory. This also has a scope of getting creative and trying multiple strategies or combinations of tactics and finding what works best for you and your business.
8. Recycling of old products into new products:
Sometimes when there is excess products or items in the inventory, retailers tend to use them to make new products. This makes it cost-effective for them then using newer materials, along with arranging the manpower and use of transportation.