Importance of Inventory Management for Retail Businesses

Created On: February 16, 2022

Inventory Management is a vital aspect of any business. Inventory is the biggest current asset of a product-based business. Issues with managing the inventory can affect the performance of the business significantly. With proper inventory management, you could determine how much stock should be ordered at what time and find a balance between the amount of inventory going in and out of your business. You should always have the optimum inventory. Not having enough inventory can affect your sales, and having too much inventory can be expensive and can affect the cash flow.

Inventory Management is a continuous process. Depending on the size of the business, the complexity of managing the inventory also varies. If you have a large warehouse facility, you should implement an efficient inventory management system to make the process easier. It helps to improve the workflow and get more sales by avoiding shortages. You should be aware of customer demand, expiration date, and depreciation rate of the product to optimize your inventory management. An accurate record of all the inventories must be maintained and ensured it’s stored properly.

Integrating the Inventory management process with the POS system helps you scale your business much easier. It will allow you to add inventory once the invoice from the vendor is received. As you sell products your POS system will deduct products from inventory. It also gets you detailed sales reports to scale your business which can help you forecast the inventory. It helps you order fast-moving products upfront and take measures to push slow-moving products.

Importance of inventory management for retail businesses

• Avoid stockouts

You must be prepared to meet customers ­­demands all the time. If you run out of products, you’re not just losing sales. You might lose a customer forever. Efficient inventory management will help you track your products in stock, forecast the customer demand, and restock your products before it runs out by placing the order at the right time.

• Increased customer satisfaction

With a proper inventory management system, you can improve product quality and deliver products accurately. It helps to promote brand loyalty. If you satisfy your customer need, they are most likely to choose your product next time. They might even recommend your products to potential customers.

• Inventory planning and ordering

Not all of your products sell the same. Inventory management helps you keep track of your products in stock and order more of those before the products run out. Inventory management will help you plan accordingly and make orders at the right time.

• Better cashflow

Proper inventory management will allow you to spend on only inventories that you need. Unsold inventory can be a problem. The longer it sits unsold, the greater the chance it never sells at all. But inventory management helps to reduce this problem and keep your cash moving than staying idle.

• Increased profitability

Inventory management helps you make sound decisions and get you more sales. Being in stock with the products that sell more and maintaining the customer relations that make them come back to you for the next purchase will increase the profitability of your business.

• Reduced inventory theft

Inventory planning limits the control over the employee to mishandle the inventory at the warehouse. It will be hard to steal as all the products are accurately recorded and maintained. Without inventory control, the chances of employee theft are much higher.

• Organized warehouse

Inventory management streamlines efficiency within the warehouse. All the inventories are coded and arranged. It will be easy to identify them and, you will get a real-time update of your stocks. It avoids mix-ups and saves a lot of your time.

• Software integration

Integrate your inventory management software with other business software to get better insights and improved forecasting. You can integrate it with POS systems, CRM systems, Bookkeeping and accounting software, etc. This helps the process much simpler. Accurate reports can be generated which can help business owners to make the best decisions for their business.

• Handling multiple stores

Having a single warehouse for multiple locations can be hard to manage. It gets more complicated as your business grows. Streamlining your process with an inventory management system will help you maintain a balanced stock at all of your outlets.

• Average Shelf life

Inventory management helps you determine the average shelf life of a product especially if the product is perishable. Proper plans should be made and the right quantity should be ordered to make sure that the product sells within its shelf life.

Inventory management is not a process you can overlook if you want to run a successful business. You should implement a proper plan that helps you manage your inventory with optimum efficiency.

Agile e-Platform provides inventory management solutions for businesses across the world. We assure maximum accuracy and profitability as we streamline your inventories and conduct timely audits. Our POS management and Inventory management services go hand-in-hand resulting in optimum business performance and increased profitability.

Contact us to know more.