Inventory is not a joke and definitely not a waste of time. Shrugging it off also diminishes the opportunities that come along with it. So, take some time to think about it, reanalyze your priorities and learn about inventory management and the benefits that it tags along.
Automation
Imagine how much of your time will be wasted just to do manual data entry tasks or complex manual calculations with every purchase order. This is why it’s better to leave it to software to automate these common tasks for you.
Some common issues faced by wholesalers and distributors include the calculation of landed costs. Well, inventory management software helps a lot in automatically splitting landed costs by the proportion of the purchase cost of the product, saving you time, effort and mistakes.
Meanwhile, using a B2B ecommerce platform lets you open a purchasing account for customers along with personalized product listings and custom price lists. Customers can check-out their purchases using an online cart easily. These purchases are automatically entered as sales orders in your system. This saves you selling time and needless data re-entry.
So, if you are constantly traveling while managing your business remotely, software would let you email quotations and sales orders directly while on the go. There’s nothing to be worried about anymore because all documents will be conveniently generated in PDF format for cross-platform compatibility and they have the ability to be translated into foreign languages as well.
Cutting of Costs, Maximization of Sales & Profits
If you have a multi-channel, e-commerce setup with sales streaming in from online and offline stores, it means you also have to maintain and manage orders across your sales channels to minimize the loss of sales when, say, you need to restock the next trending thing.
Monitoring and controlling your inventory is important because through it you can minimize the carrying costs of holding your stock. Knowing that keeping of stock in warehouses is quite expensive, and then you have to strategize how you will be able to operate without being killed by the warehouse fees.
Remember that you have storage fees, insurance, taxes, theft, natural disasters and passing fads that you need to worry about because these can all potentially consume your profits.
Beware of deadstock. It can negatively affect you despite your best intentions at analyzing your past sales and purchasing patterns. Technological and fashion obsolescence are part and parcel of your business if you’re dealing with these.
Efficiency & Productivity in Operations
Keeping stock means investing your money in them. This makes your funds untouchable. So your goal should be to achieve efficiency in managing your stock levels so that your business cash will flow positively. Be careful not to run out of cash or it will be the end of you.
You can use simple analytics and reports to aid you in identifying what products are selling fast through your different sales channels. This helps spot the trends and have wiser business decisions.
At the end of the day without competent inventory management software, you will be left with primitive ways and strategies which would take a lot of time and resources. It would be a good decision to choose one that is fit for your business.
Technology can be maximized to smoothly run a wholesale or distribution business while you are enjoying your personal life.
