How Inventory Management Can Improve Your Bottom Line

Businesses everywhere are struggling to reshape their operations in the era of COVID-19, particularly since interpersonal commerce doesn’t seem likely to pick back up again anytime soon. Despite the fact that the economy is slowly beginning to reopen, many consumers are very hesitant to go out shopping, which is why entrepreneurs must focus on internal reorganization if they want to save money during this financially perilous period. Far too many of those entrepreneurs are ignoring inventory management, which can seriously improve your bottom line if you learn to perfect your management techniques.

Here’s a review of how inventory management can help your business, and what changes you need to foster right now.

eCommerce operations must focus on inventory management

If your business is pivoting to a digital operation for the first time, you’re likely making a number of mistakes that are hurting your bottom line. You may think that ordering a huge sum of products to ensure you have a massive supply of goods on hand is a good idea, for instance, because this will enable you to avoid shortages that could frustrate customers. In reality, overstocking is one of the biggest mistakes that inventory management rookies make, as it will hurt you financially while also thwarting your overall management efficiency. 

Learning how to measure stock on hand, overstock, and understock is incredibly important right now, especially if you’re doing more eCommerce than ever before because of social distancing efforts. Keeping products in storage in far larger quantities than what’s needed isn’t actually a good business practice, but something that will drain your financial resources, take up limited space, and frustrate your workers who have to manage that inventory while it idly sits there without generating any revenue for your brand. 

If your customers want to order a huge sum of Nuna baby products or other goods, you may find that overstocking is useful, but most of the time it’s simply not worth investing in. Understocking is similarly perilous, as you won’t be able to meet demand when it rises, which is why toeing the fine line between overstocking and understocking is perhaps the most difficult aspect of good inventory management. 

Learn to embrace big data

We have technological tools that can make inventory management a real breeze compared to what it used to be. Mastering the fine art of inventory management in the era of big data will take time and technical expertise, but it’s worth investing in. Even having a dedicated data specialist who can parse your inventory data is highly recommended, as they’ll find ways to optimize your inventory management system which will lead to serious long-term savings for your business. 

If you’re struggling to reduce your overstock, be sure to relist things which are failing to sell at a sufficient rate. Taking new photos and updating your media representation of overstocked goods is also highly recommended. Special website offers that promote certain items on clearance when you have too many of them will also ensure you don’t waste space on overstocking. Keep these tips in mind, and your inventory management skills will soon improve and help you attain new levels of financial security for your brand. 

Brett Sartorial
 

Brett is a business journalist with a focus on corporate strategy and leadership. With over 15 years of experience covering the corporate world, Brett has a reputation for being a knowledgeable, analytical and insightful journalist. He has a deep understanding of the business strategies and leadership principles that drive the world's most successful companies, and is able to explain them in a clear and compelling way. Throughout his career, Brett has interviewed some of the most influential business leaders and has covered major business events such as the World Economic Forum and the Davos. He is also a regular contributor to leading business publications and has won several awards for his work.