At the heart of any business success is the ability to meet and exceed customer expectations. And that includes having the products customers want in stock and when they want it. Because of this, inventory management is crucial to the growth of your wireless business, regardless of its size. Too much inventory – or not enough– can negatively affect your ability to provide excellent customer service.
Here are some ways in which outstanding inventory management can help you grow.
Your inventory is the bread and butter of your business. Without it, you have nothing to sell to your customers. It’s very important in any retail setting to anticipate the wants and needs of your customers, then make certain you have the inventory on hand to meet them. Proper inventory management can help you keep the most popular items in stock at all times, which can reduce wait times, backorders, and rainchecks. Today’s generation, the generation X, is all about instant gratification, and if you can provide it, your business will outgrow competition.
While it’s never a bad idea to keep what retail companies call a “safety stock” – or a backlog of products designed to fill in gaps caused by delayed orders or shipments – keeping too much in stock can affect your bottom line adversely. After all, this stock takes up precious room in storage, creates a security risk, and in the case of cell phones, they may become outdated and devalued through price-drops while they sit on your shelves. Good inventory management allows you to order devices based on what’s in the highest demand at the time, and it helps you avoid too much safety stock that may cause you to lose money, which may be better used elsewhere in your business.
Without proper inventory management, you’ll have no idea how long those 20 devices have been sitting on your shelves collecting dust. What’s more, the chance that you’ll end up ordering more of a device that isn’t really selling increases substantially, which can result in costly overstock. With a solid inventory management system from CellSmart POS, you can see which products are selling, and even how long they’re on your shelves before they’re sold. This allows you to better anticipate your inventory needs and place more effective orders in the future.
Manually counting inventory is a tedious process, but it’s one that must be done. Although no software can completely remove the need to physically count inventory, it can certainly reduce the time you spend doing it. CellSmart POS automatically removes items from inventory as they’re sold, and adds items to inventory as each purchase is received. This way, you’ll know what’s on hand at a glance.
Inventory management isn’t optional. In fact, if you want your cell phone business to grow and succeed, it’s mandatory. Fortunately, CellSmart POS can make managing your inventory painless, and much of it happens behind the scenes. When you can provide what your customers want without forcing them to wait, and when you can reduce overstock, your bottom line will improve substantially.