What can you gain from an increased focus on inventory management?
- The right items on-hand, in the right quantities at the right time, day in and day out.
- A significant reduction in markdowns that lift your margins to where you know they should be.
- A flow of new merchandise arriving regularly so that inventories are always fresh and current.
- Customers responding with a greater sense of urgency, rather than waiting for that next markdown.
- A much healthier and sustainable balance between inventory and cash on-hand.
Exceptional inventory management is a core retailing fundamental.
I know from personal experience that exceptional inventory management leads to greater cash flow. While it's essential to present customers with compelling assortments of the things they expect to find, successful retailers avoid the excess inventory that chews up cash and erodes many other business fundamentals. The carrying costs of excess inventory alone can take a big bite out of profits.
Heavy inventory leads to more markdowns and weaker cash flow.
Heavy inventories are not your friend. The more inventory that's on hand, the longer it's likely to hang around, growing older and gathering dust. That inventory eventually has to be cleared out, and the older it is, the greater the markdowns that will be needed to move it, robbing any retailer of gross margin dollars, cash, and profitability.
Lean inventories promote price integrity and a greater sense of urgency.
I believe in maintaining a lean inventory and replenishing frequently. Lean inventories protect price integrity, and promote a greater sense of urgency with customers to spend today, at today’s full retails. Customers no longer figure they can simply wait you out, knowing it's going to get marked down eventually. You end up with earlier full-margin sales instead of those later markdown sales.
Our Inventory Management Services will keep you on track.
I help clients closely align their sales and inventory, and flow merchandise smoothly throughout the season by developing and maintaining detailed Open-To-Buy plans. I also help clients keep their shelves stocked in core items by regularly evaluating and determining the correct replenishment parameters for the automatic replenishment package in their POS systems.
Schedule a Discovery Session to explore working together and how I can help you increase sales, profitability and cash flow. Leverage the Power of Retail Know-How. Schedule your Discovery Session now.
Learn more how our Open-to-Buy services can help you keep fresh, exciting merchandise flowing throughout the season in just the right quantities.
Learn more about how our Inventory Replenishment Management services can help you keep your shelves stocked day in and day out.