Small Business Inventory Management Tips
Hello everyone and welcome back to our series on small business inventory management. We left off discussing tools and technology, but it's time we get back to the basics. If you want to control your inventory costs and make use of what you have, there's a few simple things that you can do.
First, keep track of your inventory in some fashion that allows you to report against and view what's happening in your small business. You most likely will need some level of tracking purchases and sales. In order to do this, you have to track things like unit cost and counts as you're adding inventory to your stock. On the flip side, you have to record sales prices and keep a running average cost for each item you intend to sale. This will help when it comes to understanding which products are the best for you and your business.
Next, you need to look at buying in bulk to reduce the afore mentioned per unit cost of a given item. It's bad business practice to by just what you need for a given month unless you're either worried about meeting financial obligations or the items are perishable. Excluding those two factors, by as much of an item as reasonably possible without sacrificing your ability to make payroll, operate your small business and/or pay vendors and suppliers.
Lastly, take the data you've collected along the way and do some analysis. The following is a great list of metrics that will show you just how you're doing:
[list type="1"]Thanks for taking the time to read our latest post on how best to manage your inventory. If you're in the market for a tool that can do all of the above, try our free online inventory management system today. Signup here.
