12 easy ways to improve your inventory management.

Do you want to improve your inventory management? If so, you’re in the right place. Here, we share some easy tips you can use now to get everything running smoothly. 

Train and cross-train your people.

Start by investing in your people, training and cross-training them on various tasks. Ensure most of your team understands the basics of picking, receiving, and packing. Always have people on standby who can take over a shift if a worker is absent. 

Review processes regularly.

Ensure you review your workflows regularly, looking for improvement opportunities. Evaluate other firms’ methods, and study industry magazines for best practices. If new technology arrives, leverage it. 

Categorize all incoming items.

Categorize all incoming items based on seasonality and demand: Group products by type before shipping to retail stores to speed up processing. Identify slow-moving items in your inventory and optimize stock accordingly. 

Use the “ABC” method.

Related to this last point, consider prioritizing your inventory using the ABC method. This technique helps you understand optimal ordering quantities and frequencies. 

Category A is your big-ticket items: parts of your inventory that rarely move. Category B is your in-between items. These are products that leave your warehouse at a moderate pace. Category C is fast-turnover items. These tend to be the most affordable or popular lines. 

Arranging items in this way makes the best use of your warehouse space. Filling easy-access areas with Category C items increases efficiency and reduces overheads. 

Track all product information.

You can also manage your inventory better by improving product tracking information. Keeping a record of barcodes, SKUs, and countries of origin lets you pinpoint issues and resolve stock conflicts. 

Be sure to track product costs over time. Try to find out what affects seasonality and pricing to explore efficiency savings. 

Set optimal reorder points.

Set reorder points on a SKU-by-SKU basis. Collect data to discover product ordering variance to set reasonable bounds for each item. Try to avoid situations where demand spikes lead to supply shortages for customers but avoid overstocking. 

If you cannot set optimal reorder points manually, use inventory management tools. Clever software can anticipate demand and set stock levels based on historical fluctuations. 

Use the “just-in-time” approach.

Stop storing goods you can’t sell or move on immediately. Instead, adopt a just-in-time approach to minimize excessive inventory. Leverage real-time tracking and intelligent software to tell you when to order items and prepare them for shipping. 

Get to know your supply chain.

Work on better understanding your supply chain. Leverage demand management software that takes into account data from suppliers. Understand the delays involved in shipping from manufacturers to warehouses, whether you supply CBD businesses, medical firms, or retailers. 

Glitches in the supply chain can disrupt an otherwise organized business. Minor problems can balloon and become brand damaging if you don’t deal with them rapidly. Always understand your bottlenecks and put backups in place, just in case. 

Reduce prices on slow-moving inventory.

Reduce the price of slow-moving, obsolete inventory to sell it. Piles of old products can generate operational costs and prevent you from maximizing available space. Tied-up stock prevents you from using capital for goods customers want. Don’t be afraid to run deep discounts and learn from your mistakes. 

Avoid shrinkage.

Seek strategies that help you reduce shrinkage. Look for ways to reduce petty theft, breakage, and loss. 

Use inventory management tools to do this. Advanced systems help you pinpoint precise locations in your system where shrinkage occurs. Account for all products at each step of your operational cycle. 

Keep a safety stock.

Ensure you have sufficient stock levels for unexpected fluctuations in supply or demand. Spikes and shortages often fall outside of expected ranges, so be prepared. Having enough stock keeps customers satisfied and prevents having to post out-of-stock messages. 

Use barcode and RFID technology.

Leverage barcode and RFID technology to improve goods tracking and automatically update software. Get a near-real-time view of your inventory and find out where your bottlenecks are. 

Leverage sustainable practices.

Finally, use sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. Look for ways to reduce packaging requirements and optimize shipping routes using nearby depots. Being green can increase efficiency and agility. 

Conclusion.

So, there you have it: 12 easy ways to improve your inventory management. These methods leverage technology and best-in-practice organizational techniques to ensure you operate at 100% of your potential. 

Implement new ideas and systems one by one. Test them thoroughly and make iterative improvements.