At its essence, inventory control is about striking the perfect balance between supply and demand. In the US, e-commerce sales have experienced record growth in 2020, with all indicators suggesting that this industry will continue to see stellar growth in the years to come.
That's why having an effective and reactive inventory control system is more important than ever. The inventory control definition is not just about effectively managing your online store's stock, but also ensuring that your inventory is arranged in a way that is low-cost while maintaining high customer satisfaction.
Read on to find out exactly how you should be using inventory control best practices to improve efficiency with your online store.
1. Be Attuned to Demand
The primary objectives of inventory control are to ensure that you have enough product to meet demand without over-stretching your resources. This requires an ability to constantly be in-tune with the demand for what you are selling.
Major companies such as Target and Amazon hire armies of inventory analysts to determine the current and future demand for certain products so that they can organize their inventory accordingly.
While you do not need to go this far, you should be keeping updated stats on customer demand for all products.
2. Use Inventory Management Software
In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, it is vital that you have comprehensive inventory management software in place. This will help you track your inventory from a single interface and ensure everyone in your team can access it.
What's more, consulting with professionals that will assist you with inventory management implementation is also key. With the right tools at your disposal, inventory management can be cost-effective and efficient.
3. Label Everything Clearly
This is one of the simplest yet most effective inventory control methods. A concise labeling system should be rolled out so that everyone on your team can easily access the exact stock that they need as quickly as possible.
This can be as simple and using color-coded label printouts. However, it is better to use labeling software so that you can organize your inventory with RFID tags and barcodes. This will allow for real-time inventory control.
4. Sync-Up With Your Supply Chain
The holy grail of inventory control is to have a seamless just-in-time supply network in place. This is what any inventory control specialist will tell you. With just-in-time supply chains, you will always be able to meet demand perfectly without over-stretching your resources or causing wastage.
To do this requires being able to sync-up with every single element in your supply chain. It means liaising with all of your suppliers and delivery services to work out a plan and a system that gets you exactly what you need when you need it. This is the optimum way to keep costs low and service levels high.
Improve Your Inventory Control Today
If you're ready to take your inventory control to the next level, we're here to help. Make sure to get in touch with our expert team today if you need help implementing an inventory control system that works for your company. A better business model is only a phone call away.
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