Managing inventory is at the core of every successful small to mid-sized business. Whether it is a convenience store, grocery, hardware store, or tobacco establishment, there’s a universal business truth: You can’t sell what you don’t have. When your competitors’ inventory is better than yours, you will lose income and your reputation.
We’ve put together a guide to help you manage your inventory like a pro so you can always give your customers what they want:
The best Point of Sale Systems (POS), such as those provided by National Retail Solutions (NRS), enable businesses to keep inventory and send out alerts when supplies are running low. This saves money, lets staff be more efficient, and ultimately, lets your business run even smoothly.
Through its NRS POS, National Retail Solutions is known for helping business owners become expert inventory trackers by providing the tools they need in today’s modern world to keep ahead of the competition. It’s why NRS is the leading provider of POS systems nationwide to small to mid-sized, independently owned businesses, including convenience stores, groceries, mini-marts, alcohol and tobacco establishments, and hardware stores. In turn, business owners with NRS POS can leverage effective inventory management, resulting in cost savings and increased revenue generation.
We’ve put together a guide to help you manage your inventory like a pro so you can always give your customers what they want:
Double Check Cost Accuracy
You won’t stay up with the competition if you don’t know what they’re up to. Do your homework. Examine a store’s website, as well as sales fliers to ensure that your pricing is current and competitive. Remember to adjust your prices if your wholesaler’s prices have increased. Otherwise, you will begin to lose money. However, if your wholesaler’s price increase causes you to offer things at a higher price than the competition, you’ll quickly lose clients. Try negotiating with your wholesaler first, and if that doesn’t work, look for other sellers who might offer you a better rate.Go Digital
If you’re concerned about the cost of inventory management, switching digital is one approach to cut costs. In the past, inventory tracking meant manually entering stock on spreadsheets or adjusting inventory in a book. Today, many organizations are adopting digital, which has become more convenient for businesses and customers. Due to the pandemic, many consumers do not want to leave their homes and have discovered that having products delivered to their door is more convenient. In this fast-paced world, becoming digital is the standard, and businesses that have not transitioned will be less well-known than those that have. Manually entering inventory into a machine or book is a waste of both your and your employees’ time. Staff can assist customers while also ensuring that they have an accurate inventory on the point of sale system and advise consumers whether anything is in stock in a timely and effective manner.The best Point of Sale Systems (POS), such as those provided by National Retail Solutions (NRS), enable businesses to keep inventory and send out alerts when supplies are running low. This saves money, lets staff be more efficient, and ultimately, lets your business run even smoothly.
Get Rid of Old Items
Overstocking on items leaves an unattractive abundance of unwanted items gathering dust on your shelves and taking up valuable space in your storage area. Some of these items may be past their sell point, and nobody wants to peruse your aisles only to find items that are past their expiration date. Stocking spoiled food is a health hazard if a customer fails to notice the label and gets sick later. Your store will be considered unsanitary and the last place people want to shop. Selling expired items brings your very accountability and competence as a business owner into question. Ensure you’re not buying too much, track excess inventory and keep expiration dates in mind when making orders.Minimize Lost or Stolen Inventory
Missing inventory is as good as no inventory. If, according to your POS, you have, for example, 12 boxes of crayons in the store, but there are only eight on the shelves, and in the storage room, then something is wrong. The answer could be as simple as the item being stocked in the wrong place or the wholesaler sending the incorrect packages. It can possibly be theft from customers or employees. To avoid theft, keeping close track of inventory is an excellent deterrent to employee theft.Through its NRS POS, National Retail Solutions is known for helping business owners become expert inventory trackers by providing the tools they need in today’s modern world to keep ahead of the competition. It’s why NRS is the leading provider of POS systems nationwide to small to mid-sized, independently owned businesses, including convenience stores, groceries, mini-marts, alcohol and tobacco establishments, and hardware stores. In turn, business owners with NRS POS can leverage effective inventory management, resulting in cost savings and increased revenue generation.
