The Ultimate Guide to Retail Inventory Management

Chris JacksonAugust 8, 2022

Improper inventory management is a significant concern for retail businesses worldwide. Businesses need to be on top of inventory management to run businesses optimally and critically to increase profits, and this blog will help you achieve that

What is Retail Inventory Management?

Retail inventory management is a process of handling, ordering, storing, and managing a company’s non-capitalized products. This also involves raw materials and components for a few businesses, while most organizations deal with finished stock items ready for sale.

The goal of inventory management is to ensure that the right amount of inventory is maintained at the right time while reducing the cost of goods sold

1. **In-store tracking:** Retailers can use in-store tracking software to keep track of individual items as they move through the store. This information can determine which items are selling well and which need to be reordered

2. **Stock rotation:** Retailers can rotate stock to keep it fresh and reduce the number of times an item needs to be stocked. This strategy can also help reduce storage costs and improve customer service by ensuring that customers have easier access to stock that is current in styles and colors

3. **Warehousing:** If a retailer does not have enough space in its stores to keep all of its inventory, it may need to outsource inventory storage to a warehouse. Warehouses can offer lower storage rates than traditional retail stores, as well as faster

Importance of Inventory Management in Retail

Not having enough inventory in store, waiting time for reordering stocks, product spoilage, and decreased profits are reasons why inventory management in retail has become an essential aspect for retail stores across the globe.

If too much product is available, it can lead to overstock and lower sales revenue. If too little product is available, it can lead to shortages and higher sales costs

All these factors ultimately help companies in reducing out-of-the-stock scenarios and increasing profits.

How Retail Inventory Management Differs From Traditional Inventory Management

Retail inventory management is designed specifically for businesses that sell products to the public. On the other hand,  other types of inventory management, such as manufacturing or warehouse inventory, may involve tracking product quantities, but they are not explicitly focused on retail sales

Retail inventory management also involves managing when and how products are sold. This consists of deciding which products should be in stock at a given time and determining when products should be sold. ( e.g., during peak shopping seasons )

How Often Do Retail Stores Stock Inventory?

When it comes to retail inventory management, the answer to this question is crucial. Many stores believe they should take inventory every week, but this is not necessary.

A good rule of thumb is to take an inventory at least once a month, ideally every two weeks. This way, you will always have an accurate picture of what’s available, and you can adjust your inventory accordingly

What are the Best practices for Retail Inventory Management?

Track retail inventory efficiently

First and foremost, always keep an accurate inventory count. This will help you determine when and where to restock items and manage your inventory costs effectively.

You can use a few different methods to track your inventory, and the choice depends on how much information you want to keep track of.

You can use software like Axonator’s retail inventory management software to keep track of inventory levels and sales. This is a good option if you want to keep track of detailed information about each product.

The app also comes with a QR-code system to track store product quantities. Using a scan, you can log or access complete information like product quantity, name, numbers, expiration date, etc

Doing these things ensures that your inventory is constantly improving while reducing costs associated with incorrect or inaccurate data

No More out-of-the-box Scenarios with Axonator Retail Inventory Management Software

Track Inventory Location

Monitoring where inventory is located and stored enables you to stay ahead of the competition and ensure that your products are available when customers need them. Information about the inventory location will help you improve logistics planning to keep the store stocked with customers’ desired products.

Keep a Record of Defective Stocks

One of the essential aspects of managing inventory is keeping track of defective stocks. This involves tracking all the faulty products in your store so that you can find and fix them as quickly as possible. This will help you keep your shelves clean and reduce the amount of wasted product

Plan and Adjust Proper Inventory Cycles

It’s essential to adjust your inventory cycles appropriately to keep your store in stock and generate the most revenue possible. Here are three tips to help you change your inventory cycles:

1. Know your Customer Base** – When you know what types of products your customers are most likely to buy, you can better predict when they’ll need to buy more of those products. This information can help you adjust your inventory accordingly

2. Be Mindful of Seasonal Trends** – Certain items, like sweaters in the winter, tend to sell out quickly. By understanding these trends, you can be better prepared to adjust your inventory as needed

3. Plan Ahead**– A good plan for how much product you’ll need in each category will help you make informed decisions about when to order new inventory and reduce or eliminate stock from your store

Axonator for Retail Inventory Management

Retail organizations across the globe can use Axonator for streamlining the inventory management landscape. Fortune 500 firms have used our no-code platform to ensure streamlined inventory management. Our no-code platform has tons of features to ensure that the platform will meet the end goal of the company.

Axonator has tons of applications. Aside from helping companies in retail inventory management, it can also streamline other processes like retail store audits, compliance, surveys, and management of retail facilities.

Numerous industries and organizations use Axonator to automate field workflows, achieving digital transformation in record time and cost

Why Axonator?

Axonator offers several simple and ready-to-use enterprise-grade apps for field workflows like inspections, audits, facilities management, and work orders that organizations can use to replace paper, spreadsheet & cumbersome desktop-based manual processes with mobile & tablet apps

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