Choosing the right inventory management techniques for your business is not an easy task. The faster your business grows, the harder it becomes to manage your inventory.
However, there is a solution to this difficulty namely; WooCommerce Inventory Management Plugin
This is why it is very important to establish the right foundation from the beginning. In this guide, we outline techniques, procedures, and best practices for inventory management.
The following mentions are very common techniques that are used to manage inventory :
1. Consignment
2. Backordering
3. Cycle Counting
4. Bulk shipment
5. Just-In-Time
6. ABC Inventory Management
7. Dropshipping and Cross-docking
Now let us know in detail about the above techniques…
CONSIGNMENT
The consignment holds a wholesale holding stock in the hands of a retailer but retains ownership until the product is sold, at which point the retailer buys the consumed stock. Typically, consignment sales involve a higher degree of uncertainty from the retailer’s point of view and a higher degree from the wholesaler’s point of view.
Benefits to the retailers of consignment :
1. Without tying up capital, customers are offered a wide range of products.
2. The interval time is reduced when restoring products.
3. Unsold items are returned at zero cost.
Drawbacks to the retailers of consignment :
1. Testing of Products
2. The retailer is introduced to marketing.
3. Product performance information collection.
BACKORDERING
Backordering refers to the company’s decision to take orders and receive payments for out-of-stock products. This is a dream for most businesses, but it can be a nightmare… if you are not ready.
When there is only one out-of-stock item, it is simply a matter of creating a new purchase order for that one item and notifying the customer when the back-ordered item arrives. When it forms tens or hundreds of different scales in a day, problems start to increase.
Nevertheless, enabling backorder means that sales have increased, so this is an achievement that many businesses are ready to take on.
Benefits to the retailers of back-ordering :
1. The transaction of sales and cash flow is increased.
2. Small Businesses with More Flexibility.
3. Lower holding costs and less overstock risk.
Drawbacks to the retailers of back-ordering :
1. High risk of customer dissatisfaction.
2. Prolonged intercourse.
INVENTORY CYCLE COUNTING
Bicycle counting or counting a small amount of inventory on a particular day involves the entire manual stocktake. This is a type of sample that allows you to see how true your inventory records are that you have in stock.
This method is a common part of the woocommerce inventory management technique of many businesses, as it ultimately helps to ensure that customers get what they want.
Advantages of cycle counting :
1. More time- and cost-efficient than doing full stocktake.
2. This can be done without interrupting the operation.
3. Inventory holds the cost of holding.
Dis-advantages of cycle counting :
1. Less comprehensive and accurate than full stocktake.
2. Cannot calculate seasonality.
BULK SHIPMENTS
This method is based on the assumption that buying and buying goods in bulk is almost always cheaper. Bulk shipping is one of the key technologies of the industry, which can be applied to goods with high customer demand.
The downside to bulk shipping is that you will need to put extra money on the storing inventory, which will be offset by the money saved by buying larger quantities of products and selling them faster.
Advantages of Bulk Shipments :
1. The highest potential for profitability.
2. Less shipment means lower shipping costs.
3. Works well for staple products with predictable demand and long shelf life.
Dis-advantages of Bulk Shipments :
1. Highest Capital Risk Capacity.
2. Increasing storage cost.
3. It is difficult to adjust quickly when demand fluctuates.
JUST IN TIME (JIT)
Just in time (JIT), woocommerce inventory management technique reduces the amount of inventory that a business has in hand. This is considered a risky technique because you buy inventory a few days before it is necessary for distribution or sale.
JITs sit for months to reduce organizations by reducing stock levels and eliminating deadstock – where there is essentially frozen capital, thereby helping to save inventory costs.
However, businesses are also required to be more agile with the ability to handle very short production cycles.
Advantages of Just in Time :
1. Low inventory cost.
2. The cash flow is flexible.
3. Deadstock
Dis-advantages of Just in Time :
1. I ordered to complete the problems on time.
2. Minimum room for errors.
3. Stockout risk.
ABC INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
It is a technique based on placing products into categories. Not only placing the “A” in the order of importance of having the most valuable and the “C” being the lowest.
However, not all products are of equal value and more popular products should receive more attention.
Although there are no hard and fast rules, ABC analysis relies on annual consumption units, inventory value, and cost importance. Generally, the categories look something like this:
DROP SHIPPING AND CROSS-DOCKING
This inventory management technique completely eliminates the cost of inventory. When you have a drop shipping agreement, you can directly transfer the customer’s order and shipment details to your manufacturer or wholesaler, who then ship the goods.
Similar to dropshipping, cross-docking is a practice where unloading semi-trailer trucks or railroads directly onto outbound trucks, trailers, or rail cars.
Essentially, this means that you move goods directly from one transport vehicle to another, with little or no storage. You may need to stage areas where inbound items are sorted and stored until outbound shipments are completed. In addition, you will need an extensive fleet and network of transport vehicles for cross-docking to work.
CONCLUSION
Running an online store is not easy these days, but knowing about inventory can make it a lot easier for you so that the entire online store comes with a selection of inventory management techniques.
Now, you can look for technologies that can manage your goods. Don’t worry that some of the best inventory management techniques going on here are mentioned in detail and with advantages + disadvantages.
Btw, did you know – these techniques are played with the help of some of the best WooCommerce inventory management plugins! After this link, you will be taken to several plugins which are the best in doing your inventory techniques.
