Inventory management can be a threat to success for furniture retailers, especially independent stores. Finding ways to effectively manage inventory is critical to maintaining cash flow. You need to have enough stock to sell to customers but too much that your cash is tied up in items sitting on the showroom floor. Cash flow is directly tied to efficient inventory management practices.
This blog will highlight good inventory management practices for furniture retailers.
Three steps to reign inventory control
The old ways of managing inventory are antiquated and time consuming. It just doesn’t make sense with today’s technology to be hand-counting individual items once a week or closing business for three days to complete a comprehensive inventory count.
Here’s a three-step approach to gaining control over your inventory practices.
Step 1: Stock items into bits and parts
One inventory management strategy is to compartmentalize your stock into its smallest form. This is particularly helpful in the furniture business where bulky sofas can take up a lot of space. Stock your furniture in pieces to be assembled by customers after purchase. For example, stock table legs together, table tops together, and so on.
Individual pieces can be wrapped together into flat packaging, consuming less storage space in the warehouse. Shipping in parts can also decrease transportation costs.
Step 2: Adopt a real-time inventory monitoring system
Cloud-based technology has brought great relief and accuracy to managing inventory. Investing in a real-time inventory monitoring system allows you to track all of your inventory from procurement through production and sale.
Modern software allows you to sync all inventory across multiple stores in one system as well as set reorder points.
Step 3: Build vendor relationships
Every successful business relies on relationships – with vendors, employees, and customers. One way to improve inventory management for furniture retailers is to improve relationships with material suppliers and manufacturers.
Building long-term relationships with your suppliers will create a more streamlined and effective supply chain. This will have a positive impact on costs, efficiency, and customer service.
DEAR Systems for inventory management
Use the steps above to move from traditional and outdated inventory management tactics to innovative solutions to accommodate your inventory needs. One final step is employing a robust inventory management software for your furniture business. DEAR Systems offers cloud-based technology with real-time insights so that you can make better decisions. See how our customers have experienced an increase in cash flow following implementation of our software.
Schedule a call with us to discover how DEAR Systems can help your furniture business.
