Seasonal Inventory is high-demand products during a particular season, holiday, event, or weather. It has a lot of benefits, but managing this type of inventory throughout the year has always been one of the most challenging aspects. Don’t worry, this blog will provide you with a list of five effective ways to manage seasonal inventory to get you going.
The rise and fall of such limited seasonal demands, without effective inventory control, run the risk of having excessive or dead stocks, which are costly because of their short shelf life or simply impractical to hold.
However, a well-managed seasonal inventory can help small businesses save time and money. The key is understanding how best to efficiently supply your product during different seasons while continuing to focus on serving your customers.
Review Historical Sales
The first thing you would like to do is pull out those historical reports and get some good demand forecasting. Analyzing data from past sales gives you an idea about the average length of a season and identifies your top-performing products. Through it you’ll be able to determine the right amount of inventory level for a specific product, set the price, and prepare plans for promotions.
Clear Out Slow-moving Products
Products left in the warehouse for a long time may become dead stocks if left unsold, get customers to buy them with a clearance sale. Draw some attention with markdowns or join megasales, but be careful, make sure to strategize and schedule when you’ll be having your discounts to maximize your income and lessen your losses. Cash flows as you make room for new inventory and prepare for the upcoming season.
Offer Awesome Deals!
Product bundling can do the trick. Pair up complementing products such as top sellers and slow-moving items. Put into a bundle related products like boots and a raincoat, a tree and its decorations, then coordinate your pricing well. The goal is to make your customers see the value of your bundles and feel that they’ve gotten a good deal out of it, when done correctly expect good results.
Stock Prediction
Predictive analytics can help optimize your current inventory stocks from multiple warehouses and regulate the inventory levels you’ll be needing in the future. Having a system in place, you’ll generate data that can recommend an accurate amount of inventory needed and safety stocks. Allowing you to save your resources as you replenish your stocks in no time.
Real-time Order Fulfillment Process
Peak season can be overwhelming but, it can still become an easier process with the help of Sales and Inventory Management systems like Zayls. Streamlining your order fulfillment process enables you to see real-time updates, track all your transactions, and ensure the smooth flow of your operations.
There are a number of other ways to manage seasonal inventory, but these should get you started. Remember that collecting data at the outset and continually monitoring what works and what doesn’t will help you produce the best results for your company. Finding what works best for your business is vital in managing such items effectively.
Additionally, it will require you to do some research in order to effectively use seasonally changing price changes and consumer interest. If you can keep a few steps ahead of the seasonal demand curve, however, you might see some big profits when it’s all said and done.
Photo by Any Lane via Pexels.