How Smart Inventory Management Boosts Profits in Retail
In the contemporary retail atmosphere, quick identification and management of a retailer’s stock could be the difference between profitable and ineffective business.
While many retail businesses are implementing marketing strategies focused on creating experiences for consumers, they often overlook what causes the success of that to effectively happen – inventory control.
In this blog, we will discuss how smart inventory management systems which often accompany retail tills, can inform retail businesses of how to increase profitability, reduce waste and improve consumer experiences.
Where Does Smart Inventory Management Fall?
Smart inventory management refers to the technology of identifying, predicting and managing stock to track inventory in a more manageable way. Previously, some inventory management systems were only manual, or spreadsheets, or standalone software, modern retail EPOS with integration features that support inventory can provide permanent access to updates, low stock alerts and reorder suggestions.
Retail tills with inventory tools can calculate:
- Sales trends
- Fast and slow moving items
- Stock value turnover
- Supplier lead times
Why Inventory Impacts Profitability
- Reduce Excess Inventory and Shortage Inventory
Excess inventory may lock capital into inventory (and space) and cost the business storage while shortage inventory can lead to missed sales and unsatisfied customers. A smart retail till system provides real-time insights to provide the data to make purchasing decisions and avoid excess inventory and stock shortages.
- Optimize cash flow
Advertising and marketing spend should occur only with budget allocation for themes, events or key customer data. Being fully aware of what is selling and what is not selling allows businesses to allocate their budget accordingly. Retail tills with inventory reports assist businesses in spending money on high demand products and wasting money on dead stock.
- Minimization of Shrinkage and Theft
Good integrated systems can assist with tracking stock from when it is delivered to when it is sold. If the recorded inventory for a given period does not match the reported sales for that same period, there is CCTV, theft from employees, error by employees, or vendor fraud occurring.
- Streamline your Reordering cycle and Supply chain
Retail till systems will alert you when stock is getting low and some retail EPOS systems remember the reordering or delivery intervals of a stock and will set an auto-reorder when stock levels fall below a predetermined level.
When your stock levels fall below that threshold, the reordering is automatic and provides a fast turnaround time to the customer.
The Role of Retail Tills in Inventory Automation
A retail till system is not simply a transactional system, it is an inventory data system. Smart tills, which automatically deduct inventory and quantities sold from stock, allow you a live view of your stock across all locations.
Some key features to keep an eye on:
- Live stock deduction
- Centralized inventory, if you have more than one branch
- Supplier & Purchase Order Tracking
- Expiry & Batch tracking (great for perishables & cosmetics)
Case Study Example
Suppose you are a boutique, clothing shop manager and run two locations. Your previous till system required you to do a manual stocktake each week, as well as have two separate stock records. Now with a smart retail till, each sale reflects automatically in your inventory across both locations, in real-time.
Email alerts can send you notifications to reorder before products run out, and you check stock levels based on low or out of stock thresholds.
Now, you provide more availability, sell more, and cut down your labour costs at the same time.
Getting Beyond profit & loss
There are benefits beyond just profits and losses with inventory management. Inventory management can help improve your customer experience.
If you have the right product available at the right time, this builds trust with your customers and gives them easier reasons to return.
When you add loyalty programs, and customer relationship applications (CRM) integration, then your smart retail EPOS system will help you build better customer relationships.
In conclusion
Intelligent inventory management is a powerful ally for retailers who want to remain competitive and profitable in the marketplace today. By linking your retail till system with sophisticated inventory management functionalities, you can:
- Reduce guesswork
- Elevate stock management
- Minimize loss
- Boost sales and customer satisfaction.
If your till system does not provide these functions, now is the time to upgrade your till system, to a smarter retail EPOS solution.
Invest in inventory intelligence – and allow your retail profits to flourish.
