It seems like all businesses have problems with inventory control. What is your number one problem with controlling your inventory? Share Your Experience!
ceo
- The core part of business once we have break even mostly depends on inventory management which in return takes the company in to profit. For that to happen, business owners need to have an in depth knowledge of product to consumer.
- —Guest kumaran somalinga
Inventory and Forecasting Solution
- I have lived Specialty Retail for over 25 years. You're either guessing or you have a true calculated plan and forecasting based on the nation's real-time patterns. You cannot achieve this out of a store bought POS or OTB product. I will gladly share this with retailers that are serious about controlling their inventory and markdowns and, in turn, thriving. I can be contacted via email.
- —Guest Damon Richards
inventory management
- Two biggest problem: 1 how much to order? 2 when to order? so that we can strike a trade off between overstocking and understocking and maximze profitabilty on the investment.
- —Guest Amir KC
FIN 370
- I think the number one problem with controlling inventory is having too much or too little of a product. If you do not have enough of a product then that means you are losing sales. If you have too much of a product then that means that you are not making the sales, and you are not making back what you spent on the product. Also, the inventory that is not selling is taking up space and money for things that can sell. The goal is to have one left of everything that means you made all possible sales and don’t get stuck with inventory, but that is easier said than done.
- —Guest Kristin Looney
Fin 370
- One of the hardest parts about controlling inventory is forecasting sales. Sales may be affected by things such as changes in seasons, a downturn in the economy, or competitors. A successful small business owner must be able to accurately predict these changes in sales. To me this is the hardest part of managing inventory, and it is also one of the most important. To much inventory can cause holding costs to be high, and in some cases cause products to be out of date by the time they are sold. Also, the order quantity can be affected, and that will increase fixed costs. You must have an idea of your sales before you can determine how much inventory to hold, and how often to order it.
- —Guest Ryan Curry
FIN 370
- As a small business owner, Cash Management is top priority with me. Knowing that inventory ties up cash and provides no return on investment increases the need to maintain proper inventory control. If I have too much inventory on hand, I am tying up cash that could be used elsewhere, if I have too little, then I run the risk of customer dissatisfaction and loss of sales. In this economy, sales fluctuate and I need the knowledge necessary to help me maintain just enough inventory to meet demand with a small safety stock. I need to give careful consideration to my Reorder Point & EOQ that will allow me to maximize discounts and ensure that I don't have too much inventory on hand.
- —GloriaLeMaster
Fin 370
- The biggest problem with inventory control as a small business owner would be not carrying enough of the items that is in demand and having too much of items that are not in demand. When a customer wants an item they do not like to wait for another shipment to come in. The items that are not selling are taking shelf space and costing the business money.
- —Guest Vanessa Adkins
FIN 370
- If I were a business owner, I'd definitely say that inventory control would be very critical in running a successful business because this is a direct link to your business profit and cash flow. If you underestimate your inventory sales during a holiday season you could lose good customers and profit off what you could have made or if you over produce stock for your inventory during a time of recession then you're going to lose money on your overstock and potentially hurt your business! So a goal for a business owner would be to at minimum break-even but to be sure to order inventory based off your production sale rate.
- —Guest Shawna Colliver
Fin 370
- I would say that my problem is that I know the loyal customers and I know what to expect them to buy but learning what to order as far as for new customers so that I can have the inventory for the demand. I would have the problem with turnover that I overestimated the amount needed and I have too much sitting.
- —Guest Amanda Clark
Inventory Control
- Inventory control is always a problem with businesses. The biggest problem, in my opinion, has to do with turnover rates. If you don't have a quick turnover, you have to waste valuable resources keeping unused inventory on your books. If you don't forecast it correctly, you will be short or long on inventory. So overall, you need to keep a small inventory turnover but also one you can predict so that you have as small an amount as possible in inventory at all times.
- —Guest Patrick Chase Schwalbach
Small Business Owner
- The most dangerous thing you can do as a small business owner is to accumulate too much inventory. Too much inventory will turn a healthy business into a sick business in a short period of time. Inventory investment directly affects your profit and cash flow. The management of your inventory is crucial to the success of you company. If you hold too much inventory on your shelves or in your warehouse, you run the risk of obsolescence and getting stuck with unsold inventory. If you hold too little inventory, then you are risking stock outs and loss of customer good will. In my opinion, the number one problem with controlling your inventory is having just the right amount. Not too much where you have unsold inventory and not too little where you run into unhappy customers.
- —aadoyl01
FIN 370
- To respond in a managers perspective, I would have to say that my biggest problem with my inventory would be the turnover rate and reorder point. I feel that it is very hard to determine how much to expect to sale on time and how much to purchase on time. In regards to the turnover rate, I think that it would be hard to completely turnover all your inventory in time for the next estimated time.
- —Guest Ron Duncan
