A Guide to Avoiding Retail Stockouts with Effective Inventory Management

Retail stockouts can be a major problem for any business, resulting in lost sales and dissatisfied customers. Constant issues with stock levels can also affect your employees so the good news is that keeping on top of your stock is beneficial to everyone. To avoid these types of issues, it is crucial to have an effective inventory management system in place. In this blog, we'll look at how to avoid retail stockouts with the help of effective inventory management.

Monitoring your stock levels

The first step in avoiding retail stockouts is to monitor your stock levels regularly. This will help you keep track of which products are running low and when you need to order more. By monitoring your stock levels, you can also identify any trends that may be affecting your sales, such as changes in consumer behaviour or fluctuations in demand. Saledock has done all the hard work with our proprietary stock control app. With real-time stock data synced to any device, you can remove the need for manual entry and spreadsheets, ensuring your stock levels are accurate and at your fingertips.

Use a forecasting system

Forecasting is the process of estimating future demand for a product. By using a forecasting system, you can predict the future demand for your products and order the right amount of inventory at the right time. This will help you avoid stockouts and overstocking. Saledock’s reporting and insights tools provide your business with essential analytics to make smart decisions for the future. Daily summaries, tracking sales and staff performance are just some of the reporting tools to make data driven decisions.

Set reorder points

A reorder point is the level of inventory at which you need to order more of a product. By setting reorder points, you can ensure that you always have enough inventory to meet customer demand. You can calculate your reorder point based on the lead time for your products, the demand for your products, and the safety stock you want to keep on hand. Not only can Saledock’s powerful software help you set reorder points for your business, you can rely on it to instantly update stock levels on receipt or return of stock on your purchase orders.

Implement a safety stock system

Safety stock is the extra inventory you keep on hand to cover unexpected spikes in demand or supply chain disruptions. By implementing a safety stock system, you can reduce the risk of stockouts and ensure that you always have enough inventory to meet customer demand. Saledock allows retailers to understand their business better with real-time data, anytime, anywhere. You can make decisions that will optimise your stock based on the data at your fingertips, eliminating the guesswork.

Automate your inventory management

Finally, automating your inventory management system can help you avoid retail stockouts and make your inventory management process more efficient. With an automated system, you can easily track your stock levels, monitor sales trends, and set reorder points. This will help you keep your inventory under control and avoid stockouts. Automation plays a key role if you’re an omni-channel business. Common issues for bricks-and-clicks businesses tend to be stockouts and overselling. This is where automation will come into its own. By setting reorder points at peak times in the year, you can reliably meet customer demand without the headache.

Having accurate and reliable data for your business is essential for profitability and performance. If you’re still relying on manual processes and spreadsheets, contact us to find out how you can benefit from automation and take control over your inventory and workflows.

In conclusion, retail stockouts can be a major problem for any business. However, by implementing effective inventory management practices, you can avoid these types of issues and ensure that your customers are always satisfied with the products you have available. Whether you choose to monitor your stock levels, use a forecasting system, set reorder points, implement a safety stock system, or automate your inventory management, taking the time to plan and execute an effective inventory management strategy can help your business thrive.

Key takeaways:

• Regularly monitoring stock levels is the first step to making data-driven decisions.
• Planning ahead with valuable reporting and insight tools removes the guesswork and keeps you in control.
• Saledock’s stock control app is the perfect retail solution for effective inventory management.

All Saledock plans include integrated inventory management so you can rid yourself of your inventory headaches, scale your business and ensure you’re maximising every selling opportunity.

With Saledock, we want you to succeed! Why not start your FREE 14 day trial today and see for yourself why Saledock has been named Point of Sale Technology of the Year by 2022 Retail Systems Awards.