As a business owner with seasonal inventory, you know that timing is everything for your customers and your business. However, what you may still struggle with is balancing the early influx of the next season's inventory and the unsold remains of the past season. If you've typically held a post-season clearance sale and let inventory go much cheaper to recoup costs and clear space, there is another option. Here's what you need to know about your seasonal inventory management to help you maximize your returns.
Order Seasonal Inventory Early
The earlier you order your inventory for the next season, the sooner you'll be able to put it out on the shelves. Remember that many people start looking for their summer gear as soon as spring hits, so you want to be ready to capitalize on that rush.
That means ordering your summer inventory in the midst of the winter, and it means ordering your winter inventory during the summer months. You'll want to try to predict your sales volume based on last year's trends but always estimate a little higher to account for business growth and such.
Sort Arriving Inventory
Ordering inventory early leaves you with a bit of time during which you have a lot of unopened inventory boxes taking up space. This can be a struggle because it's hard to sort through it and make sure that everything is right when you don't have the floor space to put it out yet. Luckily, there's a better way to do it than leaving it in the delivery boxes.
Invest in some heavy plastic stackable bins. For seasonal clothes, toys, and similar items, you can sort them by type and put them in the bins to keep until they're ready to go out on the floor. No risk of rodents chewing through boxes this way, and it gives you the chance to evaluate all of the inventory that arrived.
The bins can then be used to store your overstock from the previous season as well, making it easier for you to maintain a rotation of stock for the seasons they apply to. Having containers to safely store the inventory in also ensures that you don't have to worry about clearance sales to move inventory at a discount. You can simply pack it up and put it back on the shelf at the next season's rotation.
These tips will help you manage your seasonal inventory in a more effective and efficient manner. Talk with a local storage supply retailer near you for the plastic stackable bins that will help with your inventory management. For more information, consult with companies like Quantum Storage.
