For most retailers, inventory management is a key part of operations that is too often overlooked or ignored entirely. Improper inventory management all but guarantees a loss in revenue both in the short and long term. Proper management of inventory, on the other hand, can lead to untold benefits for your business, including improved sales and happier customers.
Luckily, modern retail POS software means it’s easier than ever to prioritize inventory management as part of your retail operations. This post covers how a retail POS with inventory management software will help your business succeed.
Why Is Inventory Management So Important?
There are a lot of reasons that retailers should implement strong inventory management software into their operations. Most importantly, it ensures that your store has the products that your customers expect it to have. Doing so creates a stronger brand identity and trust and leads to more sales and revenue. Remember, running out of stock on a popular item can be catastrophic to a business.
Inventory management also allows you to identify which products are selling and which aren’t. Such insights seem simple enough but modern inventory software allows you to spot these more readily. This means you can adjust your ordering, pricing, promos, displays, and more before it’s too late.
Retail theft and other forms of shrinkage are an ever-growing problem for retailers. Great inventory management also helps owners or managers identify areas of concern, catching discrepancies quickly to prevent large losses down the road.
What Are the Benefits of Inventory Management?
While there are still a handful of retail businesses that may not require modern inventory management (perhaps true mom-and-pop shops, or microbusinesses), the vast majority of retailers would substantially benefit from better stock control.
Here are a few of the biggest benefits:
Get Real-Time Inventory Updates
Getting instant updates to your inventory system allows you to better streamline your ordering and keeps your team up-to-date on the current status of each product at all times. This updates the system whether you have a single store, a retail chain or franchise, or even eCommerce operations.
Make Everything Less Manual
No need for a lot of inventory processes that were once manual: counting stock, deducting sold inventory, adding newly ordered stock, flagging discrepancies, and more. Instead, all of this is done automatically through your POS inventory management system. And using additional tools, such as RFID tags, a handheld scanner (also known as a product identifier), or warehouse management software, makes it all even easier.
Fewer manual updates also mean more accuracy, so you know exactly what you have at all times.
Better Stock and Sales Reports
Combining your product reporting with your inventory management means that you’ll get a more accurate view of your business through various customizable reports. A modern back-office dashboard allows you to produce these reports with just a few clicks.
Cloud-Based Access
With a cloud-based POS solution, users can access all inventory, sales, and reporting data from any location. This allows business owners to adapt quickly to evolving situations. And secure, two-factor login means that all sensitive data is protected.
Speak with a product specialist and learn what KORONA POS can do for your business.
What Information Does Inventory Management Track?
In order to provide the benefits listed above, there are certain items that POS inventory management must track and identify. There are a handful of common items that any modern software will track:
- Product name
- Product category
- Product description
- Retail price
- Promo price
- Supplier price
- SKU number
- Barcode number
- Quantity remaining
- Supplier information
Beyond this, your point of sale might offer additional automation to make the process even easier. KORONA POS, for instance, offers retailers automated reordering from individual suppliers – once a pre-determined threshold is hit, the system will place a new order directly from the supplier.
Customer reporting is another area where a POS can excel. Create your unique reports that you’ve used in the past or use one of the dozens of existing templates that KORONA POS has created for you.
Best Practices for Retail POS Inventory Management
It’s not enough to just have the inventory management software – you need to use it properly. Below are a few of the most important best practices to keep in mind:
- Use reporting regularly – take advantage of the wealth of information that the software provides. Monitor your sales, create custom reports, and focus on how to make data-driven decisions.
- Conduct counts often – the same goes for your inventory counts. Stay up-to-date on all products to be sure there are large discrepancies. You don’t want to find out about large-scale theft after it’s too late.
- Audit your pricing – you’ll always have slow sellers. Make sure it’s not due to your pricing. You’ll also have high sellers – make sure they aren’t selling too fast because you’re setting your prices too low.
- Look for the best suppliers – find the suppliers that offer the best products at the best price. It takes time to build relationships with suppliers, so take your time, put in the work, and stay diligent about finding the best for your business needs.
Try a Better Inventory Management System
KORONA POS specializes in inventory management for multi-location businesses with large product databases, like liquor stores, convenience stores, smoke shops, and more. Try it out today for free to see how the software works, from your reporting to your inventory reconciliation. Click below to sign up today.
