Inventory management has been the biggest threat to survival for many furniture retailers, especially for the independent ones. Poor inventory management practices are seen to be followed by many furniture retailers, which is the main cause of cash flow drain rather than a cash flow gain.
Whether you are an independent firm or having a chain of furniture stores, the way you manage your stock will determine the velocity of profit for your business. The better inventory management practices you follow the more returns you will earn for your furniture business.
This blog will highlight only those steps that will help you perform good inventory management practicesΒ for your furniture stores.
Step 1- Stock items into bits and parts
One of the winning inventory management strategies is to stock your furniture in bits and pieces which later can be assembled by customers after purchase. You can wrap those pieces into flat packaging, consuming less storage space in the warehouse as well as low-cost of transportation. At the end of the day, youβll see yourself saving lots of money in shipping and storage, which in turn can be used enhance customer shopping experience.
Step 2- Adopt a real-time inventory monitoring systemΒ
The advent of cloud-based technology has brought in a great relief and accuracy for managing inventory. Performing step 1 will no doubt help you, however, there can be chances of missing stock situations. Investing in a real-time inventory monitoring system you will not have to worry about losing a furniture part or accessory that will be needed by the customers while assembling. Such software will allow you sync all inventory across multiple stores in one system, allowing you clear visibility of your inventory positions and alert for your new stock requirements.
Step 3 – Build trustworthy relationship with material suppliers manufacturers
A key part of a successful inventory management is to improve engagement and relationship with material suppliers and manufacturers. By doing this, you can negotiate with prices while buying furniture items in bulk, stock only required inventory, check the quality of material before paying, as well as ensure you always receive stock in time, intact. Although you may have many options, building relationship with your existing suppliers becomes the most crucial factor to practice an excellent inventory management for your furniture business.
Wrapping up
To end off, following the above tips more furniture retailers will move away from traditional and outdated inventory management tactics used for generations to seek innovative and better-suited solutions to handle inventory for their business.
Godspeed!
2 Comments
We have a furniture store and we import which has Multiple currencies.We have a large inventory and have been working with quickbooks. We wanted a POS/inventory system but confused as to which one to use. We have individual accessories and furniture that in some cases may be difficult to affix the barcode on the piece. We would like to continue working on quickbooks for our accounting.
We are a medium sized business.
I would appreciate any information .
Thank you.
Hi. Thank you for sharing your requirements. Can you let me know your business email address or contact number? One of our agents will get back to you to further discuss.