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Own An Online Business? 3 Ways To Maintain Control Of Your Inventory

If you own an online business, it can be difficult to monitor your inventory, especially if it's stored at a different location. Unfortunately, inefficient inventory storage and processing can lead to serious problems for your online business. Here are some steps you can implement that will help you avoid problems with your inventory. 

Invest in an Inventory Management Program

If you're still tracking your inventory using paper and pencil or a basic computer spreadsheet, you need to invest in an inventory management system. This is particularly important if you process a large number of orders. Handling your inventory management the old-fashioned way can lead to problems with over/under stock issues. First, improper inventory counts can cause you to lose count on your product. Second, it can cause you to order product that you don't need. Investing in an inventory management system will help you avoid those issues. 

Implement Proper Organization Tactics

If your warehouse or stockroom isn't organized properly, you're going to run into problems with your online business. Improper inventory organization increases the time it takes to process orders. Unfortunately, delays with order processing can undermine your customer service, which can cause your profits to take a hit. To avoid issues with order processing, be sure to implement proper organization tactics within your warehouse or stockroom. 

Improve Your Auditing Practices

If you're not conducting routine audits of your inventory, you may be missing the bigger picture. Routine audits can help you maintain an accurate count of the product you have on hand. There are several ways to conduct routine audits. 

Inventory Counts

Inventory counts allow you to count each item you have in your inventory. This type of audit is most beneficial when it's conducted on an annual basis since it allows you to reconcile the inventory you have on hand with the total amount of inventory that you've ordered throughout the year. 

Spot Check Counts

Spot check counts allow you limit the scope of your actual count. Instead of conducting a full inventory count, you count specific areas of the warehouse or stockroom. When you conduct your end-of-year inventory count, you can reconcile the numbers from your spot counts with the actual inventory numbers.

Cycle Counts

Cycle counting allows you to count specific items in your inventory following a schedule. If you have a limited selection of the items you sell, this type of count may be beneficial.

Don't take chances with your online business. To help you keep track of your inventory, implement the changes described above.


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