An Easy Way to Manage Store-Specific Inventory - Part 1 - AccuStore

Keeping inventory in stock during the recent COVID-19 shortages or due to stockpiling because of extreme weather events can be challenging. As shortages begin, either through hoarding or supply constraints, finding out which products are most at risk is key. Knowing ahead of time gives you the opportunity to proactively manage pricing, promotions, and logistics to ensure inventory or product availability at the store level.

Data-Driven Inventory Reallocation

Stockouts prevent you from making a sale and create negative customer experiences. Using accurate data to reallocate inventory enables you to stock the right products for the right customers at all the right moments. Customers are depending on you for that must-have essential item. For example, if a store in one location has an abundance of bottled water, while another store is running low or sold out, shifting inventory from one store to another helps.

How Store Surveys Can Help With Inventory

Evidence-based inventory reallocation can help you avoid missed sales opportunities and that starts with a professional on-site survey of your stores.

A survey of your stores allows you to:

• Identify shelf space capacity available to avoid overstocked and understocked products
• Pinpoint opportunities to shift inventory among locations based on store types, local competition
• Rebalance existing inventory to avoid overbuying
• Rethink visual merchandising practices to move products from shelves based on store planning analysis driven by visibility into floorplan capacity

Fixing Inventory Misallocation

Fixing inventory misallocation not only increases sales, additionally, you can use the data findings to shift inventory among stores, and enjoy a variety of benefits such as:

• Avoiding excess inventory – sell product at full price, reduce the need for clearance sales or discounts
• More efficient inventory flow – reallocating what you have is a lot less expensive than purchasing additional products
• Improved customer experiences – the more often customers find what they’re looking for, the more likely they are to frequent your stores

Store-Level Visibility Helps With Forecasting

As the pandemic plays out, each store will be affected differently based upon the local consumer demand as well as local competition. You’ll need to forecast the potential demand at the store level despite the different issues you may be facing. As the situation quickly evolves, these plans will also have to evolve as local demand and staff availability changes. Store intelligence empowers you with real-time store level data allowing you to handle these factors which may impact your store’s ability to respond to consumer demand and COVID-19 regulations.

Don’t let hurricane season, blizzards, or unforeseen crisis situations leave your stores without the essential items your customers need. Get started with surveys of your stores today.