A customer walks into your store and wants their screen replaced. You take the device and analyze it. You inform them that the repair would be done by mid-day tomorrow. The customer agrees.
The next day you start working on that device, and as soon it’s time to place that screen on, you come to know that it is out of stock. So you contact your vendor and its no way it will be available before evening.
Feel stuck and agitated. I believe you don’t want to call the customer and tell him it is not ready yet.
Avoid situations like this by following our suggestions, but let us know what inventory management means.
What is inventory management?
Inventory is the goods your firm holds to sell to the customers. You can have all sorts of inventory- from finished goods to unfinished ones. Raw material and maintenance inventory are joint holdings of large company’s.
The issue with holding inventory is that you may end up carrying too much or too few. Excess inventory would result in space consumption of your warehouse and tying up your cash. This cash, with effective management, could have been used to buy better-quality raw materials.
So, if you would use an Inventory management integration in a cell phone repair shop software, it will help manage the repair parts. It will become a part of your supply chain management. In this, you control the inventory by moving it through multiple stages. These stages are purchasing, producing, holding, sales and reporting.
When we talk about managing inventory, we talk about moving efficiently through every step. Each set is to be optimized most productively, keeping up with your requirements.
Are you tired of missing out on unimportant things? First, you need to know when you need to see if you have enough inventory for the following weekend where no supplier would be available to restock.
Following are the suggested ways to manage your inventory better.
Tips on how to manage your inventory efficiently
You think you don’t need software, and you can do it all on your own. But let me tell you, it’s not that easy. You have other things to look at. You cannot sit at the counter, save all receipts, count products and update your inventory excel sheet.
To deal with all this, you need inventory management software. Through this software, you can have control over your production cost. With an eagle’s eye, you will be able to also cut down on inventory shortages. With accurate forecasting of demands, you can keep up with everything that’s coming your way.
- Operate with FIFO Method
“Use those eggs first!”, Eggs when stored for an extended time, become stale. It means you cannot use them now. To avoid this, break those eggs as soon as possible.
When you run a business, and you hold inventory, don’t use the newer stock first. Instead, use the parts that are ordered previously. In this way, you will be applying first-in, first-out (FIFO).
Imagine it as a queue. The person who comes first is to be served first.
- Double-check Your Inventory Frequently
Whether you use software or manually enter the data, you need to audit the stock. By doing so, you keep track of inventory in real-time. You know if what’s on the sheet is back there as well. You don’t want to convince the customer for that purchase only to find out that you are out of stock.
There are multiple factors to this unfortunate situation. Either the entry wasn’t correct, or it’s missing from your stock room.
- Keep up with the product information.
You can only know where that premium best quality screen for iPhone x went when you followed the whole process. A phone came in for screen replacement last week and you used it right there.
That phone was picked up the same week.
It would be best to put up product codes, SKU’s and bar codes to keep track of everything.
Keep track of what went into making what. This way, you would know how much of everything you need to make a certain amount. It will help in cost controls.
- Keep a few suppliers in your good books
Remember when that supplier provided you with that thing that you immediately needed. That supplier never disappoints you with the quality.
He is worthy of being added to your good books.
By doing so, you’ll have a list of trustworthy suppliers on whom you can depend for last-moment deliveries.
Keep in mind that they are a part of your supply chain. Without their support, you wouldn’t be able to keep your customer happy and contended.
- Avoid Automated Restocks:
Even if your inventory management Software or your local vendor offer automated restocks, avoid agreeing to that. He is not in your shoes. You know better what your business needs right now.
Their offer might seem helpful and efficient, but you might end up ordering something that you have quitted on it now. You never saw profit on those items, but the cost of keeping them was there.
For example, when a customer walks into your repair store, he is most commonly looking for a screen replacement. But your vendor does not think that way. Instead, he might give you offers for other repair parts via cellphone repair shop software. So you know the suggestions are good, but something unnecessary to stock up right now. Beware of what you are ordering and why.
- Integrations could help
Integrations are always an excellent way to help enrich your software with the things you need to deal with daily. The software is a pretty basic version of what it does, but you tailor it to your needs when adding integrations to it.
For example, you can add an integration for your inventory management in your repair shop software for your repair shop. Thus, helping you manage your inventory firsthand, avoiding errors and confusion. It’s just like turning on notifications for low stocks on your software.
- Use cloud-based software
If you are using software that needs to be on your systems, you’re on the wrong side of the road. Go for cloud-based software. This software runs on the web and is available online, which means that you need a device with an internet connection to access all that data. Anytime, anywhere. The added advantage is of integrations. These valuable integrations include marketing, loyalty programs, SMS, payments, and even employee management.
- Hire a stock controller
This post could be both part-time and full-time. The stock-controllers job would be to manage your deliveries, stock levels, and double-checking deliveries when they arrive. With so many jobs on your hand, dedicating a small post for it will make it hassle-free.
- Keep checking your reports
Don’t just check reports for inventory sales and shortages. Remember that when you bring in stock, you keep it somewhere. You give it the environment where it stays the same till it’s sold.
When you are doing all this, you are taking additional costs. If you keep on checking your reports, you would know what’s selling and is profitable. If it isn’t making a profit but selling, it is of no use to you. Talk to your vendor for more options, options that bring in profit. To sum up, inventory management is not that tough if put up with the proper procedures. Adding cloud-based software that could manage your inventory would be helpful.
