Plenty of stock, great!  However, in many circumstances this can be a problem.  We’re all familiar with a local shop filled to the brim from floor to ceiling.

If you can’t move for stock, this could be a logistical nightmare.  How so?  By taking up too much space in your warehouse impacts on your bottom line, as each unsold product can take time and money away from everything else in your warehouse.

Have you got that sinking feeling that this all sounds a little too close to home? Fear not, read on to find out what you can do to help your shelves. Get it.

Take stock

Firstly, make sure everything is being counted as accurately as possible. Inventory errors can lead to excess or a shortage of stock being reported. Take a look at your last stock counts (we know, yawn) to make sure everything is being accurately reported and double-checked across.  A boring but simple exercise that could really save you both time and money.

But why?

There’s a number of reasons why certain products remain unsold, so understanding why that is will help prevent the problem reoccurring down the line. For example, Is the item too seasonal? Is it out-dated? Take a look at your sales figures from when you first received the item to now.  Are there any trends or issues that have caused this particular product to mount up?

It’s a round-up

Try to gather up your excess stock/unsold products, package them together, and designate a specific part of your warehouse storage to storing it until you have a plan in place.

It’s not me, it’s you

Ok, so you’ve tried everything else but your excess or unsold products are still lingering around like a bad smell (p’ew) but where can you send it? Thankfully, you still have options, yay!

You could try to shift it in a clearance or offer a major discount. Or, offer it a free gift (who doesn’t love a freebie?) with the purchase of another product. Be careful here as this may lead to a loss, but should be worth it in the long run as you no longer have to waste money or time organising it, yesssss! Finally, you could see if you can still return it to the vendor.  This will probably involve shipping costs, however, again you’ll no longer have to waste money or time organising it.

If you do need to go through this whole cycle hopefully next time around will be a whole lot easier. Lesson learned.

Improve the way your warehouse works

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