Due to the proper control system, the new business might fail. There are lots of different reasons, from a lack of leadership to a flawed business plan, companies fail for so many reasons all the time.

If you want to help your company achieve business success, you’re going to need to avoid the common pitfalls that can send a company plummeting in the wrong direction. Mismanaged inventory is one of the things that can really hurt your business and ruin your chances of enjoying company success.

An inventory management control system can work wonders for your new business from the start. This will make it possible for you to keep tabs on your inventory at all times as part of your business strategy.

Here are 12 tips for effective inventory management that you should take to heart and put to good use right away.

1. Understand the Types of Inventory Your Company Has

Your company is going to have all kinds of different types of inventory management that you’ll need to do. This is because you’ll have lots of different kinds of inventory coming in and out all the time.

From raw materials and unfinished products to anticipation inventory and maintenance, repair, and operating supplies, you’ll have a lot of things to keep track of. It’ll be impossible for you to do it without understanding the types of inventory.

To begin, you should familiarize yourself with each type of inventory that your company will keep in stock. It’ll get your inventory management off to a strong start.

2. Put the Proper Inventory Management Control System in Place

In this day and age, there is really no excuse for not utilizing technology to keep track of all your company’s inventory. You’ll be making a gigantic mistake if you do this.

With this in mind, you should put a great inventory management control system into place as soon as you start bringing in inventory for your company. It’s going to be a godsend for those companies that have too much inventory to monitor on paper.

3. Collect All the Product Information Possible for Your Inventory

The more information that you’re able to gather when it comes to your company’s inventory, the easier it’ll be to manage it all. As a result, you should collect product information for your inventory that includes:

• Suppliers
• SKUs
• Barcodes
• Lot numbers
• And whatever else you can put together!

You’re going to want to refer back to product information early and often with regard to your inventory. So it’s a good idea to obtain as much of it as you can from the very start.

4. Prioritize Your Different Kinds of Inventory

There is going to be some inventory that your company has that will be, simply put, more important than other inventory. High-ticket items, for example, will need to be treated differently than items that don’t bring in much in terms of profits.

It’s why you should try to prioritize your inventory and break it all down into different categories. High-ticket items should be in one category, low-priced items should be in another, and any items that fall in between these two spectrums belong in a separate category.

You can come up with and use as many categories as you would like to monitor your inventory. But you should figure out how to categorize it so that you can prioritize it as best you can.

5. Complete Routine Inventory Audits

Auditing your inventory is going to be one of the most tedious jobs that you and your employees have to take on. But it’ll also be one of the most important jobs that you do.

Some companies will audit their inventory twice every month, while others will only do it twice every year. No matter how often you decide to do it, what will be important is that you make it a point to conduct regular inventory audits.

By keeping a close eye on your inventory, you can prevent your company from experiencing unexpected losses. You can also make sure that you know what’s selling and what isn’t from your inventory.

6. Monitor the Companies That Supply You With Inventory

To make sure that you have enough inventory on hand, you’re going to need to rely on other companies to supply you with it. And some of these companies will be better than others when it comes to delivering inventory on time to you.

It would be well worth monitoring how companies are about supplying you with items and cutting ties with any that are always late sending you the things you need. You don’t ever want to be at the mercy of companies like this when you’re trying to keep your inventory at the right level.

7. Use the So-Called 80/20 Inventory Rule

Most inventory experts will tell you that right around 80% of the profits that your company brings in will be tied to just 20% of your inventory. Your goal should be to identify your best-selling products and pay attention to them closer than the 80% of your products that don’t sell as well.

By doing this, you should be able to push these products more effectively and make sure that you have more than enough of them on hand at all times. You can also start to part ways with any products that aren’t pulling their weight and contributing to your company’s business success.

8. Come Up With an Easy Way to Accept New Inventory and Track It

When your company welcomes new inventory into your warehouse or whatever else you might use to store items, do you have a good system in place for accepting it? If you don’t, it’s going to make monitoring this inventory a struggle from the start.

As soon as you begin running a new business, you should create a system for accepting new inventory, entering it into your control system, and storing it. It’ll make everything so much easier to find and track down the line.

9. Implement a Simple System for Tracking Sales

The sales that your company is able to make will obviously have a huge impact on your inventory. If you suddenly start selling one product like crazy, you’ll want to know about it fast so that you can restock this product and continue to sell it.

There will need to be a system set up for tracking your sales and alerting you to the fact that you should consider ordering more of certain products. Otherwise, you might find that your company will have some items that sell really well out of stock at the worst possible times.

10. Take the Time to Restock Inventory Yourself

Many of your suppliers might offer to help you restock your inventory so that you don’t have to do it yourself. On the surface, this might seem like a nice gesture, but you should always remember that your suppliers are only going to do this to increase their own profits.

You know what your company is having success selling and what your business is struggling to sell. So you should handle restocking your inventory on your own and make sure you have the right items on hand all the time.

11. Upgrade Inventory Management Software on a Regular Basis

Your inventory management software might be state of the art right now. But is it still going to be that way in a year or two?

History has shown us that technology is changing faster than ever before, and you’re going to need to change with it to make sure you don’t fall behind the times. One simple way to do this is by upgrading your inventory management software early and often.

12. Look Out for New and Exciting Ways to Manage Inventory

Companies don’t manage their inventory the same way today that they did 20 years ago. Heck, in some cases, companies don’t manage their inventory the same way today that they did one year ago.

There are always new and exciting ways to manage inventory that are coming out. You should do research on how other companies are managing their inventory and take cues from them. It’ll help your company stay ahead of the curve and lead to the ultimate business success.

The Approach You Take to Inventory Management Could Make or Break a Business

If you don’t have a great investment management control system in place, you’re going to pay the price for it. Your company will miss out on at least some profits because of your inability to keep up with your inventory demands.

Utilize the tips found here to take your company’s inventory management control system to the next level. You won’t regret it once you see how much easier it’ll be to take control of your inventory from here on out.

Look for other practical business-related tips and tricks in our other published blog articles.