Fashion retail is a gorgeous profession, but it is still a business, and it must be treated as such. That entails focusing on the bottom line and determining ways to make things function more smoothly.
Inventory management is one of the simplest areas to enhance in your retail fashion business. If you’re not tracking your inventory and supply chain, chances are you’re wasting money and missing out on opportunities.
Today, we’ll look at how to manage inventory to help your retail fashion business prosper, resulting in higher revenues and happier consumers.
What Happens When You Run a Store with No Inventory Management
It Will be a disaster. One of the best aspects of inventory management is that it generates order. When you manage your inventory, you know where everything is. You are aware of how much of each item you have. You are aware of what you require and do not require.
A store that does not have inventory management is often chaotic.
Your store is probably disorganised if you don’t have inventory management. You may lose sales if you are unable to locate an item requested by a customer. You don’t know whether you’re experiencing shrink or theft. You’re probably squandering money on items that aren’t selling. You’re also possibly paying for inventory that you don’t need.
On the other hand, you can be understocking items that sell quickly. Without inventory management, it is far more difficult to:
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Recognize and capitalise on sales trends ahead of time.
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Profit from seasonal variations.
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Forecast the future and plan accordingly.
A store that lacks effective inventory management standards is a store that is not realising its full potential. It’s almost certain that if it’s earning money, it could be making even more. If it is losing money, good inventory management may be able to help it recover.
We understand that inventory management may appear hard and scary. We’ve heard the arguments: it’s too difficult to set up, and it’s only truly significant for large organisations with various locations and extensive supply chains.
These things are simply not true.
Setting up an inventory management system may help any business, from a mobile apparel store to a Fortune 500 corporation with operations all over the world.
The great part is that it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive.
Let’s take a look at how retail inventory management for a clothes store may offer your company a fashion makeover that will have everyone swooning.
Why Does Fashion Inventory Management Matter?
Inventory management is critical for practically every business, but here are the top eight reasons why it is critical for your retail clothes business:
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PREVENTS STOCK-OUTS AND KEEPS CUSTOMERS HAPPY
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LOWERS YOUR CARRYING COSTS
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MAKE SURE YOUR INVESTORS ARE HAPPY
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LOSS PREVENTION
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BETTER SPACE MANAGEMENT
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ELIMINATE COSTLY ADMINISTRATIVE ERRORS
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AVOID THE DREADED DEADSTOCK
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MANAGE YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN
Fashion Inventory Management Challenges
Inventory is inventory and tracking offers some issues regardless of the business.
However, other challenges are exclusive to the fashion retail industry. Let’s take a closer look at them.
APPAREL SALES RELY HEAVILY ON ECOMMERCE
Depending on who you ask, clothes sales are either the largest or the second-largest eCommerce segment. At the end of the day, the obstacles are the same regardless of which position it takes.
Because fashion merchants rely so largely on eCommerce sales, they must keep track of their inventory, supply chain, and shipping. Customers expect their purchases to be delivered swiftly, and given the nature of clothing transactions in general, returns are unavoidable.
Businesses in this industry must be prepared to face these problems.
EVOLVING TRENDS MAKE PLANNING CHALLENGING
Fashion trends shift daily. What was fashionable in May is out of date by July, so fashion businesses must be extremely cautious when making estimates. Overzealousness can result in costly dead goods that sit on shelves or is sold at a loss.
Fortunately, excellent inventory management combined with data forecasting can help reduce risk in this situation.
CHANNEL-SPECIFIC TRENDS ADD EVEN MORE CHALLENGES
We’ve discussed eCommerce sales, but most fashion merchants continue to sell in physical stores as well as through other channels.
As a result, you’ll need specialist tools to comprehend how your inventory moves through each channel. If a shirt sells better online than in-store, that knowledge influences future orders as well as several other factors. However, if you don’t know the sales data by channel, you’re flying blind.
Examining your inventory on a micro-level per channel might help you manage things more effectively and avoid running out of stock in certain locations while having too much in others.
Best tool for Fashion Inventory Management
As previously said, inventory management does not have to be complicated, time-consuming, or expensive. From pen and paper to complicated modular software systems that may be custom-fit to meet your exact needs, there are options for every business and budget.
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the inventory management Software -:
ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING Software (ERP)
If you are a medium-to-large-sized garment retailer, you should look into Enterprise Resource Planning tools that include warehouse management capabilities.
These more sophisticated solutions will assist you in managing your inventory and supply chain across numerous locations and sales channels (in-store, online, etc.)
This form of inventory management will not only make managing the number of products and materials you have much easier, but it will also ensure that orders are sent promptly from the closest warehouse location, guaranteeing customers receive their stuff faster.
If You are wondering which ERP to Buy then you can consider Bluekaktus apparel software solutions. Many businesses benefit from BlueKaktus ERP software. It helps your business function smoothly by integrating and securing your data, automating procedures, and creating simple reports. The benefits of BlueKaktus best inventory management software in a business make day-to-day operations and long-term planning more effective with these and many other capabilities.
Final Thoughts
Inventory management software is essential for any organization, but the fashion retail industry has its own set of challenges to conquer.
Whether you are a small firm with a single brick-and-mortar site or a large corporation with various channels and warehouses all over the world, you should not skimp on inventory management.
The good news is that inventory management has a high return on investment with a little initial outlay. Because there are so many options on the market, business owners may find solutions in any price range, as well as the tools they require.
So, what are you waiting for if you aren’t using the best inventory management software in your retail fashion business? Don’t throw money and opportunities away.
Please contact us right away.
