BestPractices For Pet Supply Store Inventory Management


 

Optimizingyour inventory will optimize your profits. But this will require youto
findthe right inventory balance

without compromising customer satisfaction and experience. Look atyour target market – pet owners come to your store because theylove their pets. And as per statistics, pet owners will spendluxuriously on their pets,
regardlessof the economic downturn.

Therefore, the challenge here is not whether your pet supply storehas demand. Instead, it is whether you can meet those demands. So,you have no choice but to implement the best strategies for your petstore inventory management. And your goal is optimization andefficiency with a touch of customer satisfaction.


 


ChoosingYour Inventory

Avital step in inventory management is choosing the proper inventoryfor your pet store. Remember, one of your biggest goals is to meetyour customer's needs. So, first, identify the products your petowners need the most.

Someof the most profitable pet products include CBD for dogs, dog poopbags, pet litter, pet beds, pet clothes, pet food, personalizedaccessories like collars, exercise tools, grooming supplies, and seatcovers.

Youcan choose between selling various products or niche down whendeciding what inventory to sell. For instance, instead of selling allthese products, you can choose to focus on pet foods or groomingsuppliers. Since pet products have high demand, the options youchoose are bound to make a profit. Nonetheless, they must be highquality, especially for sensitive products like pet food. Thisrequires you to find suitable suppliers.


 


ChoosingYour Supplier

Suppliersourcing and management are also a significant part of inventorymanagement. Think about it: the relationship you build with yoursuppliers affects the quality of products you sell and your capacityto meet customer demand.

Thismeans you need reliable and excellent suppliers to source the bestproducts and deliver products to your store on demand. For example,choosing a supplier for pet food products requires one with veryhigh-quality products.

Therefore,the suppliers should be well versed with the shelf-life implicationsof certain products. That is, they should always provide products notclose to their expiry date to ensure your customers get fresh andhealthy produce.

Oneother thing to consider when building your supplier relationships istheir willingness to work with you to grow your sales revenuecontinuously. For example,
customerbehavior and beliefs keep changing fast

.

Therefore,where pet owners are willing to splurge on pet supplements in oneseason, they might opt for organic food options for their pets inanother. This means you must continuously remain aware of thechanging demands of your customers.

Asupplier that understands this need and works with you to ensure onlythe best and necessary inventory is moving through the supply chainthroughout the year is your ultimate partner.

Therefore,consider supplier values and their intent to grow with your customerdemand before choosing your supplier.


 


TakeAdvantage Of Technology

So,you have your inventory, your suppliers, and you've opened yourstore. Now you need to find the best ways to manage your inventory.This is where technology comes in.


 

Thisenhances the efficiency of your inventory management. Picture this:it is the beginning of August, and you just received your firstinventory, which includes 100 pet food products. With an end-to-endPOS system, logging each item in your business database and inventoryrecords takes a few hours. Why?

Yoursupplier will send a digital record of all the products supplied foryour inventory. Once they reach your store, a stocktaking appcounterchecks these products fast to ensure the digital records matchthe physical products at your store.

Assuch, you effectively identify issues like
stockshrinkage

and take immediate actions like asking for a replacement for damagedproducts. The POS system automatically updates your inventoryrecords, eliminating the tedious manual data entry processes.

Simultaneously,the POS system updates any sales happening in your store. This meansthat at any given time, you can accurately identify the exact numberof products on your shelves, in your warehouse, and the number ofsold items.

Ananalysis of
yourproduct information

in alignment with the fast-moving products based on your salesrecords can tell you what customers prefer. Over time, you can usethis data to identify future products that garner more profit.

Butfirst, ensure that each product in your inventory records has aproduct description based on things like quantity and ingredientlist.

Arobust POS system will help you monitor your inventory and collectessential product data to inspire business decisions that enhanceyour sales. For example, identifying the products with low turnoversenables you to decide whether to eliminate them entirely from yoursupply list or to stock them in low quantities.

Agilityin business

is no longer a choice. Instead, keeping your pet supply store in perwith the changing landscapes of the digital era is necessary. Andwhile adopting technology helps you keep up with the times,technology is also changing faster.

Therefore,you must be agile to ensure that your operations adapt and deliverquickly to the changing environments. The right technology solutionwill continuously update your operations and capabilities, collectmarket data and trends to keep you informed and support your agilebusiness culture.

Forexample, our Erply POS system has integration capabilities withonline stores like Shopify that easily allow you to take your petsupply store online. This meets the
growingdemand for online shopping

.

Oneadvantage of using technology is having access to data that canenhance your overall pet store supply store operations. But only ifyou know how to use the information correctly. For example, a dip insales for a particular product is easily recognized with data.

Sharingthe data with your suppliers can help them find solutions, likedeveloping a new and more efficient product line. Data, like theproduct information list, can help you manage products on your shelfby following the first in, first out rule.

Thatis, you can create a transparent system in your warehouse so thatyour employees easily identify the products that need to be pulledfrom the warehouse and into the store and shelves first. A digitalidentification system also quickly flags products that are nearingthe expiration date.

Hence,you can make intelligent decisions by moving those products into yourstore faster or creating and offering promotions on these products toensure they sell quickly. This gives your customers something tosmile about while protecting you from stock shrinkage or waste.


 


 


ErplyCan Help

Erplyis a POS software solution that caters to your inventory managementneeds. For instance, you can create custom labels to help you keeptrack of your inventory, making it easier to adopt the first in,first out management method.

Customlabels also make it easier to identify new products in your warehouseto protect them from expiration. Erply also has stocktaking andreporting tools that automate your inventory management processes.

Forinstance, the stocktaking app helps you record all your stock faster.You will also remain agile with Erply eCommerce integration featuresthat allow you to take your business online with a few simple clicks.
Geta demo from Erply

to see how your pet store benefits from our capabilities.