Sometimes, a business outgrows a basic inventory management system. Inventory management software alone no longer suffices. When this happens, a company may need to hire an inventory management specialist whose job is to solely keep track of all things inventory related. This inventory specialist will count the inventory,…
Missing Inventory? – Every once in a while, you won’t be able to find the inventory you need. If a raw material can’t be found, you’re going to have trouble making your finished product. Similarly, if something is misplaced during the work-in-progress phase of production, you’re not going…
I stumbled across this article on Intelligent Supply Management, and I realized that all companies – big or small – are dealing with the same problem when it comes to order management. The way I see it, in order management, there is one important action and that is…
Wall Street Journal discusses different ways to deal with excess holiday merchandise. Sell via consignment stores – What are consignment stores? These are stores that will hold your inventory for you and sell it at a lower price. They take a percentage of the sales revenue. You still…
An annual survey conducted by Sterling Commerce highlights the increasing demand for an integrated shopping experience across multiple retail channels. According to the survey results from January 2009 – 57% of ecommerce customers wanted the ability to return items to a store after purchasing them online. (The number…
A couple of weeks ago, FedEx announced SenseAware, a new shipment tracking sensor that allows you to track the exact condition of the shipment using the following information – Precise temperature readings Shipment’s exact location (GPS based) When a shipment is opened or if the contents have been…
Here is a revealing interview with the founder of Blinds.com. The webstore was launched in 1996 to sell window blinds online and today earns $50 million in annual revenues. And all of that with zero debt, and zero inventory. Remarkable! My key take aways from the 7 page…
For small businesses, cash indeed is king. If you run out of cash, then you cannot pay your bills, cannot get suppliers to ship you goods, and cannot continue running the business effectively. If you are in the retail business (whether e-commerce, or brick and mortar), an often…