Effective inventory management is vital to a fashion retailer’s success and profitability. Too much stock? Low cash flow. Too little stock? Lost sales. Integrating inventory management into a point of sale (POS) system brings these pivotal functions in line with larger retail management efforts. Consider these three ways to increase fashion retail inventory management efficiency.
Leverage Real-time Access
Integrating inventory management tools with real-time sales data from all store locations, including e-commerce, gives the retailer unprecedented control of stock levels. Eliminate the guesswork and ordering on assumption. Analyze real-time inventory updates to:
- drive decisions about optimum stock levels based on budgeted dollars or unit limits
- manage inter-store transfers to replenish stock across locations
- identify buyer behaviors and correctly time stock replenishment
- foster stronger relationships with vendors while also tracking returns to identify trends with particular merchant or brand
Inventory technology helps retailers source products and maintain profitability while developing efficient relationships with third-party vendors supplying the stores.
Better Manage Inventory Profitability
Fashion retail inventory management efficiency extends to pricing as well. With inventory tracked by vendor, brand, department, style, season, color, size and more, the retailer can track inventory profitability at a granular level.
Retail inventory management enables:
- smarter pricing decisions with inventory software calculation of initial retail prices based on pre-set markup from cost price
- increased sales with suggested purchase add-ons on customer register receipts
- on-demand price changes in response to new opportunities or to match competitor pricing
An integrated solution automates and streamlines purchasing, accounting and finance processes to reduce the amount of time spent on back office tasks. By working smarter, the retailer can focus on the fun part of fashion retail — finding the new, exciting products customers rave about.
Foster Customer Loyalty
Increase fashion retail inventory management efficiency by improving customer experience with the integration of inventory and POS information:
- share customer profiles across stores to ensure employees at all locations are up-to-date about which brands, styles, sizes and colors a shopper prefers
- enable layaways and special orders for faithful customers
- reach customers with shopping promotions and loyalty programs targeting specific groups or locations to grow the business
Retail software with an inventory management system can also reduce operating costs and the risk of errors by removing the need to manually count inventory or create purchase orders. Whether the inventory is men’s, women’s, kids’ or infants’ clothing, integrating inventory and POS systems can better track shrinkage, reduce supply chain confusion and save time in product fulfillment.
Grow your business with increased fashion retail inventory management efficiency and the tools you need to act in real-time, focus on profitability and foster customer loyalty.
