SMALL BUSINESS STOCK
CONTROL TIPS AND TRICKS

HOW TO MANAGE STOCK IN A SMALL BUSINESS

As a small business, stock management can cause issues. Carefully managing levels of stock can be a tough ask, especially when orders are light on the ground.

We’ve prepared some handy information on how to manage stock in a small business to help you get your stock under control.

STOCK CONTROL TIPS

Some small businesses smash their stock control. Others struggle, possibly losing out on business due to not having the right products available or low stock – or even too much stock.

Stock management for small businesses is important. It helps to contain costs and ensure there is enough product supply to meet customer demand. If done effectively, businesses can save money with savvy stock management.

Things may differ for small businesses who make their own products from start to finish. As they own their whole supply chain, they don’t source finished products, instead focusing on raw materials

The top tip for small business stock control is ensuring that you have the right policies, procedures and processes in place to ensure a consistent order process. Knowing everything from when items are received, to when they’re sent out by your company is key.

THINGS TO TRY TO IMPROVE STOCK MANAGEMENT

For small business stock control, there are a handful of ways to improve stock control – which include choosing the methods that suit you. Some of the benefits of using these methods include saving money, saving time, and a lower risk of overselling or having too much stock excess.

Methods include:

Often used for businesses with perishables, this method involves selling products in the order that they were created.

Knowing when you need more stock is great. Use previous sales history and season trends to identify what needs to be restocked.

Utilising analytics from point of sale software can help automate your stock management. When you sell, the system automatically updates!

Manual auditing is good practice to ensure that software is accurate! If you don’t have software, this should be done regularly, however with software, it can be done once a year.

SOLD STOCK? SHIP WITH DHL eCommerce UK

When you have sold stock, you need a delivery partner to help you send it across the UK and internationally. With DHL eCommerce UK, you can drop off items at a local depot or ServicePoint, or even use our courier service and have your parcel picked up from your home and delivered the next day.