How Do You Manage Inventory That Moves Slowly?

A common issue that most businesses encounter is slow-moving inventory. It isn't easy to pinpoint the precise cause of this. There may be a wide range of reasons for a product's slower-than-expected sales. You must keep up with the fast-paced nature of the retail industry.

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Business success, especially of those marketing physical goods, depends on recognising slow-moving inventory, identifying the root cause, and resolving the problem proactively. Nobody wants old, dead, or outdated list taking up space and money in the warehouse. It must move as planned to bring in new products and profit handsomely from each item in stock.

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In this article, you will discover what slow-moving inventory is, how it impacts your business, and how to deal with it. Let's get going!

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What Slow-Moving Inventory entails

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The inventory that takes the longest to sell is slow-moving stock. These are surplus inventory items that have been unused in the warehouse or stored for a predetermined period of time. The stock owner sets the time to decide if a stock has turned into a slow-moving inventory. It's also crucial to remember that slow-moving inventory includes unfinished goods and raw materials.

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For instance, a business that operates online and offline cannot define its slow-moving inventory definition as 90 days because the inventory will be filthy and unappealing by that time. Yet, a 120-day window is acceptable if a business offers digital business card layouts.

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What Negative Repercussions Does Slow-Moving Inventory Cause?

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Dealing with slow-moving inventory can pose several challenges, the first of which is having less capital and shelf space available than other fast-moving products could have. Second, the likelihood that slow-moving merchandise will become out-of-date increases the longer you keep onto it.

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The stock's market value may also decrease during this process, resulting in losses for the company. On the other hand, if the commodities are perishable, they may retain their value. Nothing is more terrible than having to discard stock. It gives the impression that your money is being wasted.

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Slowly moving inventory could also indicate a more serious issue that must be resolved immediately. Analysing the causes of the inventory's sluggish movement may reveal the following problems:

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Demand forecasting problems: You might have purchased too much stock. Evaluate your demand projections to ensure that they reflect the actual reality.

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Absence of competitive strategy: Inventory that moves slowly could indicate that your company is losing clients to rival businesses. That's not to imply you shouldn't purchase stock items in large quantities.

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How to Handle Stagnant or Slow-Moving Inventory

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Let's explore suggestions to deal with slow-moving inventory:

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1. Reduced costs or Discounts

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Slashing pricing is one of the easiest methods to deal with slow-moving goods. Customers are encouraged to purchase things "while stocks last" by being offered a discount. When attempting to move inventory, you can employ various sales techniques. To name a few:

Clearance, Seasonal, and Flash sales.

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2. Increase the Attractiveness of the Product

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Sometimes a product's lack of sales is the result of ineffective marketing. Make the product more noticeable to improve the navigation on your website. Other methods are as follows:

• When you bring goods to a physical store, you can persuade the proprietor to shift the item to a more visible location.
• Consider improving SEO for the product's web page in eCommerce retailers. Finding SERPs in this method will be easier, which can lead to increased sales.
• You can also enhance the product's internet copy and photos to increase attraction marketing further.
• Lastly, updating the product's packaging or display will make it appear to be a brand-new, intriguing item that buyers want to try.

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3. Apply deals and offers

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Without having to lower prices permanently, you can give your clients economic value by offering promotions. Employ promotional strategies like:

• "Buy one get one free" or "Buy 1 get one 50% discount". Just be sure that the profit margin is within reason.
• Giving your consumers additional less-priced freebies is another approach to appeal to them.
• Bundling products will draw shoppers, and your slow stock will move more quickly. With this package, combine your slow-moving items with those that move quickly.

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4. Use Alternative Pathways

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Using various channels is an attractive solution if you have a slow-moving inventory and need to reach the correct customers despite your marketing efforts. You can investigate several avenues, such as putting up storefronts on delivery apps, becoming a third-party online vendor (like selling on Amazon), and joining websites that offer bargains.

Also, you can collaborate with a business to provide discounts to their clients.

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5. Producing Valuable Content

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In addition to helping with SEO, blogging is a terrific way to attract readers who share similarities with your target demographic. For example, writing a blog post about a slow-moving product will allow you to reach readers who are already interested in it or warm leads. Yet, blog postings are just some things you can employ as helpful content.

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Make infographics that demonstrate how to use your product. You may also provide more thorough descriptions of your item on the product page.

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Inventory turnover, holding costs, gross profit, average days for selling inventory, and inventory forecasts can all be used to locate slow-moving stock. Then, reduce pricing, make products more appealing, give discounts, utilise other marketing channels, and create helpful material to eliminate slow-moving inventory.

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At Kypson, we offer various technical and managerial solutions to help businesses shorten the time it takes to sell their goods. We assist firms in eradicating slow-moving inventory issues by designing, procuring, and marketing their items to facilitate a smoother supply chain flow. The central goal of our work is to develop an effective eCommerce strategy for your company.

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