Most wholesalers know that ‘out of stock’ means a lost revenue opportunity and should be avoided at all costs. However, actually preventing this from happening is a problem yet to be solved. Inventory systems and advancements in supply chain management have made significant strides over the years, but it’s understanding your demand cycles and executing the small things that really make the difference. Knowing what customers bought yesterday and what they want to buy today is not enough, you need to know what they’re going to buy 3 months from now. You need to have a ‘smart warehouse’.
Know Your Demand Cycles
Knowing your demand cycles is extremely important in having a smart warehouse and avoiding stockouts. Seasonal cycles are easier to predict, such as toys in the holiday season, but you also need to know how past trends affect buyers of your product. For example if you sell calendars, then the demand spikes before the new year in November and December. And if you distribute pool toys and inflatables, then your sales pick up in the spring-time. If you don’t have an obvious demand cycle, then the only way to truly track this data is to have an inventory system. This allows you to schedule out your re-order points accurately and prepare spikes in volume.
Streamlining Purchase Orders
When you’re at a spike in your demand cycle, lets say you sell football memorabilia and you’re prepping for football season, then you need to be ready to process purchase orders efficiently and avoid bottlenecks. With QStock Inventory, purchase orders from Intacct and Quickbooks sync seamlessly with your inventory management system. The video below shows how Qstock streamlines the receiving process:
Intacct Integration and Basic Purchase Order Processing QStock Inventory
Simplifying Batch Work Orders
When working with batch work orders, you need to be able to track raw materials from A-Z once a purchase order is received. A batch assembly item is where the bill of materials is not for a single unit, but for building a batch of larger quantities for that item. This is a necessity for the food industry, such as processing a batch of cookies or food items in a gift basket. The video below shows how easy QStock makes this if you use Intacct:
Work Order Process and Lot Tracking with Intacct and QStock Inventory
Avoiding stockouts is the ultimate goal. Understanding your demand cycles and efficient execution within your warehouse is what helps you avoid these. A robust system like QStock Inventory turns your warehouse into a ‘smart warehouse’ so that you can prepare for bottlenecks and be ready for any spikes in Volume.
