If your company’s been stockpiling inventory like a squirrel anticipating a particularly harsh winter, now’s the time to raise a hand: The cash drain is nuts!
You’ve seen it in the economic barometers — corporate inventories have been rising steadily for quite some time now. And that’s perfectly normal during a slowdown.
But how do you know when you’ve gone too far?
A walk through your warehouse can give you a clue. The more items gathering dust on warehouse shelves, cluttered in aisles, stacked up in boxes, etc., the more money your company’s losing.
2 steps you can take this week
Fortunately, there are two quick and relatively painless ways you can start to purge some of that excess inventory:
- Seek suppliers’ help. Now’s when your company’s good payment history and general cooperation can pay off. See if some of your biggest or most critical suppliers will take some cost-effective steps for you. Maybe they’ll be willing to store some of your raw materials and embrace more of a just-in-time approach.
- Make it jump off your shelves. Schedule a sit-down with Sales and Marketing. Can you get a little creative with pricing or promotions? One company with a decidedly “nondescript” product (ball bearings), held a “buy three, get one free” campaign to rev up sales and clear out those shelves.