The McNeal Method
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Thoughts

My musings and opinions on all the issues that tiny businesses face. From frequently asked questions I come across each week, to hot topics of the moment, if you have a question or issue, you’ll find the answers in this section.

GUEST POST by Marcus Lansky - How To Streamline Your Inventory

How to Streamline Your Inventory Management to Avoid Devastating Mistakes

With all the creature comforts people need to live, thrive, and survive, your inventory-based business is truly doing the world a service. But of course, this comes with a great deal of responsibility, too. You have to make sure your goods flow smoothly, so you consistently provide value to your customers. This can be easier said than done, though, as inventory management mistakes do happen, which can result in stale products, wrong fulfillment, and the like.

Needless to say, these are scenarios that you’ll want to avoid at all costs—not just to maintain your customers’ or clients’ good faith, but also to prevent revenue loss and unwanted expenses. The key is to streamline your inventory management efforts so your workflows and processes are more efficient, cost-effective, and less time-consuming. Here are some steps you need to take to do exactly that.


Identify opportunities to improve.

It’s true, you don’t have to fix anything that isn’t broken, but this doesn’t mean you can’t find room for improvement. No matter how well-oiled a machine your inventory management may seem, if you take a closer look, you can still find inefficiencies. Maybe this step of your workflow takes too much time, or perhaps that part of the process is too costly. When you dig up inefficiencies, it’s smart to return to the drawing board and take steps toward improving inventory management.

The ways you can improve inventory management in your own business can be a mile long. But at the most fundamental level, this hinges heavily on inventory management control, so this is, by and large, the most logical first step. From there, you may also want to update your business plan and documented workflows (to name a few) accordingly, and thankfully, there’s no shortage of resources and services you can use to that end.


Get help in getting things done.

Of course, the process of improving your inventory management into a more streamlined and efficient one will likely entail extra tasks and maybe even investments, which can get overwhelming when you also have your hands full in running the business. For this reason, it will be more than wise to get the right kind of help in the form of freelancers. Despite the cost, hiring freelancers can actually turn out to be a wise investment in the long run as they usually have the expertise to execute and implement the things you need, so you don’t end up wasting time and expenses.

Case in point, streamlining your inventory management will entail an inventory management system or software that cuts out the inefficiencies of manual data entry and archaic inventory tracking techniques. While there are, of course, systems you can buy and use out of the box, a system that’s customized specifically for your business is often the better option as this can address your operational needs accordingly—not to mention, integrate seamlessly with your workflow.

With this in mind, it can be more than prudent to hire freelancers like a systems developer to create the inventory management system that you need or even an ecommerce specialist to build a functional and intuitive dashboard for your inventory. You can easily find and hire such specialists through reputable job boards that bring business owners and freelancers together. You can even find freelancers for other tasks and business needs, as well, from design to marketing to admin support.

Suffice it to say, efficient inventory management is the be-all and end-all of a successful inventory-based business. However, this will happen neither miraculously nor even organically. Rather, this is something that you, as a business owner, will have to work toward. But with the right plan and guidance, a firm understanding of your inventory needs and workflow, and adequate assistance and tools, there’s no reason why you can’t achieve the inventory management system that your business needs and deserves.

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Cate McNealComment