By PDI CStore Essentials Team on March 29, 2017

The Importance of an Item-level Inventory Management System

One of the best ways to be ahead of the game in inventory management is to do inventory at the item level. Whether you own a single c-store or an entire chain of c-stores, you can greatly benefit if you have an item-level inventory management system in place to keep track of the status of each and every item in your c-store inventory.

What is Item-level Inventory Management?

Inventory management at the item level refers to keeping a track of individual items by tagging each item in the inventory and getting useful information regarding their availability, price, and several others aspects. C-store owners generally use an item-level inventory system to track different items for better inventory control purposes. It provides detailed insights into several aspect of the inventory, such as:

  • Cost of each item
  • Inventory on hand for each item
  • Margin for each item
  • Movement for each item
  • Physical counts of each item
  • Replenishment of each item

 

Having the above information regarding every item allows for better accuracy in inventory related predictions, enabling you to eliminate potential inventory management problems, such as wasteful overstocking and shortages.

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Benefits of an Item-level Inventory Management System

There are three main benefits for your c-store:

  1. Reduce Overstock: An inventory system at the item level allows you to determine whether you need to replenish certain items or you have enough stock to last for another few days. With this information, you can minimize the chances of overstocking which can lead to increased costs of warehousing and inventory management.
  2. Distinguish Dead Stock from other Items: If you don’t conduct proper inventory at the item level, it may become very difficult to identify the dead stock. Because an inventory management system provides complete information about the status of your inventory, you can easily distinguish products that have not been sold for a long time. This will prevent you from further purchasing those products and take measures to clear out the dead stock from your inventory.
  3. Reduce Inventory Shrinkage: Without it, you are at an elevated risk of inventory shrinkage. But with the help of inventory at the item level, you can reap the cost benefit and lower the amount of inventory shrinkage. It also helps you determine what steps should be taken to keep inventory shrinkage to a bare minimum.
  4. Make Accurate Predictions: If you use an innovative item-level inventory management system, you can make well-grounded decisions regarding purchasing items for restocking your c-store. By having precise information about your inventory, you study consumer trends and can schedule purchases of different items so that you never run out on items your consumers are looking for.

 

If you want to take control of your C-store, having an inventory management system at the item level can make things considerably easy for you. Get in touch with us to Schedule a Free Demo  today.

Published by PDI CStore Essentials Team March 29, 2017