Store inventory analysis

Cleverly check and optimize store inventories with slow-moving items analysis

In the age of the Internet, where competition is probably greater than ever before, it is important to offer and find the right solution in your niche. Whether B2C or B2B, those who fail to adapt their product portfolio in retail, wholesale or other forms of sales can quickly be squeezed out of the market. Only a few providers manage to serve their own market segment with a few niche products. It is often necessary to take the broad route.

And it is precisely here that larger stocks arise, which must be handled appropriately. An important step in this process is the analysis of slow-moving items – this means looking specifically for slow-moving items in order to optimize them further. This is important for several reasons, as slow-moving items usually bring along problems, including the following:

• Capital in the company is tied up in slow-moving items, meaning reduced cash flow
• Certain slow-moving items can also become a logistical problem, as a lot of space is simply not used optimally, resulting in further costs
• Further optimizations are not possible and it can also be problematic in stores, as old products have to be displayed

We would therefore like to take a closer look at the important step of analyzing slow-moving items and also focus on the specific options for carrying out the relevant steps.

Definition of slow-moving items analysis: an important step towards more optimization

Since the concept of slow-moving items is so widely known, slow-moving item analysis is not a complex term either. It is a form of warehouse analysis or inventory that takes a very targeted approach. This can be carried out as part of larger inventories or as a separate step to find the main slow-moving items.

By the way: Strictly speaking, the slow-moving items analysis not only describes whether there are goods issues, but also goods receipts of certain products, as these also play an important role in the analysis of stock levels.

Store inventory analysis in practice: long since embedded in digitalization

An analysis of slow-moving items must also be worthwhile. If you waste days and weeks carrying out the analysis and literally searching for every single item in stock, you won’t get very far. It is therefore crucial that a targeted approach is taken. Using appropriate IT systems, digitalized merchandise systems can be mapped so that all steps of the slow-moving goods analysis can be carried out in practically seconds.

A wide range of information can then be extracted, including, for example, how many products are considered slow-moving items and how long they have been in stock, to name just two examples.

The individual definition of important categories is important when analyzing slow-moving items

As already indicated, the analysis of slow-moving items is something that is sometimes based on different premises. It cannot be said across the board that all products that have not produced a flow of goods for over a year, for example, are unusable. Aspects such as the coronavirus pandemic in particular, but even the change in social awareness of certain products, can play a role. For this reason, it is always necessary to define which parameters are important for a product to be defined as slow-moving before this movement data is queried.

Various steps can be derived from the result

After the analysis of slow-moving items, it is important to decide what the next steps are in order to clear the stocks if necessary. There are many options, from further storage to scrapping the products. It is also possible that quantities are only reduced, special promotions are launched, prices are lowered or new markets are sought. Here too, however, it is crucial that the correct data is specified in advance and key values are defined.