Most successful businesses are always looking for ways to improve operations and increase revenue. Recently, we've been focusing on inventory management and how to get the most out of the products on hand. There are always things to do to make supply chain more efficient and reduce the amount of uncertainty in business. In this blog post, we'll share some tips on how to maximize your inventory and drive more sales.
The global supply chain issues are well documented and are forecasted to continue for the foreseeable future. The increased uncertainty of stock positions adds another dimension to the ongoing changes in the retail landscape.
The different models of e-commerce continue to make most industries more crowded. Startup competitors and Private labels added to your traditional competition, coupled with potential raw material issues, and limited factory space or delays, make reaching your target consumer with the inventory you own crucial.
In order to maximize sales growth and profit, it is essential to have a well-functioning supply chain that can deliver products to retail outlets in a timely and efficient manner. However, this can be difficult to achieve due to the many different variables involved. For example, if a company's inventory levels are too low, they may miss out on sales opportunities. On the other hand, if they have too much inventory, they may be forced to sell at discounted prices in order to get rid of it. Therefore, it is important for companies to strike a balance between these two extremes to protect their brand equity and product value. To achieve this balance, an effective distribution strategy is crucial for ensuring that products reach the intended target market. By taking all of these factors into consideration, companies can develop a strategy that meets their needs and helps them maximize profits and brand health while growing their business.
Let’s look at a real-world example of this. One of our clients sells a premium product and has invested significant effort in managing where those products are sold and how they are capturing and protecting market share. In this case, the distribution strategy that they have set, coupled with the sales policies in place and their willingness to enforce them, have put them in a position where they can be confident that every unit in inventory that they have will maximize their profits. These efforts have won them several vendor of the year awards with major retailers and helps to maintain their position as one of the hottest brands in a crowded space, where they were one of six brands to grow revenue in Q1 of 2022. Which they achieved without online marketplace sales.
In order to achieve a clean and compliant distribution channel, businesses must take a number of steps.
First, they need to analyze their current distribution network to identify areas that are not profitable or that are not in compliance with the changing retail landscape.
Next, they need to make adjustments to their distribution network to account for the growth of marketplaces and the changing needs of consumers. This step doesn’t have to be as drastic as cutting ties with distribution outlets, but how they fit in the brands overall strategy and what the brand is doing to enable that relationship to be fruitful is important.
Finally, they need to monitor their distribution network on an ongoing basis to ensure that it remains clean and compliant. Adjust and enforce sales policies to protect the brand into the future. By taking these steps, businesses can ensure that their distribution channel is profitable and compliant with the changing retail landscape.
While it is important to focus on the distribution and sales policies in place, it is also crucial to analyze what is happening within the changing retail landscape. It's necessary to enable what is currently working well for your brand and make adjustments to help maximize revenue, profitability, and brand health.
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Counter Diversion is a boutique SaaS company - we don't have marketing and we don't use high pressure sales tactics. Our goal is to have solid, honest conversations about the issues protecting brands and product values. We will then either recommend our service or another one that is a better fit for your needs. If you'd like to engage in that type of discussion, please schedule a free consultation.
