Keeping track of the inventory doesn’t only go for big and established businesses, but it also goes for small businesses who are just paving their way into making a brand for themselves. The inventory serves as a list of products/goods in stock and properties owned and sold by the company itself. This is why it’s important that they are stored and organized properly as early as possible.
But at times, even if we want to maintain a well-organized inventory for our stocks, we don’t always get to do it. This happens especially when there’s no proper system in storing and organizing them. What we could do now is to give you tips to help you manage your inventory. So if you own a small business, you have come to the right article because we’re going to give you tips on how to store and organize your inventory.
1. Develop an Organization System
Developing a system for your small business’s inventory will help you keep everything organized. There’s no fixed formula in developing an organization system for your small business’s inventory, but you have to look for a system that will fit your preference — and stick with it.
Your organization system should include planning for a proper storage space for your inventory. If you don’t have that much inventory to store, a spare room or a closet will do. But if there’s not enough space for your inventory to be stored, we suggest that you get a storage unit, so that there will be enough space for storage. Another thing you should take note of is how you’re going to organize and store them. You may opt to organize and store them by the type of product, purpose of the product, or you can choose to just arrange the name of the product alphabetically. It’s up to you, so go for what would make it easier for you to track.
2. Ditch Your Unused Inventory
As you make a proper system to follow in storing and organizing your inventory, you have to declutter. Ditch the unused and old ones! Any tip about proper storage would tell you that you have to remove the ones that you don’t need in order for you to make room for the current and useful ones.
Although your inventory is a record of all the things you purchased and sold over time, and it would somehow be hard for you to throw some of them away. But if it’s already been there for a long time, then you have to take the initiative and throw them out. Stacking old and unused inventory will just create clutter in the long run. And when new ones come, it will just make another pile.
3. Take Note of the Best-sellers
Taking note of the best-seller products doesn’t mean that you’re forgetting about the other products. It’s just a way to keep track of which product caters most to the needs of your clients. By doing this, it will keep you from disregarding the ones that actually keep the business running, and on the other side, think of ways to improve the products that don’t perform well.
4. Don’t Just Store Them Up in Your Office Space
Decluttering to make space for the ones that are currently used and needed isn’t limited to the storage space of your office. Given the office space of a small business, you have to take into account that your office wouldn’t look good if it’s too crowded. You can put the storage space of your inventory outside of your office space by moving and storing them into self-storage units. By doing this, you’re not just storing and organizing your inventory, but you’re also creating a clean and well-organized working space for your employees. Remember, an office space is for office staff. Don’t waste it by storing inventory and clutter. Leave them in a proper storage space.
5. Hire People to Do the Inventory
Your small business isn’t going to stay small forever. And as it grows over time, you’ll come to find that your inventory’s going to get bigger compared to when you first started doing them. That’s why you can hire people to maintain the organization of your business’s inventory. Plus, storing and organizing your inventory wouldn’t be the only task you’ll be doing. Hiring people to do the job for you will save you time as well as money because you’ll have more time to focus on other things that will help your business grow.
Proper storage and organization of your inventory shouldn’t be compromised by how big or small the business is. This would help your business to establish an organized process even if you are still small and when you grow bigger the adjustment will be easier because you are used to following a system already. It’s better to start when you are still beginning and small than when you are already big and hard to organize.
For more information on self-storage in the Philippines, you can contact us today, and we’ll be glad to help you!
