To what degree do you have control of how and when your inventory comes and goes? To whom it is sold and in what quantities? Not so much? Is making critical business decisions more difficult now? I’m sure you know that uncertainty is the new reality. As business managers it falls to us to try to adapt to the ebb and flow of customer demand in the age of pandemic. Tricky business to be sure.
I was talking to the owner of a distribution company just last week who indicated that it was nearly impossible to anticipate what his normally very active customers would order in the coming quarter. He said in discussions with his most reliable trading partners he often received the “Walter…I just don’t know” answer. It’s difficult to plan for just the right amount of inventory to maintain adequate service levels when everyone in the supply chain is in a daily quandary. Holding inventory is expensive. Losing sales because you can’t deliver, can be even more expensive.
Is there a magic pill? Well, candidly, no. But with so many decisions up in the air in 2020 it may be just the right time to put a tool to work for you that helps you keep track of all the variables involved in areas like inventory optimization. Certainly, having data at your fingertips that factors in shipping times, economical order quantities, special contract terms and other variables can be an important step in the right direction.
Of course, there’s the old saying that you “can’t manage what you can’t measure”. Modern software suites and data analytic modules help today’s inventory-intensive companies monitor critical factors and suggest courses of action to outlast times of crisis, continue to be responsive to customer needs and….bottom line…..survive.
We’ve been helping business owners and managers deal with day to day inventory decisions and even prosper in times of crisis for 29 years. It won’t cost you a thing to open a dialogue with one of our experts. Drop us a note at letstalk@ACUMENcorp.com or give Chip Lowell a call at 804-323-0467 x214 to start the conversation. We’re here to help.
