Have more inventory than your store can handle? Need somewhere for all that excess inventory to go? This is the moment when most business owners start exploring third-party logistics. With 3PL, you can store your inventory and complete orders without having to physically house the merchandise at your location. Let’s take a look at how this process works and how you can benefit from outsourcing your surplus inventory.
Flexible Storage Solutions to Meet Your Growing Needs
By now, you’ve probably figured out that inventory levels vary drastically throughout the year. You may have a tof excess inventory right before a new product launches, only to be drained of that inventory within a week’s time. Holiday sales and other seasonal shifts will also create fluctuations in your inventory levels. At Overflo, we can accommodate that.
A truly effective third-party logistics provider will have flexible storage solutions to adapt to your needs. Why pay for more storage than you actually need? If your business grows, your warehousing should grow as well. Overflo has scalable warehousing options to suit your business, no matter what size it may be.
Figuring out Which Products to Outsource
Which products belong in the warehouse and which ones belong in the back of your store? That’s entirely dependent your store and your audience. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- If you’re stocking up inventory for a sale months away, store the excess in the warehouse. You won’t need them for a while.
- If you sell products online, keep a stock of those in the warehouse so they can be shipped directly from there. This will free up space in your store, and it will save you the hassle of order fulfillment.
- If certain products sell out quickly in the store, keep those in the back for easy access. This will save you shipping expenses between the store and the warehouse, and it will ensure that you have the product hand when a customer needs it.
- After an item goes out of season, you could send the excess inventory to the warehouse until the demand goes back up again. This leaves room for the current season’s products in the back of your store.
Preparing Your Store for New Inventory
If you are storing some items in your warehouse for future use, you need to prepare for when they actually arrive at your store. There are several ways to go about this. You can run an ad or have a clearance sale to get rid of some of your existing inventory. This will clear space for the new products that arrive
If the products you are receiving will not fit in your designated space, you may need to get external storage containers to put them in. Many stores do this for products right before Black Friday sales because they know they are going to sell out fast. You can rent the storage container for the month or two that you need it, and then you can remove it from the property after the sale is complete. Be sure to take the appropriate security measure to protect the products in storage.