5 Inventory Management Tips for Quilt & Sewing Stores

The basic formula for success of any retail establishment is to have a product that a customer wants to buy. If at the moment that your customer decides to make a purchase you don’t have an item in stock, there are now hundreds of other alternatives.

But if you have a product in-stock, according to the IPX1031 survey, 57% of Americans are willing to pay more at locally-owned shops. And 81% of Americans want to shop locally.

In order to successfully compete you need accurate, timely, and reliable data to help optimize your inventory. Staying up to date with your quilt and sewing inventory management gives you the right information you need to meet your customers needs.

Create A System

Strong business processes are the key to retail success. Your inventory management system needs to be integrated into your point of sale (POS) system. An Inventory management plan for your quilt store business should help you get product and inventory online, enable supplier relationships, streamline the integration of vendor product catalogs, know when inventory is low, be accessible online, and forecast demand.

Automate Ordering Points

Your system should alert you when your inventory is low. Inventory is considered low when stock levels drop below predetermined reorder points or desired stock levels. Modern point of sale systems can automate these notifications and reordering. When this is paired with integrated vendor catalogs and strong relationships with manufacturers, stocking your craft store can be a breeze.

Understand The Value of Your Inventory

Inventory value reports are available in most modern POS systems for quilt shops. This type of report will help you understand the value (the total cost of what you paid for the inventory), the total retail value, and the quantity of total items you have in stock. An inventory value report will help you make decisions about how to price your inventory to maximize pricing and determine what might need to be priced to move out of the store.

Stay On Top of Low Inventory

As you develop a better understanding of your customers and your market, you’ll be able to forecast what your customers want. A system that lets you know when desirable inventory is low will allow you to optimize reorder points and desired stock levels.

Everything Needs A Place

In addition, all-in-one quilt shop POS systems show where each product is in the order-receiving process. Often a quilt store POS system will enable you to see how many of each item is on the way, as well as the status, whether the product has been sent or is on backorder. If you’re a quilt store owner that wants to spend less time on data calculations and more time doing what you love, Like Sew’s point of sale allows you to input information once, and your POS, website, and marketing systems will update simultaneously. Learn more about Like Sew’s features and integrations today!

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