Tips for Managing Seasonal Inventory

It doesn’t matter if it’s a holiday or a vacation season; if you’re a business owner, you know seasons are exciting and stressful times. On one hand, you can profit from all the season-specific sales.

On the other, the influx of inventory can be a logistical nightmare. If you want to reap the benefits of the seasons without the headache, check out our tips for managing seasonal inventory.

Identify Seasonal Trends

Timing is everything when it comes to seasonal inventory. A product that is relevant one week may not be relevant the next. Missing your windows can cut into your profits and leave you with a lot of dead seasonal inventory.

Making yourself aware of seasonal trends based on information like historic data patterns will help you buy the correct amount of inventory at the right time. Google Trends can help with this.

Monitor Inventory Dips

There’s a fine line between buying too much inventory and not running out. While forecasting the seasonal demand by looking at previous trends can help, it’s just not possible to know exactly how much you’ll sell from week to week.

This is when consistent monitoring for inventory dips becomes essential. Along with employing automated inventory monitoring systems, you should review your par levels for every product.

Par levels describe the minimum amount of your product you have on hand. You likely monitor them throughout the year anyway. But adjusting these levels based on seasonal trends will help keep products available for your customers.

Plan Ahead for Warehouse Space

With all the extra inventory, warehousing will prove important to your business. But warehousing is also important to everyone else’s business.

If your business tends to rent warehouse space during this time of year, stake out your space early if you want to get in for the best prices.

Whether you’re selling T-shirts for Black History Month or backpacks for the return to school, every season offers opportunities to grow.

Finding ways to manage seasonal inventory will help you and your company thrive all year round.