How to do inventory management at a Small Retail Clothing Shop

January 9, 2023 Joshua Ramirez

If you’re a small retail clothing store owner, you know that inventory management is key to your success. After all, if you don’t have the right clothes in stock, your customers will go elsewhere.

But how should you manage your inventory the best? Here are 9 tips:

Table of Contents

Keep Track of Your Sales

The first step to effective inventory management is to keep track of your sales. This way, you’ll know which items are selling well and which ones aren’t.

There are several methods for tracking your sales. You can use the best retail pos software, or you can simply keep a spreadsheet of your sales. Whatever approach you go with, just be sure to stick with it.

Set Par levels

Once you know which items are selling well, you can start to set “par levels” for each item. This is the minimum number of each item you should have in stock at all times.

For example, let’s say you sell a lot of t-shirts. You might want to set a par level of 50 t-shirts. That way, you’ll always have at least 50 t-shirts in stock, even if you have a sudden surge in sales.

Use an Inventory Management System

There are a number of different inventory management systems available, both offline and online. These systems can help you keep track of your inventory, set par levels, and reorder items when necessary.

Some popular inventory management systems include Fishbowl, InventoryLab, and inFlow.

Perform Physical Inventories Regularly

In addition to using an inventory management system, you should also perform physical inventories on a regular basis. This involves counting all of the items in your store and comparing them to your records.

Physical inventories can be time-consuming, but they’re essential for keeping accurate records. Aim to perform a physical inventory at least once a month.

Cycle Counts

If you don’t have time to perform a physical inventory every month, you can do what’s called a “cycle count.” This involves counting a small number of items each day, rather than all of your items at once.

For example, you might count the t-shirts on Monday, the jeans on Tuesday, and so on. over time, you’ll end up counting all of the items in your store.

Utilize Barcodes

Barcodes can be a helpful tool for inventory management. If you have a barcode scanner, you can scan items as they’re sold, which will update your records automatically.

You can also use barcodes to keep track of inventory levels. For example, you can put a barcode on each shelf in your store, and scan the barcodes regularly to see how many items are on each shelf.

Hire an Inventory Manager

If you’re finding it difficult to keep on top of your inventory, you might want to hire an inventory manager. This is a person who will be responsible for keeping track of your inventory, setting par levels, and reordering items as necessary.

Inventory managers or retail inventory management software can be expensive, but they can be worth it if you don’t have the time or resources to manage your inventory yourself.

Outsource Your Inventory Management

If you really don’t want to deal with inventory management, you can always outsource it. There are companies that specialize in inventory management for small businesses.

They will take care of all of the details for you, including keeping track of your inventory, setting par levels, and reordering items. If you prefer to concentrate on other facets of your company, this can be a fantastic solution.

Review Your Inventory Management Periodically

Even if you have a system in place, it’s important to review your inventory management periodically. This will help you identify any problems and make sure that your system is still working well.

It’s also a good idea to review your inventory management if your business changes in any way. For example, if you start selling new products or your sales increase, you might need to make changes to your system.

Inventory management is essential for small retail clothing stores. By keeping track of your sales, setting par levels, and using an inventory management system, you can ensure that you always have the right items in stock.
If you’re looking for a pos system for your retail business that can help you manage your clothing store inventory, Hana Retail is a great option. Our pos system for clothing stores is designed to make it easy to track your inventory levels, so you can always be sure you have the items you need in stock. Plus, our reports can help you identify patterns and trends in your sales, so you can make more informed decisions about your inventory. Contact us today to learn more about how Hana Retail can help your business!