Running out of Key Dollar Store Items Spells Disaster for your Business

There are many possible errors you can make while running your business.  One mistake you should avoid making at all costs is running out of certain dollar store items.  This can spell disaster for your business if customers come in looking for them and you do not have those items available.

Running your business successfully means you will always have the core dollar merchandise in stock.  These are the items all of your customers need in their households.  Since they cannot afford to live without them, you cannot afford to be without them.  Your customers will get them from somewhere, so you will want them to purchase them from your store.

Therefore it is vital for owners to always keep track of their inventory of dollar merchandise.  It is important since your sales levels will fluctuate over time, especially near major holidays.  You will need a method to keep track of inventory levels so you can generate replenishment orders in a timely manner. 

If you invest in a point-of-sale system, this will not be a major problem for you.  If you do not have a POS though, then you will need to do things the hard way.  Look over all of your sales by department and determine the dollar store items in need of replenishment orders.

Some dollar store owners will be tempted to order as much dollar merchandise as they can afford to ensure they do not run out.  However, if you cannot place all of the items on the shelves, you may end up with most of the merchandise being stored in the back room.  These products will not be contributing to your bottom line while they are back there.  An easy way to avoid this problem is to make smaller replenishment orders on a more frequent basis.  This will reduce the amount of money you have tied up in merchandise sitting in the stock room.

It is also a good idea to choose your suppliers carefully.  They will need to deliver your dollar merchandise by the time you need to receive them.  Great suppliers will offer speedy delivery.  You may want to have a few backup suppliers just in case your main suppliers are unable to meet your needs for some reason.

All dollar store owners need to realize that keeping track of their inventory is vital to the success of their operation.  Running out of key dollar store items is something you should never allow to happen.  Your customers certainly will not appreciate it.