Keep It Moving

Hello Community friends! Are you a business owner? As a business owner, have you ever found a few inventory items that have been on the shelf for a while? These items in this particular situation are usually referred to as "dead stock." I read an article posted in the QuickBooks Resource Center that provided some great info about how to turn dead stock into sales. Here's what the writer had to say...

Dead stock, or dead inventory or excess inventory, is any product that hasn’t sold within a certain period and is no longer expected to sell. Some examples include seasonal items, defective goods, or any product that has become obsolete.

Why your business wants to avoid dead stock
- Loss in revenue: Dead stock represents loss in revenue which would be the most obvious reason as to why you'd want to avoid it. Each piece of inventory is intended to generate profit, "But with dead stock, that profit is not realized and instead results in a direct loss of revenue. When a product ends up as dead stock, it won’t yield the projected return on its business investment."
- Drain on resources: Managing dead stock can drain resources by creating extra work for you and your team. You may have to rearrange your storage, cycle count inventory, and reassess sales projections. If anything, this is taking up valuable time that you could be dedicating to something else.

What are the causes of dead stock?
- Inaccurate forecasting
- Market cannibalization
- Insufficient demand or sales
- Lack of an inventory management system

3 ways to prevent holding dead stock inventory
1. Keep an eye on market forecasts and trends
2. Use data to inform your purchasing decisions
3. Automate inventory workflow and purchase orders

5 ways to manage dead stock and turn it into sales
1. Put the products on sale
2. Bundle dead stock with other products
3. Offer the product as a free gift
4. Donate your dead stock inventory
5. Return dead stock to the supplier

I hope this article comes to mind if you find a few pieces of inventory haven't had any interest and show no signs of selling. I recommend checking out the link above for even more details on this topic. How do you avoid dead stock, or how do you move it if this does occur? Let's chat in the comments!