According to a report by Wasp Barcode, over 46% of SMBs either don’t track inventory or use a manual method. These practices often lead to situations like the accumulation of dead stock or a stock out. Both these situations can be harmful to your business as it leads to additional inventory costs that you will have to bear.
Inventory is one of the most critical aspects of any eCommerce business. To run your business successfully, you need to maintain sufficient inventory. This maintenance costs you a considerable amount. Deadstock might be a significant cause for an increase in inventory costs, and you might not be aware of it. Even if you are aware of it, you might not know how to get rid of it.
Slow-moving inventory, along with deadstock, is a major bummer for a lot of businesses. Don’t worry; we have a few easy tips to get you started with getting rid of dead stock.
What is Dead Stock?
Deadstock refers to the inventory that is not selling and is accumulating in your warehouse or storage. You may not realize, but you are spending way too much on maintaining this dead inventory. It takes up an ample amount of warehouse space, and you need to allocate resources in maintaining the quality of these. If you sell perishable items like cosmetics, you will be at a loss because they will expire soon.
Having deadstock can be a significant liability for your business; you must understand how you might have accumulated it. Let’s have a look.
Here is What Causes Dead Stock?
Overstocking
When you begin your eCommerce store, there is a tendency to go overboard with stocking inventory. There are several instances where sellers might purchase more than required as they may expect sales to be high. However, this may not be the case with all products. In such instances, you overstock inventory and pay extra in maintaining the additional pieces.
Improper Inventory Forecast
Another major cause of death stock is improper inventory forecasting. We have stressed time and again the importance of an accurate inventory forecast as it tells you the amount of inventory you must purchase. If you are buying lower than what is forecasted, you will be paying for inventory stock out, and if you are buying more, you might face the threat of handling dead stock.
Defective Products
Often, you get defective products from your supplier, and you have no choice but to store them. This can lead to the accumulation of dead stock for which you pay an additional amount in storage. It is best to eliminate these by selling them in scrap or finding dealers to purchase these products.
Improper Marketing & Promotion
Another major cause for the accumulation of dead stock is improper or insufficient marketing and promotion of products. This eventually leads to low sales, and you do not sell the predicted quantity. It is imperative to promote the product about the inventory you have. Your marketing research must match the product amount and quantity. If you have a low value and higher dose, you must be marketed on almost all platforms and significant target groups. If you sell only a useful product for a small target audience, you must stock the quantity accordingly.
How to Get Rid of Dead Stock?
1. Giveaways
Giveaways are an excellent way to get rid of dead stock. If you sell products for free, customers would be delighted to get the products from you. Nothing excites Indian buyers more than free goods and services. If they trust your brand, you can establish a more excellent bond with them by arranging for giveaways. Tie-up with influencers who are thriving in your field and get them to set giveaways. This will also help you promote your product along with getting rid of dead stock. Even though you will not earn a lot of monetary profit, it will be a solid move for driving brand awareness.
2. Flash Sales
The best way to eliminate slow-moving or dead stock is by creating urgency among your buyers. Flash sales are a great way to do so. Offer a higher discount than usual for a short period on the deadstock you want to get rid of. Actively promote this sale on all your social media and relevant marketing handles. This will create a sense of urgency in your buyers, and they might be inclined towards making the purchase sooner.
3. Product Bundles
Bundling products that are usually bought together and selling them as bundles on your website can help you get rid of dead stock faster. If people see more products bundled at a lower price than each product, they will prefer buying it. Along with this, you can also work on complementary product recommendations that will help you promote more bundles simultaneously.
4. Utilize an Inventory Management System
Making use of an automated inventory management system can help you analyze inventory in real-time. Instead of using a manual process that takes time to update and give you a detailed analysis of your merchandise, an automated system will provide you with real-time results and improv inventory forecasting. This will enable you to make much more informed decisions about your inventory, and you will be able to avoid situations of dead stock and inventory stock-outs.
5. Synchronize Order and Inventory Management
Using a centralized inventory management system and synchronizing it with order management can help you process inventory and orders in real-time. This will help you analyze stock in real-time with each incoming order. In case you are short on the list, you will be able to order inventory in advance, and if your orders are lower, you can put a strategy for slow-moving inventory sooner. This will help you prevent the accumulation of deadstock, and if at all it persists, you can get rid of it more shortly. You can store your products with Shiprocket Fulfillment and process them much faster with advanced warehouse and inventory management systems in place.
6. Offer Free Shipping
When you provide offers like free shipping on your deadstock along with your flash sales and giveaways, it prompts users to purchase your product. It can be used as a great promotion strategy to lure more customers to your store. And to offer free shipping, you do not need to spend a lot of money. Shiprocket offers you shipping with 17+ courier partners at the cheapest rate starting from Rs.20/500 gms.
7. Deploy Targeted Marketing for These Products
Another excellent way of getting rid of the dead stock is by marketing these products extensively. Once you realize that you have a lot of dead stock that you can get rid of, create specific marketing plans and audiences for these products and promote them on search engines and social media. This will help you reach a broad audience sooner, and you will be able to get rid of the stock quicker.
Final Thoughts
Dead Stock is a giant menace for your business if not taken care of on time. Make sure that you analyze your inventory regularly to see if you have any dead stock. Try using these strategies to get rid of dead stock and run your business smoothly.
