Managing Inventory During The COVID-19 Pandemic: What You Should Know
It can be said without a second thought that the COVID-19 Pandemic hit businesses pretty hard.
The Government imposed lockdown further added fuel to the fire. Since people were mostly stuck in their homes, businessmen had a pretty hard time conducting their business and managing inventories during COVID-19.
But that did not stop businesses by any means. Since you are reading this article, chances are you are a businessman, and you want to know how inventory can be managed amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Do not worry, as, through this article, I will be telling you the required steps to manage inventory amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pandemic is the time where there is a shortage of everything. So the better you track your inventory, the better it is for your business. To know more about inventory management, click here.
Managing Inventory During The COVID-19 Pandemic: What You Should Know
Below are the steps in which you can effectively manage your inventory during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
#1: Compare Supplier Catalogs For Comparison Of Price
Small-time businesses struggled the most amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, so if your business is a small one and you have only one or two distributors, then now is the perfect time to expand your horizons.
It is about time you diversified your supply chain. There are many software’s available in the market, using which you can import a ton of supplier catalogs and then compare the prices to choose the best material for your job.
#2: Implement Mobile Inventory To Secure Your Staff
If you notice that your field staff are taking extra time to stop at the supply houses for picking up materials, then you need to keep this into account and ensure that you implement mobile inventory to secure your staff.
This will minimize the amount of time they take stops at places to pick things up. You can do this by installing apps on your phone. The apps will show you the location of your staff and the materials they need to collect.
#3: Conduct A Remote Inventory Count
The greatest challenge that businesses faced during COVID-19 Pandemic was disruptions in their supply chains. You can consider running an inventory count right from the comfort of your homes by using your laptops.
And knowing what kind of materials you have in your warehouse is the most important now than ever, especially when items are in short numbers. Remotely conducting inventory counts helps you to make strategic decisions.
#4: Take A Note Of Inventory Value For Profitability
You must take a keen note of the value of the total inventory that you possess. Amid these difficult times, you must do everything in your power to keep the cash flow running and positive.
In this modern times, there are several apps you can use to see the value of your total inventory at a specific time and date. There are a ton of other features that these modern apps provide that help you keep track of your inventory.
#5: Stay In Contact With Your Employees On Video Calls
Very few people discuss how the coronavirus pandemic affected our mental health. The lockdown has made everyone go insane. So I would strongly recommend you to stay in touch with your employees via video call.
Since you are a responsible businessman, you must care for your employees’ well-being. You also need to stay in contact with your employees for taking regular updates about the business and what steps they are taking to efficiently manage your inventory.
Final Thoughts
There you go, above were the five tips to efficiently manage your inventory during the COVID-19 Pandemic. I hope you have found this article to be informative and that it has given you some valuable insights on managing inventory amid the coronavirus.
If you have some questions or feedback in regards to this article, you can comment on them down below. We will try our best to answer each of them.
