Are you back in business? That’s good to hear! But what do you do about the additional demands now put on your business? Your consumers haven’t been able to buy what they want from you for quite some time. The uncertain financial times we live in have made it impossible to spend as freely as we once did. Yet, now that lockdown is no more, your consumers will be flocking back to you. So, what should you do about the fact that you will need to buy and store more inventory? You’ll also need to make more sales, quicker so you don’t get backlogged with orders and be left with too much stock.
An additional storage
Firstly, you need to be able to cope with the additional orders of stock, with small storage units. These can be used at your will. The premises have security in the form of CCTV cameras, security guards and your unit is locked to you only. Nobody is allowed to enter into the units without signing in and show their details. Thus, your thousands of dollars worth of stock is protected at all times. You can use this unit to hose your stock and keep up with the demand from your orders. You can store items in bulk but take them away one by one if you wish. This is superb for at-home businesses that are able to handle their storage and inventory management needs by themselves.
Supply chain volatility
You’re not the only business that is seeing huge demands, most companies will. So, you need to manage and prepare for supply chain volatility. Not only because businesses are moving out of China, but because the slots for delivery and storage will soon be taken up. Communication is the key. Talk with your manufacturers, producers, distributors and logistical companies such as freight haulage and cargo ship operators. You should also have a good relationship with dock companies, those who load and unload your storage containers off ships.
By using a tower approach, you can handle the different changes in the status of each node in the chain. If your raw materials supplier is having an issue, speak with your manufacturing client. If you can wait a little longer for a large haul delivery, hold back your freight client. There is potential for a lot of confusion, so regularly contacting your clients every day is essential.
Changing delivery conditions
Because you want to please all your customers, you may need to stagger deliveries. Rather than delivering your products upon order, you may need to backlog them to weekly orders. This is so you can take all orders during the working week and compile them into one large delivery on the weekends or on one day in the week. This allows for your fleet or delivery service company to keep one day of delivery open and dedicated to you.
It’s a great time for small businesses to begin increasing their orders. But, keeping up with consumer demand now that the lockdown is over, will be difficult.
Kori
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