How to Make your Optical Inventory Management Seamless

Optical store owners are totally aware of the time and effort required to keep their inventory in check. Traditionally, retail stores used to count and track each thing in stock and archive their numbers for optical inventory management. Furthermore, owners or managers need to keep an eye out for what they have in stock so they could reorder whatever was running short.

Various Components of Optical Inventory Management:

An inventory management system is an intricate process and requires high diligence to get the job done. Managing inventory is not a novelty in optical stores and is traditionally practiced in various ways.  
The standard optical inventory management components include the following steps.

• Ordering and purchasing of products 
• Updating and categorization of inventory when the products are received at the store 
• Manage purchase orders to ensure that orders taken are fulfilled on time 
• Post the sale of items, decreasing the number of respective sold items from the inventory 
• Reordering products for which the stocks are falling short

Disruptions in Optical Inventory Management:

Inventory management is one of the major challenges that an optical store owner faces in managing the store. Inefficiency in inventory management can directly impact consumer satisfaction, thus impacting your business. It can also cause chaos in your optical store and might turn into a long-term situation causing business losses. Inventory management, being as crucial as it is for store owners, faces the following disruptions.

1) Dependency on Traditional Methods:

Relying upon the traditional business is one of the major disruptions faced by optical retail stores. Imbibing optical inventory management software like POS equips your optical store with the right tools to grow your business seamlessly.

2) Inaccuracy in Optical Inventory Data:

Accurate data is much needed for running an optical store properly. Being a store owner, you will find it difficult to provide the customers with information about the products’ availability in your store without the availability of proper and adequate optical inventory data.

3) Bulk Stock and Optical Storage Management:

Optical inventory, being a fragile one, must be stored and managed properly. For example, if you do not have a proper storage facility to store the frames, they might get damaged. Similarly, if you do not sell it out soon, the trend might change and cause a loss of inventory.

4) Inconsistency in Optical Inventory Tracking:

Keeping track of your optical store inventory is the only way to record the existing and required inventory in your store. In case a customer asks for a cat-eye frame, you cannot be sure about its availability unless you have a proper track of the stock.

5) Dynamic Categorization:

Taking note of your optical inventory is one thing, categorizing it is another. Optical inventory categorization can be with respect to availability or product categories or anything else. For instance, categorize frames with respect to brand or the quantities that are available at your optical store using optical POS software. Either way, it will be easy to find when a customer asks for it.

6) Inventory Overstocking:

As mentioned before, optical items are not something you can keep in stock for longer durations. That is because such items are fragile and can get damaged if not stored properly. If you fail to manage your optical store’s inventory, it will lead to a loss of inventory and money.

Easing out Optical Store Inventory Management Troubles:

You can bid goodbye to your optical store management issues with proper inventory management software. In other words, inventory management is the backbone of running an optical store. And you can improve the end-user experience and sales by keeping your optical inventory management right on point.

1) Ease of Operation Through Digital Transformation:

The traditional manual methods are outdated and are prone to multiple forms of errors. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate optical inventory management software like Ari Optical POS to streamline operations. Business efficiency increases multifold by automating processes using POS solutions.

2) Accuracy in Optical Inventory Data Extraction:

Generating accurate and consistent data from your optical inventory is important for your store management. You can directly access the POS ‘reports’ feature to track in-stock and out-of-stock inventory. Moreover, you can check fast-moving and slow-moving stocks to smartly plan stock replenishment.

3) Efficient Bulk Stock Management Methodologies:

Efficient warehousing and bulk stock management play a significant role in the inventory management of optical stores. Keeping the product count in check, limiting the overstocking, and providing proper storage facilities will prevent your inventory from getting wasted or damaged.

4) Automated Inventory Tracking Through POS:

It will always benefit you to be aware of the inventory present with you for your optical store. Manual inventory tracking leaves space for human errors. Thus, Optical software has enabled automated optical inventory tracking can help you track your inventory in a better, quicker, and easier way. It also leads you to make your inventory tracking consistent and free from errors.

5) POS Enabled Inventory Categorization:

Dynamic categorization itself can ease out half your troubles pertaining to optical inventory management. Manage your store with utmost ease by categorizing the products at your convenience. An optical inventory management software allows you to categorize your inventory based on brands, product types, frame types, variations, etc.

6) Demand Forecasting:

Being aware of the demand for the products will allow you to maintain an adequate supply for the same. You can track the sales of various items of your optical store with POS and forecast the demand for the same. For instance, if you know that you have a higher demand for aviator frames, you will stock more aviator frames.

Importance of Optical Inventory Management in the Long Run

Any optical store owner, manager, or representative will confirm that inventory management in optical stores is one of the major factors governing the business. It is essential due to many reasons.

• Proper inventory management in an optical store will help prevent issues pertaining to bulk product management. Keeping a score of your optical inventory can prevent your bulk stock by reducing your optical inventory damage.
• Ease of inventory tracking goes hand in hand with effective inventory management. That way, you will be aware of the order that needs to be placed as per the existing stock.
• With proper optical inventory management, you can micromanage your stock by filtering demand not only by by-products but also by quantity.
• If done properly, optical store inventory management can cater to your issues related to sales as well. This will make your business lucrative altogether.

Summing it up:

50% of the US retail store owners agree to the fact that improper inventory management caused them to lose potential sales.

Optical store inventory management is a challenge for every store owner. At the same time, if done properly, it can skyrocket the sales and profits of optical stores. Keeping in mind these few important points can keep your inventory management issues in check.

1. Avoid overstocking of items as optical items are fragile.
2. Prevent your optical inventory from getting damaged due to poor storage methodologies.
3. Automate your optical inventory tracking using POS to eliminate the space for human error.
4. Manage all your optical stores’ inventory with a single POS system.
5. POS-enabled dynamic categorization of optical inventory for improved inventory management.
6. Efficient demand forecasting to keep the optical inventory stock in check for better sales.