Proper Inventory Management for your Sari-Sari Store

Inventory is the lifeblood of your sari-sari store. This is the reason customers go to your shop and do business with you. Your merchandise meets their needs, from food to supplies that allow them to survive the Philippines’ various natural disasters. Poor inventory management exacts a heavy price on your outlet. In some cases, your goods will eventually expire without your knowledge. You will end up disposing these, which translates to wasted capital. Worse, you might end up selling out-of-date products to your customers, which can lead to refunds and even legal action. In other cases, your items will be out of stock before you get to shop for new ones. When your customers buy from your store, you will have no choice but to admit that you do not have what they want to purchase. But if you keep on saying this, they will eventually move to your competitors. Here are some ways to properly manage your shop’s inventory:

Plan Your Inventory Beforehand

Before shopping, determine how long do you want your store’s inventory to last. Do you want it to last for a day? A week? A month? Buying goods enough for a fixed time helps you avoid purchasing too many products and exceeding your budget.

If you are unsure about your desired period for your inventory, it would be a good idea to study your outlet’s location. Is it found in a densely-populated area? If it is, then you should purchase enough goods to last for a couple of months. Since there is many people living or working near your shop, you will end up selling to many customers. If your store is in an area that has a small population, then your goods should just be enough for a few days or weeks. Such a small number of commodities will get sold out quickly even if only has a few customers. Your items will be sold which prevents wastage.

Keep Your Inventory Organized

Sort your merchandise according to type. Put all cans in one place and sachet toiletries in another. By doing so, your store looks neat. It also becomes easier to locate and obtain your products. Condura Negosyo Pro refrigerators, freezers, and chillers have features that enable efficient storage that will organize your items. It has a manual/semi-automatic defrost refrigerators (single- and two-door). It also has bottle shelves that can store up to four pieces of 1.5-liter soda bottles. The two-door types (8.7 and 9.8 cu. ft.) can carry up to 20 1.5-liter ice cream tubs. The no-frost inverter model (8-9 cu. ft.) can store up to 14 tubs of ice cream. With these refrigerators, your beverages and ice cream are kept neatly separated, so you never have to search around your shop to find these. The Negosyo Pro chest freezers provide ample storage space for your meats, frozen desserts, and drinks. The inverter version’s dimensions are at 33.15 inches (height) x 39.45 inches (width) x 23.50 inches (depth), while the non-inverter type’s measurements are at 32.87 inches (height) x 41.54 inches (width) x 28.94 inches (depth). Both models likewise have a removable wire basket for extra storage. The chest freezers ensure that you can keep all your frozen products in a single container, giving your outlet more space for other merchandise. The Negosyo Pro chiller’s wire shelves have a 50-kg carrying capacity, as well as runners for more convenient loading and unloading. The 12-cu. ft. model can store up to 336 soda cans. These chillers eliminate the need to buy multiple refrigeration equipment to stockpile various types of drinks, thus saving you money.

Store Your Inventory Properly

Keep your merchandise away from heat, direct sunlight, moisture, and pests. This may seem difficult to do in the Philippines, where the main seasons are rainy and dry. However, it still has to be done. Protecting your goods against the elements and pests preserves their quality, making them fit for selling. Make sure that your goods are kept in the right container or storage appliance. Chips and instant noodles should be placed inside sealed plastic boxes to prevent ants and rats from accessing and consuming these. Prevent the rusting of canned goods by putting these in a cool and dry shelf that is away from direct sunlight. Chill meat, frozen desserts, and beverages appropriately to maintain their freshness and prolong their shelf life. Condura Negosyo Pro no-frost inverter refrigerator's Double Cooling Technology can prevent the mixing of odors and flavors. So, if you decide to store meat in the freezer, you can be sure that the smell will not permeate into the refrigerator. The food kept in the refrigerator will retain its original scent and flavor, which is appealing to the customers. Condura Negosyo Pro inverter chest freezer’s Fast Freezing Mode at 35°C can maintain the freshness of food by turning its fluids into micro-crystals. Hence, once the food is melted, it stays tasty and visually attractive. Putting your meat products and chilled desserts in the Negosyo Pro inverter chest freezer will preserve their newness until your customers purchase them. With the freezer’s inverter device, you can be sure that your earnings will not be consumed by high electricity prices.

Record Product Count and Expiry Dates

You should regularly list your commodities’ quantities and expiration dates. When you know how many goods you have in hand, you will be able to replenish your stocks before these run out. You will find out right away if you have expired merchandise that needs disposal. Your goods will be consistently new and available, leading to greater customer support for your store. It is easy to create the said list. It can be written on a ledger or typed in a Microsoft Excel file. Always remember to routinely update your tally so that your data will remain accurate.

Keep your (and Other People’s) Hands off your Inventory

In the Philippines, the family is prioritized above everything else. Not surprisingly, some sari-sari store owners and their families treat their outlets as extensions of their kitchens. They take commodities for personal consumption without paying for these. What they do not know is that the free food they eating right now has a hidden price―lost capital for the shop. The outlet’s goods are depleted, and the owner has nothing left to sell. The absence of merchandise causes the store to lose profits and close for good. You and your family must remember that your shop is a business. For it to profit, it must have something to sell. Hence, anyone―including yourself―who takes something from the store must pay for it. Remind your family that if the outlet collapses, you will be unable to put food on the table and pay the bills.

Remember the Purpose of Your Sari-Sari Store

Customers go to your sari-sari store to buy the things they need. If your shop cannot provide these, then it will not stay in the business. You must therefore see to it that your inventory consistently meets your customers’ needs. This kind of inventory makes your outlet relevant to them and prompts them to transact with it. Condura provides various refrigerators, freezers, and beverage coolers for households and businesses. To know more about our products, call us at (02) 8863-5555 or 1800-10-888-8888 (toll-free number for PLDT subscribers) or click here.