As winter comes to an end, it’s the perfect time to begin planning and recalibrating for the upcoming months. Thinking ahead and implementing the proper inventory management practices from the start of a new season will pay off and be crucial to the optimization of your inventory in the long term.
So, with that in mind, let’s explore four Booqable features to include in your inventory management practices to set you up for success in 2024 and beyond.
Save time with tags
Benjamin Franklin once said that “for every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned,” and this couldn’t be more true when it comes to rentals. It can be overwhelming to organize your inventory, especially as a beginner or as new stock arrives. Tagging your products is the first step to optimizing your products for searchability and helping you find them faster.
Booqable’s tagging feature allows you to categorize all of your products, so your inventory is standardized and easy to browse. This is great for when you’re just starting out and aren’t familiar with everything just yet and can be great for getting new staff members onboarded quickly. It also saves you time when browsing through your inventory.
✏️ Note: On the inventory page in Booqable, you can quickly sort products by tags in the top left of the screen. You can also do this in the Booqable iOS app in any search field.
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Use insights for easier decision making
Having insights into inventory performance can help you make better decisions when investing in stock for your inventory. This is why the reporting feature was introduced into Booqable. It allows you to immediately get insights into the performance of your products and sort them by key performance indicators like rent duration and turnover.
In addition, you can open each product to reveal how trends changed over time to gain insights into when they perform best. You may find some surprising results that you weren’t expecting. This is vital when it comes to deciding on purchasing new stock, replacing or selling old stock, and planning for the months ahead, so you don’t get caught out.
✏️ Note: There are four different reports you can access called Performance, Availability, Pickups, and Consumables.
Gain control of your inventory with tracking methods
Counting inventory can be a daunting task. It’s repetitive and requires a lot of time and concentration to complete effectively. However, it doesn’t have to be as complicated as it may seem at first. Tracking methods help you to keep on top of your inventory by differentiating types of stock. The two main tracking methods within Booqable are trackable and bulk.
Trackable inventory is for stock that is finite and high-value. It allows you to give each stock item a unique identifier so that it can be tracked easily. Bulk inventory is for products that don’t need to be tracked individually and are typically low-value. They are tracked solely as a number and this makes it easy to order replacements or additional stock.
✏️ Note: Tracking methods need to be set when you create a new product. Don’t be afraid to spend the time recreating old products if you previously chose the wrong tracking method.
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Improve inventory accuracy with a quick view
Statuses allow you to see whether products are reserved, picked up, or being returned, your inventory is always on the move. It’s essential to have visibility over what stock is available when and how many are reserved for upcoming orders. This prevents availability issues and means that you can protect yourself from shortages or overbooking.
There are a couple of ways to do this within Booqable. The first way is by hovering over a product name in your inventory to get a quick overview of upcoming orders. For a more detailed view, you can use the calendar to show you when products are coming in and going out. This lets you get a clear picture of your inventory and how best to plan future orders.
✏️ Note: You can also see exactly when products are available when creating a new order with the real-time availability calendar when selecting the rental period.
Getting your inventory management right is difficult, but committing the time during quieter periods will save you time when you’re busy. This guide is a launchpad to help you to improve your inventory management practices for the year ahead. Hopefully, these four Booqable features will help you become more efficient and accurate and give you more control in 2024.
