10 May 2021
Making sure your stock is well maintained is an essential part of ensuring that your business maintains its profitability. Your stock represents money you have invested into your salon and mismanaging it can have a negative effect on your business.
For example, a salon with less stock than needed will be unable to meet their client’s expectations, such as running out of the ash blonde hair dye that a customer has requested before the appointment. Equally damaging is ordering too much inventory, having a large stock of product that you will not use is money essentially wasted, tied up in stock that will not sell.
Finding a stock management system that works for your salon is important, not only for products you are selling such as hairdryers, but the amount of stock that you will use in your customer’s treatments. Customers coming in for their haircut will want to have their hair washed, dyed and maybe even buy a few of the salon’s recommended products. If you don’t have the products needed for these treatments, you may find yourself losing customers.
– A more streamlined cash flow which is recorded by your digital stock management system,
– Making sure you keep track of all your stock ensures you are not losing profits by investing money in products that aren’t selling,
– Better stock management systems give you a better understanding of what is selling well and what is remaining on the shelves so you can customise your next order to fit what your customers are most interested in,
– This can also reduce instances where you have extra stock that isn’t selling well,
– Having a good idea of what you have ordered and where your stock is kept, means the customer experience you offer is improved, as your staff won’t have to spend extra time hunting through your storage area to find the products they need.
Having an electronic database with the amount of stock you have, what they cost and how much you have used previously is an excellent way to ensure you remain in control of your salon’s stock.
Using salon software, you can set parameters of how much stock you need and set minimum and maximum levels of inventory. If your inventory either exceeds or decreases beyond those set levels, an electronic reminder will let you know that it is time to order more.
Having the name, function, stock level and price of each product listed electronically can be a lifesaver. Specialised salon inventory management software will have been designed specifically with businesses like yours in mind. Knowing that any questions you have about your inventory levels can be answered with a click of the button can be a great comfort.
You can discuss our recommendations on how to manage your stock digitally with SalonIQ’s dedicated and professional team. Our salon software will help you make sure your salon’s inventory is managed effectively.
When the job of checking your inventory and doing physical stock checks is changed from one staff member to another, it can become confusing. Having staff members spend time discussing the stock management system each time the inventory is checked is inefficient.
Assigning one staff member to manage the amount of stock present as well as important details, such as where things are kept and how many bottles of product have been used, will ensure the stock management system will remain streamlined.
If you have large amounts of stock stacked up in a spare room, or even set to one side in the staff breakroom, it can get in the way of daily activities. It doesn’t matter if you know how much pink hair dye you have in your inventory if you can’t find the product because it is in a draw under a pile of shampoo and conditioner samples.
Everyone is a little messy sometimes, but having a well organised and labelled storage area will cut down on the amount of time you spend searching for products and will help you keep your inventory up to date.
The amount of product you need to keep in stock will vary depending on the number of sales for each item. Using salon software allows you to digitally calculate the amount of stock you need. This will give you a starting point for calculating how much stock you will need to order to cover the next few weeks and when you will likely need to order again. Monitoring sales prevents your salon from ordering dead stock and reports on which products are selling well so you can prioritise them.
Of course, sample size hair spray bottles or detangling hair brushes will likely sell far more quickly than larger items such as a hairdryer, but the profit you gain from them will be a lot less.
When considering products such as hair dye, it is vital that you have enough in stock for your customers. Managing the inventory of these products is all about efficient usage planning. If you have a longstanding client and they usually use a specific shade, making sure you have enough in stock that you will not run out is a must!
If the worst happens and you have run out of a specific shade, then ordering a refill and giving recommendations of another similar shade can help you ensure the customer still has a good experience.
While the shelf life of salon products is a lot longer than some other products, hair care products can become unusable if they go past their use by date or if they are handled roughly.
New fashions and influences online can positively and negitively effect your sales, such as the recent drive for customers to make sure they use cruelty free vegan beauty products or haircare. Making sure you keep up with trends your customers are likely following and are not left with dead stock is incredibly important to make sure your business thrives.
If you are interested in SalonIQ’s software, please contact us here. Our friendly staff will be happy to discuss what our salon software can do for you!
Call a member of our team today on 01892 280 123
