Tech Guest Viewpoint: Mobile apps streamline inventory management
Your inventory is your biggest investment, and getting it right takes a lot of work. Customers don’t like seeing outdated inventory or empty racks. They don’t like having to ask, “Is there more in the back? and having the employee answer, “I’m not sure.” But keeping track of what’s coming in and going out isn’t always easy.
Retailers can’t always afford expensive inventory management software, but as retail operations move to an omnichannel strategy, things can get complicated. In all likelihood, you’re selling online through multiple channels, as well as managing the inventory in your brick-and-mortar store(s). Plenty of retailers even use their stores as fulfillment centers from which they house and ship goods when online orders come in. These added variables make it all the more important — and all the more challenging — to accurately predict and manage inventory.
Beyond that, customers’ needs and wants are changing daily. And the growth of online mega-retailers has led customers to expect flexibility, a wide range of inventory, and that they can have what they want right now.
Mobile apps, alongside inventory tracking software and database programs, can streamline inventory and stock management. While large retail chains can deploy dedicated mobile devices that let workers help customers locate products, give information about products, and even check customers out before they reach the register, cloud-based mobile apps level the playing field by providing retailers of all sizes with the ability to track inventory (and know where it is in your store).
These apps also help keep track of sales so you can crunch numbers and see what products are flying off the shelves. Even the most basic of these mobile apps are a huge step up from tracking inventory manually.
When asked to rank the most important aspects of a retailer’s in-store experience, shoppers in a 2014 survey by Interactions said they are looking for stores that smell clean, are well-lit, have a clean checkout area, have neat and orderly product displays, and have well-maintained restrooms. And of those surveyed who have chosen to shop at a competitor due to unmet cleanliness expectations, 93% would return if the retailer made cleanliness a priority.
There are a number of reasons that retailers are challenged to establish and maintain the highest level customer-facing appearance, including:
• Stores with lots of SKUs just have a lot to keep track of, resulting in potentially messy displays.
• Employees can’t clean and help customers find items at the same time — but customers want both service and cleanliness.
• If you only have one set of bathrooms, then closing them for cleaning interrupts traffic flow.
• Customers don’t always put things back where they found them.
If you’re investing all this effort in a clean, clutter-free store, the last thing you need is for your employees to be carrying around pieces of paper to help them remember everything that needs cleaning and organizing. Yet many retailers still rely on paper forms, and haven’t yet made the switch to digital forms and other technology-based solutions that make cleaning more efficient and effective.
With mobile apps, your employees can have all the information they need at their fingertips, without excess paper — and when they’re done, they can email the completed checklist (and even photos of the clean aisles) to their supervisor, corporate and others immediately to analyze results.
Employee-facing mobile apps are no longer a luxury for the largest retailer chains, and by leveraging cloud-enabled mobile apps, retailers of all sizes can transform inefficient business processes.