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6 Ways to Profit From Slow-Moving Inventory

When it comes to your inventory, you and your team probably have a clear idea of what sells and what doesn’t. The new stuff flies off the shelf. And the old stuff? It often languishes in forgotten corners, pushed aside to make room for the next hot ticket item.
It’s easy to forget about inventory when it doesn’t sell. But that inventory is costing your business by tying up both your cash flow and your retail floor space.
So, how can you turn things around to profit from your slow-moving inventory?

1. Use Tools to Forecast Better

One of the most valuable tools you can use as a dealer is your power sports tracking software. This tool can help you forecast next season’s expected inventory demands so you can accurately predict what, and how much, you’ll need.  Investing in quality power sports tracking software will help eliminate inaccurate ordering.

2. Sell In-Season

It’s easy to ignore slow-moving inventory when you’re busy. But when you put off thinking about that inventory until the off-season, the slow-movers are obsolete. Unloading it during the off-season is going to be even harder.

You need to focus on your slow-movers during the peak of your season. What can you do?
Put that slow-moving inventory right in front of your customers. Build a display so people see it when they walk in. Do some demos. Put it on sale. But do it when you have a chance of selling it, not when you don’t.

3. Barter

If you have some valuable inventory that just won’t seem to go, why not think about bartering it? You could barter equipment or parts for services such as plumbing, cleaning, electrical work, or even web design.

4. Sell It Online

Does your dealership have an eBay store? If not, it should. Selling parts and equipment online is a great way to unload slow-moving inventory. After all, it may be snowing at your store, but people are still riding bikes and having fun in Florida!

5. Offer Cash to Your Team

Your sales team is your first line of defense when it comes to unloading inventory. So, bribe them. Offer them an immediate cash reward for every slow-moving item they sell (items you’ve designated, of course). The key to making this work is to pay your employee in cash the moment that product leaves with the customer.

Tacking on that “bonus” to their paycheck isn’t as immediate or rewarding as cash in their pocket. Paying your team first will keep them far more motivated to get that inventory out the door.

6. Bundle It

You can use slow-moving inventory to sweeten the pots for other products you want to move. Bundling slow-movers with high-profit or fast-moving products is a great way to spur sales and get them out the door.

Last Word…
We know how temping it is to put off thinking about your slow-moving inventory until things “slow down”. But your busy season is exactly when you need to have a plan in place to get it out the door. By taking advantage of the customers that are coming in, you can bundle and discount your way to a profitable and fast-moving inventory.

Written by cmstudio

Ideal Computer Systems is committed to the integrity of our editorial standards. We are dedicated to providing our readers with accurate and reliable information that they can trust to make informed decisions.

Update on July 11, 2023 | 3 minute read
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