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Each retail enterprise has stock, however some shops are extra sophisticated than others. And it may take loads of trial and error earlier than mastering inventory management systems.
Take into account the bike store: within the gross sales division alone, there are all types of bikes—to say nothing of the required tools, specialty clothes and sneakers. After which there are bikes to restore, components to order and elements to exchange. Stock grows at an exponential fee.
When the Néron household based Cycle Néron three generations in the past, the stock administration system was so much easier. It received extra sophisticated and extra time consuming because the enterprise grew. There have been a number of areas to handle, modifications in client habits and—lately—the arrival of electrical bikes.
How did they cope?
Lightspeed sat down with Mathieu Séguin, a gross sales marketing consultant who has labored at Cycle Néron for over a decade, to debate how the bike store manages stock.
This interview has been edited for readability and concision.
How has the quantity of stock modified for Cycle Néron over time?
“Earlier than, we didn’t have as many SKUs. Right this moment, there are tons of and tons of. We’ve so many new merchandise and new manufacturers.
The arrival of electrical bikes has clearly modified issues much more.
These days, a motorcycle is a bit like a automobile. It has cables, a battery, firmware and software program. It brings further challenges. The SKUs simply maintain going up, up, up.
We tried to maintain monitor as greatest we may. It was archaic—the previous system didn’t assist us.
And two totally different folks have been managing the stock, with totally different strategies. That didn’t assist.”
In loads of circumstances, the primary few months of the 12 months are a bit slower. Enterprise homeowners may shut the shop for a number of days to do bodily stock counts. Was that the case for Cycle Néron?
“Sure. We used to shut the shops and take a day to do stock.
We had an previous program and it wasn’t the best factor to make use of. More often than not, it crashed. For those who scanned an merchandise too shortly, it crashed.
Identical situation with the info search. Let’s say I used to be on the lookout for a buyer within the database—the stock wasn’t tremendous effectively maintained there both, as a result of we simply didn’t have the best instruments for it.
It was an excessive amount of. And we saved opening new shops, too. We additionally knew the place we wished to go surfing. Sooner or later, you possibly can’t handle all the pieces that method. You want instruments that can can help you do extra, extra simply.”
How has stock administration modified because you switched to Lightspeed?
“It saves us time. We don’t have to shut [the stores] anymore.
Now, we will do spot checks, it’s a lot simpler. We go by class. In our Nun’s Island, Lachine and Boucherville areas, it’s straightforward.
Brossard is the most important retailer, the one with essentially the most stock. We nonetheless shut typically, relying on the 12 months. It could possibly take us a complete of two days to take stock. But when I didn’t have Lightspeed, it could have been the worst: an actual nightmare. Now, it’s not a big deal.
And with the catalogs—importing gadgets we get from our suppliers—we’ve got protocols in place. All the pieces is entered accurately the primary time. Afterwards, you don’t need to go over the work that’s already been executed [to fix things]. That saves us time, too.”
Does it additionally save on prices? Is it as a result of you will have fewer stock errors?
“Sure, we’ve got fewer stock errors. In fact, you save time, too. You don’t need to pay another person to do the job over once more. Ultimately, you all the time find yourself saving prices.”
Correct stock administration is a lot greater than doing a bodily depend. How has having stock administration software program in your POS helped with different day-to-day duties?
“There’s the marginally extra back-end facet, like the info we’re in a position to entry. As an illustration, say you overlook you will have a motorcycle in inventory. With the previous system, you won’t promote it. However with Lightspeed, you assume, “wait a minute, I’ll do a search.” And it’s already listed within the stock. So you possibly can inform the shopper, “Right here, I’ve received this merchandise.”
It’s enjoyable as a result of it helps us make higher choices, particularly when it’s time to refill. When it’s time to advocate inventory for the brand new season, we will base our choices on what’s promoting effectively.”
Cycle Néron is powered by Lightspeed. Talk to one of our experts about how Lightspeed could make your operations as easy and environment friendly as attainable.
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