Don’t Let a Stockout Ruin Your Amazon Sales Again
Running out of stock has dire consequences, from losing sales and Buy Box ownership to jeopardizing SEO rank, even account status. Needless to say, you don’t want to experience a stockout — especially during the busy holiday season.
But let’s face it. Sometimes, no matter how prepared you are, supply just can’t keep up with demand. If that sounds like you and your inventory is nearing zero, it’s not too late to protect yourself against a stockout. Just follow these tips to get your levels back up so you never actually run out:
1. Order New Inventory
Have you placed a resupply order yet? If not, get on the phone with your suppliers now. You want to make sure your inventory is on its way ASAP.
2. Raise Your Prices
Chances are, you’ve spent valuable resources optimizing your pricing strategy, which is extremely important for the success of your business. But sometimes you need to hit the pause button. When you’re approaching a stockout, raising your prices will decrease demand and slow your sales. As soon as your resupply order comes in, you can re-engage your pricing strategy or repricer tool to get your sales back on track.
3. Invest in Safety Stock
Consider safety stock your stockout insurance. It’s extra inventory that you use to fulfill orders after your everyday supply runs out. So if you run out of regular stock, place a resupply order ASAP then use your safety stock while you wait for the new order to arrive. Just don’t forget to include additional safety stock in your order so that doesn’t hit zero, too.
4. Build Supplier Relationships
Building a relationship with your suppliers is an easy way to make sure you always have inventory in stock. After all, communicating with them regularly means fewer chances of delays and/or surprises when you actually need to make an order.
So, at the very least, make sure your suppliers are aware of when and how much you’re likely to order at a given time and don’t forget to ask them about their production times and busy season(s). Doing so will help you maintain positive inventory levels at all times.
5. Increase Cash Flow
Selling on Amazon has a lot of perks, but cash flow isn’t one of them. In fact, their two-week payment delay causes a host of cash flow issues, making it difficult to fund last-minute inventory purchases, buy in bulk, or invest in growth opportunities. Thankfully, there’s a solution: Payability.
Payability is a financing company that gives marketplace sellers daily access to their income. Depending on your needs, they offer three solutions:
- Large Lump Sum of Cash: With Payability’s Instant Advance, they would buy your future receivables (typically a month’s worth) at a discount, allowing you to invest in bulk inventory, safety stock, growth opportunities, and more.
- Daily Payments: With Instant Access, Payability would pay you your Amazon income one business day after making a sale so you can turn inventory faster.
- Faster, On-The-Go Access: Instant Access customers can get the Payability Seller Card to access their income on weekends, holidays and wherever Visa is accepted. Not only that, the card comes with perks like up to 2% cash back.
Since 2016, Payability has helped more than 2,500 marketplace sellers stay in stock and grow their businesses. In fact, Gina Goldring’s sales increased by 50% after her first Instant Advance. Hear from her directly then check out http://go.payability.com/bQool to see how Payability can help you prevent stockouts and take your business to the next level and receive a $200 sign on bonus.
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