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Too Much Inventory At Your Business? Trim the Fat!

Posted by Admin Posted on Oct 06 2022

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Businesses need to have inventory on hand. But having excess inventory is expensive, so it’s important to keep it as lean as possible. Here are some ways to trim the fat from your inventory without compromising revenue and customer service.

Accuracy first

Effective inventory management starts with an accurate physical inventory count. This allows you to determine your true cost of goods sold and to identify and remedy discrepancies between your physical count and perpetual inventory records. A CPA can introduce an element of objectivity to the counting process and help minimize errors.

Next, compare your inventory costs to those of other companies in your industry. Trade associations often publish benchmarks for:

  • Gross margin ([revenue - cost of sales] / revenue),
  • Net profit margin (net income / revenue), and
  • Days in inventory (annual revenue / average inventory × 365 days).

Your company should strive to meet or beat industry standards. For a retailer or wholesaler, inventory is simply purchased from the manufacturer. But the inventory account is more complicated for manufacturers and construction firms. It’s a function of raw materials, labor and overhead costs.

The composition of your company’s cost of goods will guide you on where to cut. In a tight labor market, it’s hard to reduce labor costs. But, depending on the goods, it might be possible to renegotiate prices with suppliers.

Don’t forget the carrying costs of inventory, such as storage, insurance, obsolescence and pilferage. You can also improve margins by negotiating a net lease for your warehouse, installing antitheft devices and opting for less expensive insurance coverage.

Product mix

Cutting your days-in-inventory ratio should be done based on individual product margins. Stock more products with high margins and high demand and less of everything else. Whenever possible, return excessive supplies of slow-moving materials or products to your suppliers.

Product mix should be sufficiently broad and in tune with customer needs. Before cutting back on inventory, you might need to negotiate speedier delivery from suppliers or give suppliers access to your perpetual inventory system. These precautionary measures can help prevent lost sales due to lean inventory.

If you have any questions regarding accounting, domestic taxation, essential business accounting, international taxation, IRS representation, U.S. tax implications of Real Estate transactions or financial statements, please give us a call at 305-274-5811.

Source: Thomson Reuters   

The information provided on the LBCPA Blog is a community service for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors who specialize in the topics covered. Please refer to your advisors for specific advice on these subjects. The information is not intended to be used, and it cannot be used, for the purposes of avoiding U.S. Federal and/or State tax laws or the tax laws of any foreign jurisdiction.

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