Welcome to the newest post in our blog series, Darren’s Great Ideas! for Independent Operators. The author, Darren Schulte, NATSO’s new vice president of membership, brings to NATSO a wealth of knowledge about our industry.
Join Darren here every other Thursday for his biweekly retail column.
{Great Ideas) Maximize Inventory to Increase Profitability
When operators find ways to maximize their inventory, they increase sales while also boosting profitability. Consider these three ways to cut inventory carrying costs while also meeting your customers’ needs.
Consolidate fountain and coffee cup sizes. By looking at velocity and talking with cashiers, operators can determine which sizes sell the most and may be able to eliminate a size. Often times by eliminating the smallest size, you can drive customers to the larger size and grow your average ticket. By cutting down on the number of cups you have to stock, you can save money.
Consolidate lid sizes. No matter which cup sizes you offer, you may be able to buy cups that allow you to use the same lid for each. Starbucks uses this strategy, which improves costs and cuts down on clutter.
Maximize ingredients. Within food operations, operators can maximize their ingredients by utilizing the same items, such as buns or breads, for multiple sandwiches. They can also utilize the same condiments. As a rule of thumb, operators should stay away from creating additional variety in products that they must make that are not maximizing ingredients, which can quickly erode food costs.
/// Read more Darren's Great Ideas for Independent Operators posts here.
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Join the conversation! How do you maximize your inventory? Or have a different retail merchandising, marketing or operations question? Post your question in the comments and Darren will answer it in the next Darren’s Great Ideas! for Independent Operators. |
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