Automate the stock replenishment process with Canary7; the best stock replenishment system.
Canary7’s stock replenishment tools today are here to transform your inventory into its most productive version!
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Automated Stock Replenishment
To achieve a successful inventory management framework, you must ensure smooth stock replenishment, and to do this, you need to implement automation into your processes.
Canary7 is here to help! Providing a stock replenishment system, Canary7 helps holistically enhance this process and streamline many other aspects of your inventory management experience.
Stock Replenishment
What is stock replenishment?
First, let’s better understand what stock replenishment is.
Stock replenishment is the process that involves moving items along the supply chain from reserve storage to primary storage so that they can be easily retrieved for order fulfilment. This makes it easier to meet customer demand while simultaneously ensuring the lowest possible inventory spending.
Within the stock replenishment process, there are several sub-processes. These include but are not limited to reordering materials, managing primary storage, and streamlining pick and pack processes. You can achieve the optimal product flow only when these are correctly regulated.
Key stock replenishment processes
To understand stock replenishment properly, we must fundamentally understand key stock replenishment processes.
Process 1: Demand forecasting
Demand forecasting is the first process you need to get right for the perfect warehouse stock replenishment experience. Ultimately, you should align your inventory with customer demand, which is only possible if you have robust demand forecasting tools and methods.
Demand forecasting will give you in-depth knowledge of the sales trends at a certain period to determine what your customers want and when they want it. This will help you make better supply chain decisions and optimise your inventory for future sales.
Process 2: Warehouse optimisation
Warehouse optimisation is another process that will help you strengthen your overall stock replenishment activity. This is because you need your warehouse to be organised and managed per the needs of your stock to store your inventory and optimise it effectively.
Warehouse optimisation will involve a careful evaluation of the physical space you have available, as well as how much you need. Ideally, you need enough space to store not only current stock but also safety stock in a manner that doesn’t compromise the flow of goods in general.
Process 3: Reordering
Reordering is one of the most critical aspects of the stock replenishment procedure. Reordering is dependent on effective demand forecasting and warehouse optimisation. Once these processes are completed successfully, you can turn to reorder the number of products you need.
You should get the reordering flow just right. For some businesses, periodic reordering may cut the chase, but others would have to do it more regularly. Again, it all depends on your demand forecast and how your warehouse functions, so keeping these two elements in mind before moving to the reordering aspect is essential.
Process 4: Monitoring
Stock replenishment is not a one-time effort – it requires constant monitoring, which is why monitoring is one of the key processes of the whole stock replenishment procedure. It would be best if you kept a close eye on your inventory levels to gauge whenever you need to restart the replenishment process.
Automation matters
As you probably already understand by looking at the key processes above, the only way to bring all of these to the centre of your stock replenishment framework is with the help of automation. Did you know that about 42% of warehouses and distribution centres are projected to invest in technology and automation? This stat goes to show the impact that technology and automation are having on the supply chain. Automation will not only help you speed up your processes, but it will also allow you to align them better, which means that it will be easier for you to streamline everything from start to finish.
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Why should you focus on making stock replenishment as effective as possible?
If you want your inventory management processes to operate in a way that allows you to meet customer demand and impress your customers thoroughly, you have to start focusing on stock replenishment. Stock replenishment is the backbone of your inventory management – unless you get the flow of your goods right, you can’t succeed in this area.
Benefits of stock replenishment
Benefit 1: Prevents costly errors and delays
With the help of a robust stock replenishment system, you can prevent costly errors and delays. This means you can improve your cash flow and manage your finances more effectively, operating better on an organisational level.
Benefit 2: Better warehouse management
Working with a good stock replenishment process means your warehouse will become much more optimised. This will allow you to streamline other processes within the warehouse and make it easier to manage your warehouse as a whole.
Benefit 3: Enhanced customer satisfaction
Improving customer satisfaction levels is one of the main priorities for every business, and luckily for you, effective stock replenishment can help with this. Stock replenishment will ensure you are providing your customers with a better customer journey, from providing greater quality products to fulfilling their orders on time. This will leave a long-lasting impression on your customer base, making them want to return again and again.
Benefit 4: More efficiency
When you achieve the perfect automated stock replenishment process, everything else in your warehouse will automatically fall into place. This means that you can achieve optimal efficiency in other aspects within the warehouse with the help of a stock replenishment system, which makes your warehouse and inventory management strategy a lot more contribution towards your success.
Benefit 5: Reduces Stock outs
Stock outs are frustrating for both you and your customers. Customers will become easily frustrated when they cannot purchase the item they want when they want it, and this can cost your company serious money if these customers turn to your competitors.
70 – 90% of stock outs are caused by poor stock replenishment. This statistic shows the importance of an effective and efficient stock replenishment process to prevent stock outs.
By focusing on stock replenishment, you can ensure stock outs don’t happen as often or at all, ultimately ensuring customers can purchase the items they want when they want them.
Benefit 6: Prevents overstocking
Some might think having extra stock is better than under stocking, but it can be just as harmful. Overstocking comes with some associated costs due to the amount you must pay to store the items within your warehouse. Another cost you may endure from overstocking is the loss of sales due to time-sensitive or perishable products expiring.
With an effective stock replenishment process, you can prevent overstocking by ordering stock only when needed. This means your inventory keeps passing through the supply chain efficiently, and you won’t keep replenishing items with a low expiry date.
Methods of stock replenishment
With the help of a stock replenishment system, you can achieve the following methods of stock replenishment.
Method 1: Reorder point
Reorder point is not only a method of stock replenishment; it can also be considered one of its most essential principles. Reorder point is constantly monitoring your inventory levels so that whenever they fall below a specific number, you can jump in and reorder
your goods. With this method of stock replenishment, you never run low on supply and can confidently meet customer demands.
Method 2: Top-off
This is another method of stock replenishment and is also referenced as lean time replenishment. In this method, you must move inventory from storage to picking areas when demand is low. This way, it is easier to meet demand during peak times, and it is easier
for your staff to achieve efficiency when it is most needed. Businesses that engage with faster-moving SKUs benefit most from this method, as it allows them to align their activity with customer demand.
Method 3: On-demand
This method of stock replenishment is relatively straightforward. It replenishes stock on a need basis – so as customer order products, inventory levels are updated accordingly, and only those products that are being ordered more frequently will be replenished.
This is one of the best ways for businesses with limited replenishment capabilities to effectively meet customer demand without negatively impacting their storage space.
Method 4: Safety stock
As the name suggests, this stock replenishment method aims to ensure that your inventory has buffer stock to work with in case you run out of products. When you have reserve stock at hand,
an unexpected spike or any other fluctuations will not be as detrimental because you will still be able to meet customer demand. For this reason, holding safety stock is considered one of the most effective ways of replenishing stock.
Method 5: Periodic stock replenishment
This method of stock replenishment works best for larger, more established warehouses. This method allows you to check and update your inventory only
at predefined intervals. So, this method means that your stock is replenished now and then if required. The one disadvantage of this method is that inventory is only gauged at specific periods, so it’s impossible to know if a product is running low during those dates.
Best practices to get your stock replenishment right
The following best practices will help you get your stock replenishment methods just right:
Tip 1
Make sure to implement the continuous assessment
Just because you have already implemented a stock replenishment method doesn’t mean you must stop assessing your inventory. It is important to ensure you continue to monitor your inventory forecasts and reassess if the method you’ve chosen is still adequate for your business.
Tip 2
Make sure you choose the correct stock replenishment method for your operations
Every warehouse is different, so it’s essential to align your stock replenishment with your picking methods and workflows. It is also crucial to consider the size of your business and your storage space.
Tip 3
Have safety stock on hand for unpredictable situations
Unexpected spikes in sales can happen at any time, so calculating how much safety stock you can have in your inventory is good practice that can be used along with any stock replenishment method. This will provide you with a little extra backup in case of stock outs.
Tip 4
Use Canary7’s inventory management software
Utilising inventory management software is the best practice for any warehouse. An inventory management system allows you to gain complete visibility into your inventory and stock levels to understand your activities. This will allow you to quickly identify areas for replenishment opportunities.
Canary7’s stock replenishment system: benefits
Canary7’s stock replenishment system will help you automate your stock replenishment methods and bring many other benefits, such as:
- Fewer stock outs
- Optimise inventory to prevent stock outs and overstocking
- More customer satisfaction
- Faster pick and pack processes
- On-time shipments and deliveries
Canary7’s stock replenishment software: your way out of the inventory control problem
No longer do you have to fall victim to problems like overstocking and under stocking – with Canary7’s stock replenishment solutions, you can achieve just the right balance. The best part is that our system is easy to implement and use, making it more convenient for you and your team.
Are you ready to transform your stock replenishment processes?
Get Canary7’s stock replenishment tools today, and watch your inventory transform into its most productive version!
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