Understanding Utilization. Knowing what not to order next time

Imagine the following scenario. While running your daily operations, you maintain your inventory shelves neatly stocked. As is common practice, you order materials periodically from the same provider in hopes these sell through. However, you soon find that your warehouses are overstocked with those novel Budweiser neons that you once thought would sell more. Without much further use for these signs, stale inventory costs or outright losses drain your business's profitability.

Although the scenario above is specific to the beverage distribution industry, a similar case is likely elsewhere. Regardless of industry specifics, utilization is a vital function of all operations. So as businesspeople, this is a concept that we don't want to misunderstand.

You might now think that you already have processes or solutions! - which fulfills your inventory management needs; however, there is more science to this topic than meets the eye. 

This HBR article illuminates the depth of assorting shelves, a banal operating activity beyond just a planogram. The article's authors explain how to use data to identify losers within your inventory and forecast potential new winners. With the capacity to track your assets and understand what is getting utilized, technology can help you optimize your assortment.

Rather than being a hindrance, software solutions can help you understand utilization. One such example happened to Andrews, the premier beverage distributor in North Texas, where they thought Dallas Cowboys chairs would be more popular than the numbers proved. However, with EasyCheck, quickly noticed this shortcoming and made changes to its execution plan.

Interested in knowing how data analytics can help improve your business? Check out this case study and learn how EasyCheck helped Andrews!