Smaller Retailers Gain a Tool in the Battle With
the Big Box Stores

by Tim Ogle

Published on this site: October 3rd, 2006 - See more articles from this month

Owning or operating a small or mid-sized store can be a real challenge. According to the Small Business Administration, 80% of small businesses are bankrupt within five years. Cash flow is the number one reason for bankruptcies, and for retailers, inventory investment is the number one reason for cash flow problems.

Large retail box stores like Walmart and Home Depot use advanced inventory forecasting programs managed by highly trained teams of experts. That's the only way they can make sure they keep inventory coming, selling, and cash flow at healthy levels.

When you get right down to it, how you manage inventory has everything to do with your store's profitability. Forecasting inventory with the old spreadsheet method or by the seat of your pants is almost a sure way to disaster. This is especially true if you have to train new employees or managers to do the job.

This critically important activity can wind up being done inaccurately which undermines the entire prospect of a successful business.

As an open-to-buy specialist (there are not many outside the major chains), let me suggest that you RUN, not walk, to get a good retail forecasting program. Using outdated methods of guesstimating inventory purchases is like an accountant using old lined ledger sheets or an office manager using a quill pen. Your successful competitors are not using these methods and neither should you. An old business proverb says that if you are not moving forward, you are falling behind. For inventory planning that means fill in the blanks open-to-buy forecasting software.

It can be a real balancing act trying to keep enough money on hand to pay the bills while still keeping the right amount invested in inventory and equipment. Knowing you have the right balance of inventory in every classification of merchandise all the time means you can relax at night knowing that your cash flow is working for you - not keeping you awake!

While computers will never replace humans for most activities, computers can calculate tens of thousands of figures instantly which is humanly impossible to do with any degree of accuracy. For most store owners, this means letting the computer do the one click arithmetic so the manager can concentrate on managing and customer service.

Maggie Sagabaen, Buyer at Blackhawk Country Club said, "Since using OTBW we know we always have the right amount of merchandise in each classification, and we have reduced our average inventory by $100,000. We have a constant turnover of fresh merchandise which keeps member interest high. Sales and profits are up, inventory investment is down - it doesn't get better than that!"

Small stores switching to software solutions for inventory planning may expect 5-10% improvement in profits, almost always with 10-30% less inventory investment. Open to Buy Wizard retail forecasting software gives you quick, easy,and complete control over inventory, forecasting, and cash flow. It's your fast track to better profits!

POS companies are just entering the competition to provide these open-to-buy modules. Microsoft Retail Management System (RMS) is offering a data integrated RMS/OTBW module which reduces data input time for O-T-B planning to zero. The program is priced to make it cost effective for even the smallest retailers.

"One disadvantage that most small to medium sized retailers have in comparison to the big box stores is that until the introduction of Open to Buy Wizard there has not been an affordable solution for buyers to get the analysis, planning, and budgeting information they need to make their important buying decisions. OTBW is a terrific product and is now available to everyone!" said Brett G. Bennett, Principal/Chief Executive Officer, POSitive Technology -com, Inc.

Tim Ogle:RMS users or resellers: for further information go to: http://www.retailertechnology.com/SOLUTIONS/Open-to-Buy.htm Or call: RetailerTechnology (240) 404-6800. Retailers: for further information and 90 Day trial and other POS companies wanting an integrated module: http://www.opentobuywizard.com