Tips for Efficient Stock Control in Boba Stores
Inventory management is vital to prevent over or under-stocking, enable efficient spending and ensure customer demand is met. It also ensures that existing inventory is tracked, preventing theft and waste. For new bubble tea store owners, getting inventory management right is crucial. Further down the line, inefficient inventory systems can hold a bubble tea business back from reaching its' growth potential. Correct inventory management techniques can facilitate rapid growth and expansion. However, inventory management is something a lot of bubble tea stores get wrong! So, we have put together this blog on inventory management, offering our expert tips for efficient stock control in boba stores.
Inventory Tracking
The first thing to consider is how to track stock once it has been ordered. Periodic inventory checks, such as quarterly, monthly or even weekly, can ensure stock levels are kept where they need to be. Additionally, these checks help account for any random errors, such as missed orders, lost items or other storage mishaps. By catching any errors quick, they can be resolved before they have any detrimental effects on a store's output.
Reducing Inventory Waste
Another crucial consideration is how and what to keep in storage. Waste is often caused by over-ordering certain products, as if they are not used quickly, they may go out of date. The key thing to consider here is shelf life.
With bubble tea, many ingredients have long shelf lives before being opened, and as such can be stored for long periods of time. On the other hand, items like fresh fruit and milk will need to be kept refrigerated and ordered more frequently, as they cannot be kept in long-term storage in ambient conditions. Understanding which items to keep in storage and in which quantities is a great way of ensuring efficient operations in your store. Here is a list of some common ingredients suitable for storing in larger quantities, due to their long shelf lives.
These products can be ordered in larger quantities and kept in storage. Many store owners will order enough to cover their usage for a month or two. This is useful as it reduces the amount of time a store needs to spend ordering and tracking ingredients. Ensuring you know the shelf lives of different products helps to reduce unnecessary waste.
Understanding Store Output
Having spoken about over-ordering, the other side of the coin is the risk of under-ordering. Ordering items that move quickly in too small of a quantity leaves you vulnerable – a surge in business at the wrong time could leave you short and unable to meet consumer demand. The loss in revenue and reputation from a shortage can be catastrophic. As such, it is important to understand the needs of your store and order in suitable quantities. In order to do this, you need to understand your minimum stock level, the minimum amount needed in order to satisfy customer demand. This level should be altered to account for seasonal peaks or troughs. However, if after this you are still caught off guard by an unexpected surge in demand, then it is crucial that you have effective supplier ordering systems in place.
Effective Ordering Systems – Choosing the Right Supplier
Partnering with the right supplier can make inventory management a breeze for bubble tea store owners. Suppliers like Taipec offer fast processing and shipping on online orders. This ensures any urgent bubble tea needs can be met. Additionally, our account managers are always on hand to offer advice on ordering quantities and timings, helping reduce the workload and stress for store owners new to the industry. Ordering from a company with effective and reliable ordering systems ensures you are not caught off guard by frequent delays, shortages or incorrect orders. It also means that, in emergencies, you know you are receiving the best help you can get! In the often hectic environment of bubble tea, this can be a much-needed respite.
Thanks for reading our comprehensive guide on inventory management. We hope these tips for efficient stock control in boba stores will help you moving forward.