How to: Manage Inventory
If you don't know what's in stock, there could be trouble in store.
Ruth Kelsey's method of tracking inventory for her gift basket business, Brittany's Balloons and Gifts, used to be informal--to say the least. "I was going by sight," recalls the Lithonia, Georgia, entrepreneur. "Basically, I stored everything in my den and garage, and every so often I would count it all."
As Kelsey's business grew and expanded to include party decorations, her inventory system became inadequate. "I would think I had 20 baskets left, then I'd go to fill several orders and find I had only 14," she says. "That would put me in a pinch, especially in my busy seasons." Kelsey is in the process of computerizing her inventory, which she expects to give her a more accurate method of tracking.
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