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What should I do with slow- or non-moving inventory?

Written by Amplifier
Updated over 2 months ago

Even if you utilize every Inventory Management feature that Amplifier offers, you will inevitably accumulate excess or unsold inventory because no one is able to perfectly forecast demand.

You have several means to reduce and eliminate the unsold stock that will accumulate.

Liquidate the items.

Liquidate, i.e. turn into a liquid cash.

  • Put Them On Sale -- Put simply, lower the price, i.e. offer these excess items at a deep discount. It is common to see such sales both online and offline after major holiday periods, for example, because every retailer must deal with this issue.

  • Add Them To A Promotion -- Certain items make great promotional add-ons, e.g. "Every order over $100 receives a free _____.” Be aware and beware that such giveaways will impact the freight and fulfillment fees associated with those shipments, so factor in those costs in your planning.

  • Mystery Box -- A popular move, especially with apparel, is to take the excess stock across a number of older designs and convert them to a Mystery Box SKUs, e.g. “Mystery Tee in Small for $5” of "Three Mystery Vinyl Records for $20." The item or items are sold for a deep discount, and the customer doesn’t even know which design or specific records they purchased until they receive the shipment. This method works best when there are small quantities of many different designs (in the case of apparel) or item types (in the case of things such as vinyl) in excess inventory. Please reach out to our Client Success team at help@amplifier.com if you would like to set up a Mystery Box.

  • Many charities and organizations happily receive excess goods. You can put in an order for the items you wish to donate, specifying where you want them sent of course, and we will ship them for you. B2B fulfillment rates and freight costs will apply.

Dispose of them.

  • Some inventory is eventually thrown away.

  • Each year Amplifier helps clients dispose of excess inventory. 

Ship to yourself.

  • You can also enter a Manual Order to have Amplifier send some of the excess stock to you. 

  • It can be useful to have some physical goods in your office so that you can give them to visitors and etc.

Long-term Storage

  • Twice a year, Amplifier will share with clients a report revealing SKUs that are slow- or non-moving. Amplifier will prepare orders for moving applicable inventory to  Long-Term Storage, and Clients may confer with Client Service regarding next steps.

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