How to Purchase Merchandise for Your Business
For a retail business, purchasing merchandise is critical to success. Effective purchasing ensures you have an ample stock of the items that customers come into your store to buy, and that prices you have paid for these items provide your business with a sufficient profit margin. Purchasing merchandise for your business involves developing ongoing relationships with vendors, learning their idiosyncrasies and production schedules, and finding the companies that provide the best fit for your own business.
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Instructions
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Schedule meetings with sales representatives from vendors and distributors that sell the type of merchandise your business carries. Ask for samples, product lists, and delivery and production schedules. Select a product line that will provide your customers with a sufficient degree of choice without being cumbersome for your staff to manage. Order enough merchandise to stock your shelves and keep a limited amount in stock. When making decisions as to how much extra stock to have on hand, consider your available space, the sales volume you anticipate, and the production and delivery schedule of the vendor who supplies the particular items.
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Purchase extra merchandise when you are expecting a spike in sales and customer traffic. For a gift or retail food store, you can anticipate such an increase around the holidays, and for a sporting goods store you should plan on beefing up your inventory of equipment for any particular sport during the weeks or months before that sport's season starts. Have extra stock on hand when you hold sales or promotions, or if a particular product has been receiving media attention.
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Cut back on merchandise purchases before scheduled inventory dates. For tax purposes, it is beneficial for your business to have as little inventory on hand when it is time to count your stock and calculate its value. Try to limit merchandise purchases during these times, but not so much as to be unable to meet customer demand.
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Purchase extra merchandise when items are on sale from the vendor or distributor. Either pass these savings along to the customer by putting the item on sale in your store, or stock up on inventory to spread your savings over the greatest possible period of time.
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