So you have owned a business for a long time but you don’t see the sales going up. You are giving your best in every sector of your business but still, you cannot find the reason as to why there is not much growth? Well, you have come to the right place. We will help you discover the hidden issues in your business that might be decreasing your sales.
Let’s get started!
Here are some of the hidden issues listed below:-
Bad customer service
Here we are talking about the service you provide to the end customer. Dropshipping is the new trend followed by many retailers, who have online or catalog business and do not have the facility to store inventory. So the distributors have to ship the products the consumer rather than shipping it to the retailer. This adds an extra layer of customer services. You have to keep not just the retailer happy but the end consumer.
You have to maintain:
- Good quality of products.
- Very good packaging.
- Faster shipping and delivery.
You have to provide awesome customer service to keep it going.
Need of strategic planning to avoid Financial problems
If distributors don’t have the required financial backing then they are going to lag behind. Distributors are stuck between manufacturers and retailers. Manufacturers want to increase their prices as the cost of manufacturing products, raw materials are also increasing. And retailers want to pay lesser prices for more.
Also, the competition in the global marketplace is increasing day by day, supply chain complex, consumers want more variety, better services at lesser prices. So overall the profits of distributors are being compromised. Wealth management has become a necessity.
For most of the distributors, their maximum money is invested in inventory. After the distributors have attained financial stability good re-investment of money in business and outside business is very important. This way you are not only dependant on your business but you have other sources of income as well, like stocks, real estates, etc.
Maintaining a good team of employees
Behind every successful business, there is a good team working hard every day to make it successful.
There are some very common problems faced to create and maintain a good team.
- Lack of communication – It very important to maintain a healthy communication between the decision makers and the workers of the company. Also many times there are retailers who are interested to get the distributorship but due to lack of communication, the offer is lost.
- Hiring the right staff – Hiring and keeping qualified staff has become very difficult for every business. You have to train your employees well only then they will give you a good output. Also after the training is done you have to retain. Otherwise, you have to invest in a new employee and also the experience of the old employee is lost.
Inventory Lifecycle Management
Every product has a life cycle in which it is usable and in demand, after the lifecycle expires it is not usable and also out of demand. Inventory just sitting on your shelves also cost you money.
Accurate demand forecasting for your business is necessary.
Follow LIFO, FIFO and various other techniques of selling according to the product you sell.
Real-time tracking of inventory using warehouse management system also helps to avoid understock and over stock.
Lagging behind in technology
Technology is a double-edged sword. It has made your work easier but on the other hand, it has also increased the competition. Using old technologies might cost you more and also your business won’t be adaptable to the changes occurring in the market.
For example, most of the softwares are accessible on mobiles these days. Now, this makes the work of your workers easier, they can work from mobile on the go. And this gives you more output in less time.
It is necessary to upgrade your technology because the right technology investments help to understand the issues, manage inventory and warehouse, help to be present omnichannel, manage the accounts, etc and thus boost the sales and profits.
Using a cloud based inventory management solution for your distribution business would help you tracking inventory movements in real time and help you track the overall business.
Summing it all up
We hope that above-mentioned issues helped to find the problematic area in your business. Now that you have found your issue work on it to remove its existence. If there was some other issue you were facing that is not mentioned please list it in the comments. And also if you have some efficient solution ideas for the issues list them down as well, so that other readers can learn from them.
