Why Slow-Moving Products Insights Matter: A Comprehensive Guide for Shopkeepers

Why Slow-Moving Products Insights Matter: A Comprehensive Guide for Shopkeepers #

Hello, shopkeeper! Efficiently managing your store involves more than just making sales; it requires understanding which products are sitting on your shelves, tying up capital and space. This is where understanding your slow-moving products becomes crucial. Tools like Ficos help you pinpoint items that haven’t sold in a significant time (like over 90 days), analyze their impact, and take informed action to boost inventory health and profitability. Let’s explore why this insight is vital and how you can use it.

What Are “Slow-Moving Products Insights”? #

“Slow-Moving Products Insights” offer a focused look at inventory items that have remained unsold for an extended period, specifically highlighting those not sold in over 90 days. This feature provides data to help you optimize stock levels, reduce holding costs, and minimize potential losses from stagnant inventory.

You can analyze these slow movers within different time contexts (like the last 30, 60, 90, 180, or 365 days) to understand recent sales performance (or lack thereof).

Key benefits include:

• Identify Stagnant Stock: Quickly see exactly which products haven’t sold in over 90 days.
• Understand Financial Impact: Know the total stock value tied up in these slow-moving items.
• Analyze Sales Velocity: See metrics like average daily sales (within your chosen lookback period) and days since the last sale.
• Visualize Key Data: Use charts to see the stock value and days since sale for your slowest movers.
• Receive Actionable Advice: Get specific suggestions for each slow-moving product based on its value and how long it’s been stagnant.

Using this detailed view in Ficos allows you to proactively manage underperforming inventory.

Why Tracking Slow-Moving Products Is Critical #

Keeping a close watch on products that aren’t selling is essential for a healthy retail business. Here’s why:

• Free Up Cash Flow: Avoid tying up valuable capital in inventory that isn’t generating revenue.
• Prevent Obsolescence: Identify and act on products before they expire, go out of fashion, or become irrelevant.
• Improve Purchasing Decisions: Use data on what’s not selling to make smarter choices about future stock orders.
• Optimize Storage Space: Make room for profitable products by clearing out stagnant items.
• Reduce Holding Costs: Lower the costs associated with storing unsold inventory (rent, insurance, potential spoilage).

How to Access the Slow-Moving Products Dashboard #

Accessing the Slow-Moving Products insight in Ficos is straightforward:

Step 1: On the home screen, tap the ‘View Analytics’ link below the ‘Today’ dashboard summary.

Step 2: This will take you to the Store Analytics page.

Step 3: On the Store Analytics screen, look through the list of available insights and tap on ‘Slow-Moving Products’.

This will open the detailed dashboard where you can select different lookback periods and view your slowest products.

Step 1: Key Metrics and Features to Watch #

To effectively use the Slow-Moving Products insight, focus on these specific data points and features provided:

1. Time Period Tabs (30d-365d): Select different lookback periods to see contextual data like average daily sales within that timeframe. Remember, the core list shows items unsold for over 90 days regardless of the selected tab.
2. Slow List Table: This detailed, paginated list shows products unsold for over 90 days, ordered with the longest unsold items first.
3. Product Details (Expandable Row): For each item, you can see:
   • Product Name & Code
   • Days Since Last Sale: How long it has been since the item last sold (or ‘Never Sold’).
   • Current Stock: How many units you have on hand.
   • Cost Price / Unit: The cost of each unit.
   • Total Stock Value: The total capital tied up in that specific product’s current stock.
   • Category: The product’s category.
   • Last Sold Date: The specific date the item was last sold.
   • Avg Daily Sales: The average sales per day calculated over the selected lookback period (30d, 60d, etc.).
4. Actionable Advice: Each expanded product view includes tailored suggestions based on its stock value and how long it’s been since the last sale (e.g., suggesting markdowns, bundling, or assessing obsolescence).
5. Value Chart: A bar chart visualizing the stock value of the top 7 slowest movers (by value).
6. Last Sale Chart: A bar chart visualizing the days since the last sale for the top 7 slowest movers (by time).
7. Overall Summary Card: Provides period-specific totals for the number of slow items, their combined stock value, and the average days since they were last sold.

Step 2: Turning Insights into Action #

Here’s how to use the information from the Slow-Moving Products insight effectively:

• Prioritize Action: Focus on items with the highest Total Stock Value and the longest Days Since Last Sale, as highlighted in the summary and list.
• Implement Tailored Advice: Use the specific advice provided for each product (e.g., consider significant markdowns for high-value items, bundle lower-value ones, assess product condition for very old stock).
• Run Targeted Promotions: Create clearance sales, discounts, or “buy one, get one” offers specifically for these identified slow movers.
• Bundle Strategically: Pair slow-moving items with popular products to encourage sales.
• Review Product Placement: Consider if the product’s location in-store or visibility online needs improvement.
• Assess Demand Changes: Investigate if newer products or changing customer preferences have impacted demand for the slow item. Was it ever popular? Why did sales stop?
• Adjust Reordering Strategy: Use this data to avoid restocking products that consistently show up as slow-moving.
• Consider Disposal: For items that are very old, potentially obsolete, or have negligible value, disposal might be the most cost-effective option to free up space and resources.

Step 3: Real-World Example #

Imagine you run an electronics store. Using the Slow-Moving Products insight, you see a specific model of headphones hasn’t sold in 120 days (well over the 90-day threshold). The details show:

• Days Since Last Sale: 120 days
• Current Stock: 15 units
• Total Stock Value: $450
• Avg Daily Sales (Last 60 Days): 0.0
• Advice: “Consider significant markdowns or clearance due to high tied-up value. Assess product condition; may be nearing obsolescence.”

Based on this, you could:

• Run a Clearance Sale: Offer a 50% discount to move the headphones quickly.
• Bundle Them: Package the headphones with a popular new phone model as a special deal.
• Review Future Orders: Decide not to reorder this specific headphone model again.

Step 4: Common Pitfalls to Avoid #

To make the most of this insight, avoid these common mistakes:

• Delaying Action: Regularly check the Slow-Moving Products insight (e.g., weekly or bi-weekly) and act promptly on the information.
• Ignoring the Financial Impact: Pay close attention to the Total Stock Value metric to understand how much capital is locked up.
• Not Using the Advice: The tailored advice for each product provides valuable starting points for action.
• Overlooking Context: Use the different time period tabs (30d-365d) to understand if a product’s slowness is recent or long-term, especially when looking at Avg Daily Sales.
• Poor Stock Records: Ensure your base inventory quantities and costs are accurate in Ficos for the insights to be meaningful.

Conclusion #

Understanding your slow-moving products – specifically those unsold for over 90 days – is key to optimizing inventory, freeing up cash, and boosting profitability. The Slow-Moving Products insight in Ficos provides the detailed data, specific metrics (like days since sale and stock value), contextual analysis across different timeframes, and actionable advice you need. By regularly reviewing this insight and taking decisive action, you can keep your inventory fresh, reduce waste, and ensure your capital is working effectively for your business. Start exploring this insight today to take control of your stock management!

What our clients say #

I have managed to track my expenses better and been able to budget and plan better

Nayebare Jenuario #

★★★★★

Business has never been managed better on an app than with Ficos! No hardware costs, no implementation costs, the LOWEST cost of ownership and business intelligence at your finger tips! Thx Ficos team

Fort High #

★★★★★

Excellent app Very useful for business

Christian TABARO #

★★★★★