What To Do When You Have Too Much Inventory And No Warehouse Space.


Too Much Inventory And No Warehouse Space

As retailers and logistics companies try to stockpile goods to hedge against supply chain problems, they are facing a new challenge: In many parts of the United States, there is little to no space available to stash the merchandise. Rather than clearing out warehouse space, businesses are stockpiling inventory that should be sold as closeouts. Instead of selling overstock and shutting down businesses, companies are piling up slow moving inventory that doesn’t sell. The shortage of commercial warehouse and industrial space is the latest fallout from pandemic-fueled growth in online shopping and shows few signs of abating. But the squeeze is spurring new thinking about how to manage storage, handle distribution and set up new delivery systems for everything from pet food to beauty supplies. If you are thinking of selling overstock inventory to clear warehouse stock, you are on the right path.

Logistics firms are taking several steps to deal with the scarcity of storage space, like signing deals for new space long before ground is broken and expanding searches for sites farther from coastal ports, to such areas as Knoxville, If you are in a situation where you are desperate for more warehouse space, consider downsizing instead of upsizing. In many cases you can get rid of closeouts and excess inventory in the warehouse and make room for new products. Selling overstock inventory and getting rid of stuff that doesn’t sell is much cheaper than renting more space to store dead stock. It is easy to let inventory sit in the warehouse when it isn’t in the way, but once it stops you from bringing in new products it becomes a deterrent to doing business. Consider clearing out warehouse space of dead inventory that isn’t selling and turn it into dollars. Developers are also re imagining the commercial warehouse space they already occupy. And in densely populated areas where land is scarce and zoning restrictive, they are vying to build taller warehouses or spread their goods to smaller spaces such as vacant storefronts that were shuttered during the pandemic. If you are shutting down your business and closing your warehouse, you can search for closeout buyers who will be willing to buy your entire inventory closeouts in one fell swoop. Clearing out a warehouse doesn’t have to be difficult or stressful as long as you work with the right inventory liquidator.

In many cases today, companies are grabbing warehouses with 50 percent more space than they need, They are lowering operating margins just to increase infrastructure so they have it. The tight warehouse market has spurred logistics companies to try different strategies for storing and moving goods across the country. Getting rid of excess inventory and clearing out warehouses has become more mainstream as large retailers like Walmart and Target have liquidated inventory of toys, housewares and lawn and garden products to clear warehouses and make room in their distribution centers for new merchandise. Overstock closeouts are a big problem now as warehouse costs have increased and warehouse space has become very costly. Amazon FBA sellers are shutting down Amazon accounts because it is too expensive to operate and storage costs eat into the bottom line profit. Closeout websites have become popular as closeout distributors and excess inventory liquidators are taking advantage of companies liquidating and downsizing warehouses or shutting down warehouses or even shutting down businesses.

A full warehouse can mean a few different things, depending on whom you ask. It might mean that sales are down and product isn't moving. It could mean you have canceled orders piling up in the warehouse leading you to a situation where your warehouse is overloaded with to much slow moving inventory or too much dead stock that just isn’t selling. Or it could be a dream come true if it means you're outgrowing your original building and you need to shut down your warehouse and move into a larger warehouse. In any case, there's one person who's guaranteed to be anxious about space getting tight, and that's the warehouse manager. When the warehouse manager runs out of space, his/her hands are tied because there is too much merchandise in the warehouse and not enough room.

A lack of storage space is the biggest fear for someone who can't afford to turn away trucks or leave product out in the open. But before you overwhelm yourself with thoughts of moving, renting space, scouting out new property, breaking leases, or maintaining productivity during a move, there are a few things you should consider. Doing so may save you from having to move at all. Some may even improve the way you manage your business. Yes, we are going to look at closeouts, excess inventory, and getting rid of that dead stock that is just sitting in the warehouse collecting dust.

Wrong mix of inventory: How long have some products been sitting on your shelves? It’s easy to forget about old merchandise sitting in the warehouse if it is already paid for. Dead stock is a problem because it takes up warehouse space and stops you from receiving new products. Closeout brokers and buyers for overstock inventory can help you with this problem. Companies that liquidate inventory often deal with companies who need to clear stock from the warehouse and make room. Do your research and pick a good turnover period for all your products. If one product doesn't make the cut, reduce your inventory or scrap it altogether to free up available storage space. That's it. Get rid of old inventory at any cost, sell it all to a liquidator that specializes in buying bulk inventory for cash. A change in your inventory management may be the only solution you need. It'll help you shake up your product lines and invigorate your marketing while you're at it. You can Google search terms like these to find a buyer: liquidation buyers, liquidate excess inventory, going out of business, buy closeouts, closeout websites, and liquidate Amazon FBA.

Inefficient rack design: It can be hard to tell if a space is merely cluttered when you have it in your head that it's full. But if you reorient your thinking and really examine your pallet rack by using drawings and doing walk throughs, you might be surprised at the improvements that jump out at you. Inventory liquidation sales are a great way to reduce inventory and get rid of overstock. With all appropriate safety considerations in mind, you might find places where shelf levels can be added, or rows of rack that should be repositioned to maximize your available space. Sometimes it is helpful to keep smaller items or products that don’t take up as much room in the warehouse. You can get rid of bigger items with large cube that take up more space. This can be a helpful way to manage overstock inventory if you have a wholesale merchandise warehouse. Companies that buy overstock merchandise will understand this and they may be happy to help you with these large cube items. There is a liquidation process they will follow to determine if they are interested in buying your overstock inventory. Keep in mind there are different closeout buyers for different products.

Poor space utilization: It's possible that you don't have the best type of storage system for your product. VNA (Very Narrow Aisle), drive-in, and drive-thru pallet rack take up a lot less space than standard pallet rack, and may better suit your fulfillment procedures. Some styles of push-back rack may also fit the bill if you're working with homogeneous products. Closeout distributors often operate large warehouses so they could be in a better position to deal with the inventory than you are. Overstock buyers generally position themselves to be ready at any time to make large unexpected purchases of excess inventory; this means that they have to be ready with large warehouse space for receiving deals.

Wasted vertical space: When you're tacking an issue like not enough warehouse space, it pays to keep your chin up. Literally. Look at how much vertical space you have. Are you using it all? It just might be that you can maximize your storage space by claiming the air above you. Taller rack, tunnel bays, or a mezzanine to relocate smaller product storage or make room for office space are all options available to you. Closeout warehouses always look huge when you first purchase or rent one. When you first walk in, it looks like you have endless space to use. With a space that’s typically several thousand square feet, it may seem (at first) as though you’ll never run out of space. However, if you’re not careful, before you know it, your inventory will start piling up in your warehouse and you’ll be out of storage space faster than you might think. Closeouts and discontinued merchandise are often not packed in original factory cases, so this takes up even more space. In the case of liquidating Amazon FBA inventory, this can be a real mess and what would fit in 10 pallet spots can take up an entire truckload of space. There are several easy ways to avoid this common dilemma, as well as ways to manage your inventory more efficiently if you do end up with less space than you might’ve originally thought you had. Closeout brokers and buyers for overstock inventory can help because they are willing to buy your overstock inventory at a deep discount and quickly get it out of your warehouse. Getting rid of liquidation items may be just what you need to make enough space.

The “Just in Time” method of inventory management, commonly referred to as JIT, is a great way to ensure that you don’t have too much inventory in your warehouse at one time. In order to use JIT, you don’t build an inventory of backstock in your warehouse. Instead, you fill orders with parts and products arriving on an as-needed basis. This means you wouldn’t have excess of merchandise sitting in the warehouse because you only bring in exactly what is already sold. For example, let’s look at the example of an order of 20 products coming in. If you were using a just-in-case strategy to fill this order, you would take those 20 products out of the stock you keep in the warehouse. That’s potentially hundreds or thousands of products sitting in your warehouse, taking up space. And if no one orders them, they’re just overstock sitting there collecting dust and wasting your valuable space. On the other hand, if you’re using JIT, you’d receive the order for 20 products, then order enough supplies from your suppliers to fill that order. If you are shutting down operations and dealing with the liquidation of a company, you will want to contact closeout brokers or closeout wholesalers who specialize in overstock inventory liquidations and companies in liquidation for sale. These businesses know where to sell closeout inventory and specialize in the closeout process.

Aging or obsolete inventory is a major contributor to current vacancy rates. After years of supply chain disruptions, purging overstock and obsolete inventory may feel risky, but the opportunity cost of holding on to dead stock — paying storage fees month-over-month on inventory that won't pay you back with sales in the end — could far outweigh the cost of liquidating. Having a liquidation sale is often the best way to get rid of dead inventory and overstock. By clearing up that valuable shelf space, you’re making room for inventory that's going to turn at a faster (and more profitable) rate. Moreover, when your capital isn’t sitting on the shelf of a warehouse somewhere, you can actually put it to work for you. More capital on hand makes your business more flexible and nimble at a time when supply chain resilience is paramount to success. Liquidating excess inventory can be the key that opens a door of opportunity if you have too much excess stock.

Merchandise USA is a liquidation buyer for closeouts of housewares, closeout toys, overstock inventory and discontinued merchandise. We specialize in selling to closeout websites, wholesale overstock buyers and other deep discount retailers. If you have new seasonal product arriving and need to get rid of your old stock, or if you are closing down all operations and looking to liquidate we can help.