Saturday, June 6, 2009

Taking Care of Your Inventory


As I was visiting a friend the other day, she was unpacking a box of product and placing it on her shelf. As we were chatting I noticed she would take the one out of the box and place it in front of the one already on the shelf. - I asked her if that was the way she always unpacked her orders and she responded with a yes, why? - I will now make it a point to mention during new consultant training about product rotation. In the accounting world it is often referred to as FIFO - first in, first out. Where the product has a shelf life it is always wise to put the newer product in back of the product that you already have so that you are moving the older product first. I am sure that most of us know this but if one has never really given it any thought, I felt it was worth mentioning. Have a super weekend everyone!

11 comments:

  1. For too many IBCs the concern about inventory is not so much rotating it (old before new on the shelves), but where to put it. Where do most put stock? Do you take over a closet, part of one? Do you purchase a separate cabinet?

    Where is your inventory right now?

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  2. and then some of us, know that if we don't need it, don't order it. I keep my inventory on two small bookshelves in my small office.

    Blessed, I do know you have a very hard time believing it can be done but my unit (and I) focus on sales, I have done Court of Sales -14 years in a row and my inventory moves, I actually was out of 3 -1 n/d's for a day and was really hoping my order would get here because I needed my order.

    and mr. mk4me would not stand for it, he can't even tolerate what I personally use in the bathroom. (that is whay l'il mk4me and I share a bathroom) and he has the other one! :)

    RULE: Don't need it, don't order it. whether it means you do or don't get the prize.

    Admit it, if this was preached, and shouted out as oppossed to "shut down" MK, wouldn't things be better?

    no long analogies needed, helping mr.mk4me outside building a pole barn so I am not at the computer to reply.

    Have a great weekend everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Same here MK4me, my inventory lives in a bookcase in my home office as well. I turned one of my bedrooms in my home into an office, no different than a lot of folks do anyway. the closet in that room stores my class materials, bags for orders and other selling materials, books etc..

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  4. Heck, when I worked at Burger King back in college we learned FIFO!

    I used part of a linen closet for large things like cleansers and a tackle box (STOP LAUGHING) for small stuff like lipsticks and eye shadows.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mk4me said:

    "Admit it, if this was preached, and shouted out as oppossed to "shut down" MK, wouldn't things be better"?

    Things would be better. That's not the nature of the Mary Kay Cosmetics opportunity, though.

    And hey, who woulda thunk, no long analogies.... ;-)

    Blessed

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  6. I heard a call the other day that disturbed me it was a training call and it was good however......

    There was an NSD from Canada rdoing it and she was talking about getting star orders from 5
    people in one night and getting consultants on target for their car in one month. She did say that
    she has a selling unit she went from 4 directors to 22 directors in 18 months and that is how she became an NSD. I liked her training but she was talking about having 100 guests every night and the way she gets them to sign is to facial them and then tell the consultants to be quiet and let her talk about the opportunity and her highest check (40,000). I am happy that she is success but its stories like these that make me sad that some people have become part of the recruitin herd of cattle and other directors are taught this way. I sincerely hope that this does not become a house of cards for her. She said she has been doing this for months and there is no saturation. I would say the name but out of respect for directors although its a public call I wont.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Currently, my product is being boxed up in preparation for my move to a new state! In the past three weeks, my customers have done some huge reorder business resulting in my having $400 weeks, three weeks in a row.

    In my new house I'll have an office where I will keep my inventory on a bookshelf.

    My current customers are staying with me as the sales tax in my new state is far less there where I currently live.

    I'm actually very exciting about getting back to the basics of growing my business in a new area with new women!

    I could have very easily just placed a HUGE order this month in order to end the quarter a star, but to show another perspective to Blessed, I'll share that I am waiting to reorder until the next quarter (Quarter 1) and will only be reordering what I've sold over these past few weeks - so a $600 order. I don't overstock.

    It can be done.

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  8. Just as a note, I probably have more personal cosmetics of all brands that I use on my own self, stored in various locations in my house and my desk at work, than you IBCs/Directors here are keeping as inventory in your little bookshelves.

    If you can ignore MKC's rather conservative leanings and tap the alternative market (rather than just looking out for "sharp" women) you'll move product fast. Find the club kids, the goths, and the men who do drag. Find those emo kids who practically use an eye pencil per day. People who want to look dramatic go through twice as much makeup as everyone else.

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  9. lol, dear Miranda, where I live if waited for "sharp" looking woman, I would strave to death! Two jokes, did you know the tooth brush was invented right here in our town?? ????? (oh really!?!) yup because if it was invented anywhere else it would have been called the "teeth brush"

    and

    our state troopers hate murder cases around here.... because all the dna mataches and there are no dental records!!!

    I have a vary varied clientelle!

    But it is great advice to keep a varied audience. One will also meet some very neat people that you may not have ever had the opportunity to meet otherwise.

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  10. Bwah! In the South where I live women are pretty fussy about looks, though nowhere near where it was when I lived in Alabama. There, women really *do* put on their faces to go to the grocery store, which is hilarious when they have on a velour sweat suit...with flat (often metallic) dress pumps. I'm serious.

    We were supposed to look for people who were "sharp," "put together," etc. But honestly I just looked for people who seemed friendly and wouldn't likely tell me to shove it.

    You gotta come down here sometime so I can give you culture shock and take you to the club.

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  11. Attention Cuppa Jo-
    Wanted to wish you a very smooth move and best wishes in your new home!

    ReplyDelete

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