Inventory SpecialistIt is common knowledge that there’s always one more thing that needs doing when it comes to running a retail or spa business. Your job as an owner-operator or manager is to make sure all the doing “gets done”. It can be hectic at times, which is even more reason to have your staff trained to handle functions for you. This is true when it comes to handling your Candles of Eden and other quality product lines. You will help your business operate more efficiently and profitably when you make your employees inventory specialists along with you.

The first thing you want to do to make your employees inventory specialists is to train them to keep “eyes open”. They need to keep their eyes open to three things concerning your inventory. These are inventory outages, inventory damage, and inventory display. None of this is complicated. Simply let your employees know that during the course of their work shifts that, as is possible, you want them to avoid having shelf and display sections that are out of stock. This is retail 101. Your customers want a store well stocked with a good variety of SoyLuscious® Soy Candles and other products. Customers do not want to see gaping holes where stock should be. They do not want to see sparse displays. Stock sitting in your back room that should be filling those gaping holes and empty displays is doing you no good. Train your employees to keep stock always moving from backroom to selling area.

The second thing you want your employees to be on the lookout for are damaged, shopworn, or defective goods. Inventory gets damaged in the course of daily business. Train your employees to look for and report damaged merchandise. Have them look for this initially at the receiving door. Have them look for this during their shifts as they scan your shelves and displays when they stock your goods. You do not want scratched, broken, or defective products on your shelf or display. You want to display always, quality, prime condition products, as they are ambassadors for your business.

Thirdly, make sure your employees are continually keeping shelf sections and displays organized, clean, and attractive. Break your store down into areas or shelf and display sections and set up a cleaning and maintenance schedule for each section. Each week a certain section will have all stock removed and all shelves will get washed. Before product goes back on a section they will be dusted, wiped, washed, or whatever so they sparkle for sale. Your establishment may be in an area that seems to accumulate dust from outside somehow. You want to make sure your Candles of Eden soy candle jars and other products are always dust-free so their colors and logos shine. A regular cleaning schedule for each section of your store is something you should consider.

You can also make your employees inventory specialists by training them to keep “ears open”. This is simply making sure they are attuned to customers’ conversations about products. Customers shopping together may say something like, ” I wish this store carried soy candles” as they browse an aisle. A perceptive employee will make note of this and let you know what they overheard. You can then consider quality, soy candle suppliers such as us here at Candles of Eden and consider getting a line in for your establishment if you do not already stock our elegant candle line. It’s all about encouraging your employees to listen to what customers are saying.

There’s one other way to make your employees inventory specialists. That is giving them their own section that they are responsible for on a weekly basis. You can assign a trustworthy, knowledgeable employee your Candles of Eden soy candles and accessories section, or entire giftware section. They will then be responsible for ordering, stocking, displaying, cleaning, and promoting this section. This way you involve your staff intimately with your product lines. You encourage their participation in making a section a valuable contributor to your store’s overall performance. You encourage them to promote a section in their own creative way. After a month or two, you can rotate sections and have them take over a new section. Someone else will take over the Candles of Eden/giftware section that he or she previously oversaw. At the end of a year, your main staff members will have a well-rounded view of all your product lines because of their focused activities with a different section or department every few months.

You can make your employees inventory specialists by training them in the above elements. Train them to have eyes and ears open so they can promote your SoyLuscious® Soy Candles and other fine products properly. Have them control inventory sections so they can learn to be successful inventory promoters. Let them participate in all inventory functions from ordering to maintaining so that they can help you maintain and grow your business.