Lost Sales are Just the Tip of the Iceberg in Out-of-Stocks

"Out-of-stock" is a dreaded term in retail. When there is no stock of a certain product, there can be no sales of such product, so out-of-stock means lost revenue. Period. The customer that didn't find their favored product in stock at a certain location might even be lost forever, since the absence of that product could mean settling for - and then liking - available alternatives.

In summary, out-of-stocks mean more than lost sales, they can mean losing customers due to poor reputation and brand loyalty.

Therefore, consumer product goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have systems in place in order to prevent frequent out-of-stocks. One such system involves having merchandising teams going to each and every store where their products are sold in order to verify the quantities still available and request more product if necessary.

Field merchandising software has revolutionized how out-of-stocks are handled. Before, companies had to rely on the old pen-and-paper methods of filing reports and then making calls if necessary. Field merchandising software allows field reps to use their own devices to notify operations of any low or out-of-stocks.

Some field merchandising software, such as VisitBasis, even allow for instant notifications of specific tasks to certain people. For instance, if a field rep detects that there is a low quantity of a product in the point-of-sale he/she is visiting, by using the field merchandising software in his/her mobile device to report this, sales and shipping can be automatically notified and take immediate action in order to prevent the out-of-stock.

Ready to see for yourself? Sign up today for a free trial of VisitBasis Field Merchandising Software or request an online demo!