How Amazon Can Help You Manage Your Excess Inventory

Amazon offers a variety of tools that can be used to assist businesses in managing their overstock and minimizing the risk of damaging their IPI score.

Amazon Outlet

This section is less well-known to customers and allows retailers to list excess inventory or overstocks in one location. There is a difference between listing here and your regular seller page. Amazon must review all listings before they are allowed to appear on the Outlet. The products must be in good condition and have received at least three stars.

Amazon Removal or Disposal Order (and its costs)

If your product sales are not sufficient to pay Amazon for their storage costs, you may need to file a removal or disposal request.

Amazon will either remove excess stock from its warehouse or sell it to you. If you have a quality problem with your product, or if it has been damaged in any way, you can request that it be removed from your inventory. Amazon may charge fees and restrictions for these types of requests.

FBA Liquidations Program

If retailers are unsure what to do about their excess stock or customer-returned inventory they can now sell it through Amazon-provided liquidators.

These factors will help determine the average selling price.

Your sales history
Amazon’s average FBA selling price
Sales history for the ASIN (Amazon Standard ID Number)

The ASP value (Average Selling price) can be recovered at a rate of 5%-10%, net of any fees. This process is explained in detail by Amazon’s FBA Liquidations Program.

Lightning Deals

You’ve probably seen Today’s Deals from Amazon. That’s where Amazon Lightning Deals can be found. These Lightning Deals are limited-time special offers that only last for a short time. Amazon decides how long they will last. You can spread your brand awareness by paying sellers to get their products featured in Lightning Deals.

Close or Delete the Product Listing from Your Seller Page

You can close or delete a listing to stop selling a product. The listing can be closed without affecting your inventory. However, the SKU, sales history and product information records will be deleted from your seller’s page. It is better to close the listing and allow you to reactivate it at your convenience.

How You Can Avoid Excess Inventory

You can see that Amazon offers many options for retailers to manage excess inventory. This problem can be avoided and your business will run more smoothly.

Keep Track of Your Cash Flow

Knowing how much you’re spending on storage and whether the products are selling at an acceptable rate will help you budget and know when you should take action if you start losing cash.

Pay attention to customer demand. If a product isn’t selling well, remove it from stock. Customers may stop buying your products if you have a lot of stock. This could lead to sales dropping.

You can plan ahead by looking at projections of how much product you will sell. If you need to purchase more inventory, you can either outsource inventory management to someone who can.

Pay Attention to Seasonal Demand

Keep an eye out for trends in your industry at a particular time of the year. If you know that people look for ski equipment at this time of the year, ensure these products are readily available.

You should only make large stock purchases if the product you are trying to sell is profitable during a specific time period. You will have a lot of products that aren’t in demand.

Be Cautious in Managing Stocks of Products that Spoil

Some products, such as meats or dairy items, will spoil. These products can spoil over time so be careful not to overstock.

When to reorder: If your perishable products don’t sell at the pace you want, you can manage the time between restocking. Reduce the stock interval to one day if you notice they aren’t selling well after two days. This will ensure you don’t have excess inventory that you need to dispose of.

Create the Most Inventory Space for Your Best-Selling Products

It is a smart idea for retailers to offer more space for their best-selling products. Prioritize your products to determine which products will sell quickly. Then, order the quantity.

To make sure your items are always in stock, assess how often your customers buy your products weekly or daily.

Sell your Products on Other Marketplace Platforms

You might also consider selling your products on other marketplaces where your products may be more visible. It is worth the effort to list your products on other websites.

There are usually no additional costs and orders can be fulfilled by Amazon inventory. It can be advantageous to use this option if there is demand outside of Amazon.

Final Thoughts

Amazon has many internal tools that can help you manage your inventory. This is one of the many advantages of selling on Amazon. This helps new sellers to manage their business better.

Amazon does a lot of the work for us. You may be able to use their features to your advantage. However, you shouldn’t rely too heavily upon them without doing a thorough analysis on your inventory management. It is best to avoid excess inventory. This will reduce stress and save you money while running your business.