Inventory management. Unliquid goods.

In the previous article we talked about how to competently manage product groups and assortment. Now let’s look at ways of working with illiquid assets. It’s no secret why it is categorically undesirable to have stale goods in a warehouse - they do not bring profit, but because of them the company incurs losses associated with work, for example, moving goods, recalculating during inventories, again, “frozen” monetary assets, inability to purchase a number of new items due to limited free space in the warehouse (not a single warehouse is rubber, and its maintenance also costs money) or lack of available funds. There is only one solution - to get rid of illiquid goods; sometimes it is more cost-effective to give it to the client than to store it further. Let's figure it out sequentially.

First, you need to have a clear understanding of what illiquid goods are and why a product becomes illiquid. Obviously, an illiquid product is an unsaleable product. The question is the time interval during which the product was not sold and what share of it was sold. As a rule, a trading company operates for a period of 3-6 months. This time is quite enough to study the behavior of the product. Each company itself determines this period for determining illiquid assets.

Again, why the product became illiquid. Obviously, snow shovels will not be in demand in the summer, just as home canning jars are not relevant in the winter. Can we classify such groups as illiquid? No, this is not worth doing, despite the frozen assets. Such product groups are highly seasonal in sales and will be sold next season. In this case, there is a mistake made by the manager who created the seasonal bookmark.

In the case when a new product is introduced into the assortment portfolio and it is not sold, you should conduct an analysis of the competitive environment and an analysis of your own product matrix - probably your competitor began to sell the product at a lower price, this happens very often, this is why the manager should conduct analysis at least once a month, or your matrix contains substitute products at more interesting prices. Very often, especially in large trading companies with a large number of assortment items, you can find double lines, i.e. When entering the information base, the manager made a mistake and entered the quantity on the invoice in the wrong line, but created a new position, perhaps in another section. Of course, a screwdriver in the Perfumery subgroup will become an illiquid item. Or, for example, a new position was created in the correct section, but with a different price - a possible increase in price, this will also negatively affect sales until the balance of the original position is reset to zero. In this case, it is necessary to constantly check reference books and the company’s information system, combine similar items into one line, and ensure that the name of the product is spelled correctly when entered. For example, “Mug” will not give the client an idea about the product, but “Mug 320 ml. ceramic pink in a gift package" allows the buyer to navigate and make a choice, especially relevant for companies that sell not only through a storefront. Always, the more detailed you describe your product, the higher the likelihood of selling it.

What to do if the product is not subject to or is slightly subject to seasonal fluctuations, and the price is the same as that of a direct competitor, and there are no analogues, while the product is clearly illiquid? Let's look at the following procedure.

It is necessary to carry out an inventory of this product in the warehouse - firstly, the product may not exist - sold, lost, etc. Secondly, there is a possibility of mis-sorting - instead of our illiquid stock listed in the information base, there is another product, for example, instead of green mugs, there are red ones. Thirdly, it is possible that the operator entered it incorrectly into the system - in fact, for example, 1.5 liter pans were entered as 3 liters, of course, for the client this is a fundamental point. Further, the product may be in stock, but defective. What are our next steps? If there is no product in stock, it must be written off to the financially responsible persons, thus clearing the information base of “illiquid stock.” In case of mis-sorting, we again edit the information system, writing off the missing goods to the warehouse (the financially responsible person), and put the available goods on the receipt, the question of who to put the goods on the receipt is decided by the manager himself - it is also possible from the warehouse, but many managers as penalties deliver goods from another counterparty or from a warehouse, but with a coefficient of lost profit. In case of an operator error, we edit the information base. To avoid this problem, we recommend that you resort to the following - checking the invoice entered by the operator into the database by the senior storekeeper, or the storekeeper who received the goods.

If a product is available, but defective, firstly, it must be moved in the information base from the main warehouse to the defective warehouse. Secondly, it is worth understanding why the product became defective - the appropriate attitude of the warehouse workers or the moment of delivery? As a rule, the cause of defects is the result of the work of storekeepers, but again not always - when receiving goods, it is unrealistic to check and open every box, so factory defects or even damage cannot always be noticed. But if the goods have managed to get “stuck” into surplus stock, obviously there are gaps in the warehouse’s operation.

So, the product is in stock, not defective, and we are absolutely sure that it is illiquid. Let's look at ways to get rid of it and get your money back.

1. Of course, a good option for working with illiquid assets is returning goods to supplier or replacement with another product. It is necessary to competently negotiate rotation, of course, it is better to do this before the start of cooperation, and, of course, transportation costs should be borne by the supplier. Another option is when, for example, rotating a dozen mugs is simply stupid and uninteresting to either party. It is necessary to respect your partner and when performing rotation, the goods must be in salable condition and well packaged for return. It is important to remember about good partnerships, and if there is not so much product for your company and you are sure that it will be sold over a longer period of time, it is worth talking about increasing the deferment on payment or transferring it to payment upon sale. Let's step back a little and explain what payment on sale is; as the requests show, this raises questions. Payment on sale implies payment for the delivered goods only as sales proceed – i.e. how much money was sold, the amount of money was transferred, confirmation - automatic forwarding of the sales report.
2. An illiquid product or a product with a pronounced seasonality at the end of the season can be transfer to your partners for implementation in other regions or cities, of course, at cost and for a certain period - if the illiquid property is not sold within a certain period, it makes no sense to store it, even in someone else's warehouse.
3. Your sales department should recommend this product for purchase. It's worth trying to charge bonuses from sales of illiquid goods.
4. It is possible to sell illiquid assets by combining them with related product. For example, combine a candlestick into a set with two wine glasses and decorate it as a gift. Moreover, in the tableware warehouse there are probably discarded wine glasses from large sets.
5. Marketing promotions. A wonderful field of activity that allows you not only to get rid of illiquid items, but also to increase sales. Let's consider the main ways of carrying out the action:

• “Buy a pack of tickets and get a water pump.” Let’s see how much real money is stored in our illiquid assets, let it be, for example, 10 mugs with a total cost of 100 rubles. And there are teapots that sell well, also 10 pcs. 1000 rub. We factor the cost of the mugs into the price of the teapots and get rid of illiquid items, but customers are happy about the promotion. It is worth carrying out such promotions not on lighthouse or popular goods, so that the pawning of the value of illiquid goods goes unnoticed. Or the cost of the illiquid stock can be included in any new arrival, a price increase of 3-4% will go unnoticed, and the illiquid stock can be tied to a popular product with a constant cost. For example, there is an arrival of goods with a total cost of 500 thousand rubles, we increase the markup by a couple of percent and have some funds to carry out the promotion. In this case, you can even carry out a 1+1 promotion; 2%, especially on small goods, does not matter.
• Reduced cost. The mere presence of illiquid goods in your warehouse is already a loss, so do not be afraid to get rid of the goods, even at cost. Ultimately, if the product does not sell even at cost, it will simply have to be given to customers or employees. In any case, the loss of a certain amount (total value) of the illiquid asset will save you from further expenses associated with servicing the illiquid asset.
• Gifts for clients. In this method, high-quality work of the sales department is important - in the information base, of course, there is a directory of clients with birthday dates - a call from the manager, congratulations and promises of a gift. The client comes to make a purchase and receive his gift. In this case, clients are very satisfied with the attitude and love of the company.
• With the participation of the supplier. You can conduct a marketing campaign at the expense of your supplier. Neither party is interested in the presence of illiquid stock - the seller’s motives are clear, the supplier’s motive is also simple - until part of the goods (unliquid stock) is sold, the company may not purchase the goods next time. As one of the ways to find an agreement, the company does not purchase goods from the supplier until the issue regarding the illiquid part of the goods is resolved, while the necessary goods are purchased from a duplicate supplier. In this case, the supplier himself will allocate the prize fund, goods for the promotion and will be interested in selling the illiquid stock.
• Promotion for sales managers. This promotion can be carried out either at your own expense, highlighting a bonus for the sale of illiquid assets, or, for example, the absence of a bonus reduction. It is possible at the expense of a supplier who is interested in increasing sales; more often, a similar scheme works with manufacturers, and not only for illiquid goods.

Marketing promotions are a tool for selling not only illiquid assets, but also for increasing trade turnover. You should not neglect them, and carry them out constantly, but no more than 2-3 at a time in order to concentrate the client’s attention.

Then the question arises of how to prevent the reappearance of obvious illiquid goods on the shelf. You should not rely on the manager’s memory; everything should be recorded in the information base. To do this, it is convenient to highlight the illiquid position in a sales report with a different shade, having previously defined it in ABC/XYZ, where XYZ, as we said, is an indicator of profitability. But the sales report is generated, as a rule, for a time interval of a month, therefore, if the illiquid stock was received a year ago, we will not see it in this report. Therefore, ABC/XYZ, where XYZ (profitability indicator) by group, we recommend that you carry it out over a longer period of time, taking into account, of course, the seasonality of sales for certain items, and when placing an order for a supplier, display this list of non-liquid assets by supplier. Once again, we draw your attention to the fact that all working information should be stored only in the information base, this allows us to not complicate the work in case of personnel movements, and to optimize procurement activities.

Thus, we have considered such an item in the job description of a category manager as working with illiquid stock and participating in marketing campaigns; we will talk about ways to work with defective goods in the next article.

Inventory is inventory items awaiting consumption.

Inventory management system

• Procurement management;
• Management of raw materials and supplies;
• Finished product inventory management;
• Sales (distribution) management.

Why do you need stock in a company?

Providing customer service:

• maintaining unexpected sales growth;
• ensuring seasonal fluctuations in demand;
• supply disruption insurance;
• savings on transportation;
• placement of inventories at consumption centers;
• protection against increases in purchase prices;
• savings on wholesale discounts.

Negative Consequence of High Inventory Levels

• Increase in operating costs;
• Decreased response to consumer requirements;
• Complicating the inventory management process;
• Decrease in return on invested capital;
• Increase in occupied space;
• Overproduction;
• Increase in production costs.

Inventory level – what should it be?

Inventory levels are determined by two main parameters:

1. Ensuring the accepted level of customer service;
2. Insurance against supply disruptions.

Moreover, the first is ensured taking into account the level of demand uncertainty. Second, in addition to the quality of the purchased goods and the accuracy of order fulfillment, it is determined by the uncertainty of delivery cycles, which is greater the greater the distance in the supply chain. Logistics can and should offer a level of service, but it is the marketing (service standard) that accepts it.

Corporate principles of inventory management

• Inventory must provide a sales plan;
• Maximum income with optimal investments;
• Standardization of technical specifications occurs in the same grouping as implementation planning.

Restocking

• Assessment of the current state of inventory;
• Calculation of total delivery by planning group;
• Formation of an application for product items (detailing);
• Monitoring the compliance of the application with the supply plan and reservations;
• Shipment.

Delivery size

Calculation of optimal delivery:

V(supplies) = NTZ – FTZ

Actual inventory takes into account the balance of goods in the warehouse, goods in transit, postponements and reserves.

Unliquid products

What is illiquid? - This is a product with low turnover or no movement. In other words, this is “frozen capital” in the product, the company’s money withdrawn from circulation. For any item in the warehouse there is a period beyond which it is not profitable to store balances on it. Illiquid assets are determined by the maximum storage period.

System for working with illiquid assets

The study of inventory for its liquidity in terms of turnover rate is carried out at 2 levels:

• Analysis of the situation in the warehouse (“unliquid”, “unliquid without movement”) in order to take measures to increase the turnover of technical requirements;
• Analysis of the situation for each specific position in order to speed up the withdrawal of products from the company’s range, eliminate “unsuccessful” and outdated drawings and designs.

How to prevent goods from falling into stock

• Presence in the branch of a qualified specialist in the management of technical requirements - Logist;
• At all stages it is necessary to carefully monitor the flow of goods. Starting from ordering goods, ending with analysis of sales dynamics, technical specifications, turnover;
• If overstocking is observed for a certain group of goods, or for any specific product items, it is necessary to take action. This could be the initiation and approval of promotions, the formation of special offers for clients, additional display, etc. That is, it is necessary to show maximum marketing activity.

Action plan to reduce illiquid assets

Control

• Report on illiquid assets – once every three months;
• Subtotals – once a month;
• Final assessment – ​​once every three months;
• The assessment period is a calendar quarter.

Inventory assets that are surplus or unnecessary to a company or firm.

Dictionary of business terms. Akademik.ru. 2001.

See what “Unliquid assets” are in other dictionaries:

Excess material assets that are not needed by the enterprise, as well as finished products that could not be sold. Raizberg B.A., Lozovsky L.Sh., Starodubtseva E.B.. Modern economic dictionary. 2nd ed., rev. M.: INFRA M. 479 p.. 1999 ... Economic dictionary

Unliquid assets Encyclopedia of Law

Goods and other material assets that are superfluous and unnecessary for a given enterprise are usually difficult to sell on the market. The presence of N. burdens the economic indicators of his activities... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Economics and Law

Mn. Goods and other material assets that are surplus or unnecessary for any enterprise, subject to liquidation, but difficult to sell on the market. Ephraim's explanatory dictionary. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

ILLQUIDS Great Accounting Dictionary

Unliquid assets- – goods and other material assets that are superfluous and unnecessary for a given enterprise, usually difficult to sell on the market. The presence of illiquid assets burdens the economic performance of the enterprise... Commercial power generation. Dictionary-reference book

Unliquid assets- (from Latin liquidus fluid; English non disposables, illiquid assets) goods and other material assets that are redundant and unnecessary for a given enterprise, subject to destruction or sale at reduced prices, but usually difficult to sell on the market... Large legal dictionary

illiquid assets- pl., R. non-liquids; units non-liquid/d (2 m) ... Spelling dictionary of the Russian language

ILLQUIDS- commodity-material assets that are redundant or unnecessary for the enterprise, as well as finished products that are difficult to sell. The presence of N. slows down the turnover of working capital and worsens the economic and financial condition of the enterprise. Most often N.... ... Large economic dictionary

Ov; pl. (units illiquid, a; m.). Specialist. Property that cannot be used in a given enterprise and is subject to sale or liquidation. List of illiquid assets. ◁ Illiquid, oh, oh. New materials. New equipment. N. fund... Encyclopedic Dictionary

Unliquid stock is products that are formed in the company's warehouses as a result of a sharp decrease in demand, strategic shortcomings or personnel errors. These reserves represent “frozen” funds, which are so necessary in economic circulation. In addition, maintaining illiquid assets requires additional costs. At the same time, their loss is possible. That is why every enterprise strives to get rid of the illiquid assets accumulated in its warehouses as quickly as possible. This task is creative, and in each specific case it will need to be solved individually.

How to determine illiquid assets?

It is simply impossible to give an unambiguous answer to this question. Illiquid assets of enterprises are different. In addition, even within the same company, but at different sites, different criteria are used to identify unused inventory.

For some products this may be a complete lack of customer demand, and for others it may be low sales compared to inventory. It is impossible to get rid of illiquid assets until there is a clear, unambiguous standard. As a rule, this is a certain period of time, longer than which storing balances in a warehouse is unprofitable for the organization, even if the goods are sold in large quantities.

Check for availability

After analyzing the products using the accepted standard, it will be necessary to check whether this illiquid stock is physically in the warehouse. This is a very important condition, because over a long period of storage, stale goods may lose their presentation, disappear, or end up on the re-grading list.

Reasons for appearance

So, you have checked and made sure that there is indeed some illiquid stock in the warehouse. This was the first step towards eliminating it. At the next stage, it is necessary to understand the reason for the transfer of products to the category of illiquid goods.

Sometimes inventories are stored in warehouses due to their incorrect placement in the product catalogue. This is possible if a code is assigned to a product by mistake. In this case, to eliminate illiquid stock, it is enough to simply put such products in the line of the desired category. Then, instead of illiquid assets, the organization will receive good

In some situations, the formation of illiquid assets is facilitated by taking over all sales. It’s better to simply not allow this to happen. First, the remnants of the old position must be sold, and only then the newly arrived products must be offered to consumers. If such a moment was missed, then the new product should be reserved for some time, putting the previous stocks on sale.

Sometimes there are situations when illiquid stock is formed as a result of personnel error. Everyone simply forgets about the goods reserved in the warehouse.

Complex equipment that is not in high demand ends up in illiquid stock. In this case, it will be more profitable to sell it in parts. An illiquid position can be completed so that it is bought faster. There may be surplus spare parts. Often these are parts that were ordered incorrectly.

Return

As a rule, companies strive to sell the illiquid stock accumulated in the warehouse. It is advisable to do this only after attempting to return the stale inventory to the supplier. This rule is especially relevant for those distributors who do not produce the goods themselves, and their clients are not end consumers. Their sales market is not as large as that of suppliers. In the event of a return, the manufacturing company can always profitably sell a product that was considered illiquid for the distributor company.

Discount

Sales of illiquid assets can be carried out using discounts. This is the most common way to get rid of unnecessary inventory. This method is popular due to its simplicity. However, it is not currently very effective. The fact is that some companies began to apply pseudo discounts. They raise prices in price lists so as not to lose anything in monetary terms. Despite this, discounts are a very real way that is used to eliminate illiquid stock. This will allow the company to receive a certain amount of money to purchase the supplies it needs.

There is a misconception that illiquid assets should be sold with minimal profit or at least without losses. However, the very presence of a stale asset is unprofitable for the enterprise. These products or raw materials require certain storage costs. Therefore, there is no need to set yourself the goal of generating income. A resource that is not in demand by you should be sold at the price for which they will agree to buy it.

Types of sales of stale reserves

Unliquid assets of factories and enterprises can be eliminated in various ways. Among them are the following:

A barter scheme, when one product is exchanged for another (with this option, what is considered illiquid for your enterprise is exchanged for the desired product);
- payment of wages to employees with illiquid products;
- payment with unclaimed assets for overdue accounts payable.

If all these methods are applied wisely, they will not only allow you to get rid of stale goods, but also solve some of the company’s pressing problems.

Unliquid assets from Ukraine, Russia and other post-Soviet countries can be purchased on company websites. They offer used equipment, spare parts, and materials.

Organization of disposal of illiquid assets

In order for the process of selling unclaimed assets to be as successful as possible, you need to appoint one of the top managers to oversee this project. In this case, you should place information about the promotions carried out by the company on your website.

Sometimes it happens that customers do not purchase a new product simply because they do not know about its advantages. And then this product falls into the category of illiquid goods. In such cases, additional information to clients is required.
If the company has a network of branches, then you should check whether this position is in demand in any of them. If so, then the product is simply transferred to where it is scarce.

Attention should also be paid to the seasonality of goods. There is no need to rush to sell off illiquid stock before the start of the period in which there is demand for it, because it will soon become popular.

Measures to prevent illiquid assets

In the operation of any enterprise, it is important to properly form reserves. This is much easier than subsequently dealing with the sale of illiquid assets.

To properly form reserves, you will need to establish clear accounting. If there are failures in the transfer of information from one division to another, the risk of the formation of illiquid assets increases significantly. It is required to organize convenient reporting on all balances and sales of goods.

Reducing purchases will also prevent the appearance of unclaimed stocks. It is necessary to determine in time which assets may become illiquid. Such analysis is carried out regularly, and organizational policies are adjusted based on its results.

For any enterprise, important aspects are forecasting and planning volumes. This will prevent excess quantities in warehouses.

It is also important to decide on the optimal delivery batch. The smaller the quantity of supplied inventory, the lower the risk of illiquid stock. But it is worth remembering that small batches of products require significant transportation costs. This is also not beneficial for the company.

There is one more parameter that affects the volume of warehouse stocks. It is the level of satisfaction of demand with balances. This indicator must be calculated when analyzing inventory requirements. At the same time, its values ​​should be such as to, on the one hand, prevent interruptions in the operation of the enterprise, and on the other, eliminate the possibility of the occurrence of illiquid assets.