Stock in the palm: intelligent product management can “save” Black Friday at retail

As Black Friday approaches, the retail landscape requires companies of all sizes to prepare for high demand strategically, with the aim of avoiding errors and ensuring the success of consumer purchases.In 2023, Procon-SP registered more than a thousand complaints related to Black Friday, with 36% of these complaints linked to non-delivery or delays, with a total of 363 occurrences.

Zoltan Schwab, executive of vhsys, a company specialized in management solutions for micro and small businesses, highlights that the numbers may be related to poor inventory management and reveal the importance of a robust system to ensure customer satisfaction.“One of the great challenges for Black 2024 will be the efficient management of products. It is a determining factor for the final evaluation and customer satisfaction. The retailer must, from now on, with the support of an ERP, identify possible failures in the operation, such as lack of products, to have control of its sales when the big DAY” arrives, says the specialist.

For 2024, 39% of consumers intend and already plan to make purchases on this date, as shown by the Consumption Panorama 2024 Black Friday.This further highlights the need for an effective management strategy, capable of monitoring and organizing the flow of live products.

“With the integrated inventory control platform, the entrepreneur can manage his operations in the palm of his hand, monitoring inputs, outputs and replacements in real time, automating processes that could be manually subject to” errors, explains Zoltan, who closely monitors the movements of customers of the company vhsys on this date.“A good software should offer several features that add to the business, such as control of multiple deposits, product categorization, automatic generation of purchase orders, detailed reports and integration with sales systems and issuance of electronic invoices”, he adds.

The executive details that these resources allow not only an accurate monitoring of product movements, but also ensure that replacements are made quickly, avoiding stock ruptures during high demand.And he already anticipates plans for the holidays. “When the retailer dominates the stock, it is possible to project demands for other high-volume commercial periods, such as Christmas, using historical data from Black Friday and other dates, as well as business intelligence to predict future needs”, he concludes.