Worked scenario
Three businesses under one roof
Equipment is slow and expensive, consumables are fast and cheap, apparel has the size problem. One reorder rule across all three guarantees being wrong on two.
1 min read
Three kinds of stock, three behaviours
| Stock type | Turns | Value per line | Cost of being out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumables | Constant | Low | High. The customer leaves and buys elsewhere. |
| Apparel | Seasonal | Medium | Medium, and size-specific. |
| Equipment | Slow | High | Low. The customer will wait or order. |
Read that table and the right policy for each is obvious, and different. Consumables should almost never be out of stock. Equipment should almost never be overstocked. Applying one rule across all three means holding too much capital in bats and running out of grips, which is precisely the pattern in most sports shops.
Buy to the calendar customers play to
Demand here is not driven by the month. It is driven by school terms, tournament seasons and whatever is on television. Cricket sells when cricket is on. Badminton picks up when it is too hot to be outside.
A shop buying on last month's sales is always one sport behind. Sales history read against the same period last year is the useful comparison, and it needs a year of data before it says anything.
Club orders are not counter sales
A school ordering forty kits is a different transaction from forty walk-ins. There is a lead time, sizes to collect, a delivery date somebody is relying on, and usually credit.
Treating it as a large counter sale loses the part that matters: what was promised, by when, and whether the sizes have been confirmed. That is an order with a due date, and it wants recording as one.
What changes
- Reorder behaviour set per category rather than one rule across the shop
- Club and team orders tracked as orders, with what was promised and when
- Apparel held at size level, because it has a clothing shop's problem
- Buying that follows the sporting calendar rather than last month's totals
Questions about anything here, or a situation this does not cover? contact@anantatechhub.com