With any teams success comes the increase in merchandise sales. I thought it would be interesting to talk about this now given that Alabama is 12-0. With the increase in sales, comes the need to carry more inventory as to meet the demand of the customers (customer service). This requires companies to try and plan for the increase in sales, which also requires them to coordinate with their suppliers as to make sure that they can handle the increase in demand. While it may be beneficial to order the amount of product that results in the lowest costs, it may be better to order more and pay the higher holding costs in order that your customer service levels remain high. Satisfied customers could turn out to be very profitable in the future when they want to purchase something again if they know that they can count on you to have the product in stock. Deciding on how much inventory to carry is not something that should be taken lightly. It requires specific planning and forecasting based on your gut feel as well as looking at past situations of similar magnitude. Overall, companies that have good relationships with their suppliers stands a better chance of getting the extra merchandise than do other companies.
Michael
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I agree. College Football merchandise increases its inventory during football season. With the Alabama Crimson Tide sitting at 12-0 and in the national spotlight, there will be far more purchases and newer fans. The seasonal inventory of merchandise is easy to calculate, but when a good team with crazy fans becomes popular, it is difficult to project sales. Inventory levels will need to be increased in every store, but it may take while to predict appropriate levels. This is something that requires much time and calculations.
G8 makes a good point that its going to take some time for inventories to really reach the levels that they will need to be with the resurgence of Alabama. I wonder how companies handle the inventory for SEC championship items since its impossible to know what the outcome will be.
-Mark Brislin
I would agree with everybody's assessment. However, I would add:
Roll Tide Roll!!!!
-Andrew Freeman
Post a Comment