web site updated 3 July 2007

Services for Golf Shops
(click on any line for details)

Inventory Management

Have you ever sat down to look at a demonstration from an ePoS company and had them show you their 5,000 sales and inventory reports?

Would you know where to start with these reports to actually manage your inventory?

The first points that a golf shop owner needs to understand relate to what inventory management is NOT.

1. It is not about replenishment.
   
   Most inventory in a golf shop cannot be reordered and only a minimal amount can be. That which can be reordered fluctuates during the year. However, most ePoS systems do not account for seasonality. Do you need 6 of your large, blue, logo shirts in January and also in August? OR Do your needs change? The amount of time to maintain constantly changing levels of replenishable merchandise would be astronomical.
    
2. It is not about reviewing last month's sales.
   
   If you sold 6 of your large, blue, logo shirts last month, what does that mean to you in terms of making a decision?

Inventory management is about making a plan for the future and reviewing basic information to make smart decisions.

The planning part is in setting a Sales Plan and an Inventory Plan that makes fiscal sense. Results are compared to Plans and adjustments to Plans or Purchase Orders are made accordingly.

When it comes to reviewing information, looking at the big picture (not a 500 page report) will lead to the correct decision.

If it sounds easier than you previously thought, you are correct. Retail Business 101 can help point you in the right direction to improve profits and reduce inventory.

Open-to-Buy Management

Do you have the self-discipline to not overbuy?
Do you know when you have overbought?
Do you know what to do when you have overbought?
Are you buying with an eye to your financial statements?

Stock turn rate is the single most important statistic in all of retail and improving STR should be one of your (and your system's) primary goals. (Does your system even calculate this?) STR is made up of two numbers: sales divided by average inventory. To increase STR, either you increase sales or you reduce average inventory investment. Guess which one you can control.

Since you can only minimally affect increasing sales, then reducing inventory becomes the better method to improve STR. An Open-to-Buy, based on improving STR, becomes a necessity for you, the retailer. A well-managed Open-to-Buy becomes your spending limit and helps you stay within budget. If sales fluctuate from the plan, then we will adjust your spending so as to not create a critically over- or underbought situation in the future.

Do you approach inventory management with an OTB or with the seat of your pants?

Computer System Assistance

After 17 years in the software for golf shops and retailing businesses, I was frustrated by the number of customers who spent a large amount of money on a system, then 3-5 years later, found that nothing had changed about their business (AKA the Cigar Box Syndrome).

A golf shop purchases software hoping that something will change about their business after the purchase. The goal of a good TEE TIME SYSTEM should be to maximize revenue and to help the course find a way to reach and keep golfers. If all your tee sheet does for you is become a collection of names (just like a paper sheet, maybe their is a problem. The goal of a good INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM should be to increase stock turns and gross profits, yet most retailers experience an increase in inventory after purchasing a system.

So after 3-5 years, the golf shop guesses that there is something wrong with the software and start the selection process again. Then, after another 3-5 years, they will start the process a third time.

If this describes how you feel about your current system (or cigar box), give me a call at 866.32.RB101 (toll free).

We have a great deal of experience in tee time management and utilization, accounting, membership, pro shop inventory, food and beverage systems and more to help you find the right system for your facility. Maybe you already have the right one, but we need to find out how to use it to change your business.

By the way, unlike some consultants, we do not have a predetermined winner of a computer search. At a PGA Show in 2000, we assisted 3 golf facilities with their selections. All 3 selected different systems.

If you need help, call toll free within the US, at 866.32.RB101.
Our direct number from outside the US is +1 760.724.0385.

Contact us by e-mail at info@retailbusiness101.com

We do not put a hyperlink for our e-mail address due to the number of programs that search the Internet for e-mail addresses to further perpetuate spam and viruses. Please copy and paste the e-mail address to your e-mail.