Optical Inventory Management Tips to Maximize Profitability

Retail optical business owners have a lot on their plate. Our goal is to help owners master their optical inventory management to maximize profitability and grow their business. Let’s discuss some optical inventory management tips to help you optimize your operations!

Elevate Your Processes

A great place to start when looking to optimize your optical inventory management is your internal processes. First and foremost, consider how you are keeping track of your frames. For example, in your system, are your frames considered individual items? If your practice is not keeping track of frames on an individual basis, you are missing out on more detailed reporting, making it more difficult to guarantee you are receiving proper credit from your vendors, and occasionally misplacing patient special orders.

Consider other aspects of how you do business. What does your curation process look like? Is there a methodology behind how you order frames? Having a well-curated collection of frames can be a major revenue driver for your business. Take the time to analyze the data behind your frames (what is selling, what isn’t, and if margins should be adjusted) before placing orders.

Remember, your frames are special, just like your patients. Your bottom line will thank you for treating them as such.

Inventory Reporting is King

Without access to comprehensive reporting, your practice will barely scratch the surface of effective optical inventory management. 

Do you know what inventory is worth having in stock? Knowing which frames are selling and which ones aren’t not only fuels more revenue for your business, it also affects other aspects of your operations, like marketing. For example, if you notice certain frames are quickly selling through, you may want to include those frames in your next advertising campaign. 

Does your practice know if its best sellers are on the board? If you don’t, you are likely missing out on an opportunity to be more profitable.

As a business owner, you should know what products are selling to ensure you have adequate inventory in stock. One way to monitor this is with inventory reports. If your optical business is struggling with the business side of its operations, it might be time to consider more robust reporting tools.

So, what are some features you should look for when it comes to reporting? Start with individually tracking each frame to ensure your data is as granular and as accurate as possible. The ability to access individual frame records including history, sales, and returns gives you the full picture of how your frames are performing. You’ll know what is selling and what isn’t. Being strategic with your spending and processing returns can pay dividends for your business.  

Lastly, using an intuitive tagging system will allow you to easily verify your inventory quarterly, annually, or spot inventory counting. 

Remember Loss Prevention

Although it is a worst-case scenario, loss prevention is something you should (not need to) consider when thinking about optical inventory management.  

Does your business have a reliable way to keep track of inventory in case of theft or other incidents? If your business has a lot of walk-in traffic, you may be more susceptible to theft, and it is critical that you have a robust frame-tracking system in place to ensure you are able to account for inventory that is lost.

------

Remember, top-notch optical inventory management is a learning process. To position yourself as an industry leader, it is critical that you invest in streamlined inventory management processes and reporting. If you are looking for a solution to your inventory management woes, Eye Cloud Pro can help! Our intuitive all-in-one software makes managing your business easy and centralizes all the tools you need to be successful. To learn more about Eye Cloud Pro, schedule a time to meet with our team!