The serene world of salons and spas often comes across as very glamorous. However, what really escapes the limelight is the backend operations. Inventory management is usually the backbone of the beauty business. It is key to boosting customer satisfaction and profitability. Procuring, storing and making use of all the goods and supplies constitutes inventory management. Whether it’s hair towels or expensive shampoos, monitoring even the tiniest of products matters. Continuously keeping a tab on stock levels can be quite difficult. For this reason, beauty businesses are shifting to salon inventory management software.
Inventory Management Challenges faced by Salons
Your salon may offer the best services in town but if your popular products are out of stock, you’re definitely missing the mark. Expired products, overflowing shelves and missing items are the harsh reality of every chaotic salon. This is usually what happens when salon inventory management is neglected. Below we have highlighted some of the other challenges faced by salons that do not have salon software or lack of a centralised system:
- Manual inventory logging can lead to inaccuracies and inefficiencies
- Expired products may lie on shelves without any knowledge
- Theft, fraud and chances of pilferage are high
- Overstocking and understocking issues
- Unsatisfied customers due to product unavailability
To overcome these challenges, salons need to adopt a one-in-all software that will not just manage inventory but all the other aspects of the salon too including operations, reporting, analytics and so on. Let’s discuss more on how real-time inventory tracking can be a game-changer for your salon and how it can enhance your overall bottom line.
5 Ways to Maximise the Success of your Salon with Inventory Management
Meticulous Tracking
Just like a restaurant needs a fully-stocked pantry to cater to the needs of their customers, a salon too should be stocked at all times. Manually monitoring each product can be quite a task. Imagine you run out of essential products on a busy day. It can be anything – shampoo, hair dye, etc. It sounds like quite an embarrassing situation, right? With real-time inventory tracking, you can constantly monitor stock levels. The salon inventory software will automatically order products too on your behalf ensuring your overall business runs smoothly. When inventory is taken care of, you as a salon owner get to concentrate on more important aspects of your business.
Eliminates Excessive Product Utilisation
A common problem in a lot of salons is excessive product being used by stylists and technicians. While it may not do any harm to them, it can hamper the overall bottom line. This does not refer to theft. It only means that the products are being used carelessly. It’s the duty of the salon owner to bring this issue to every employee’s notice as it can affect inventory levels and profit margins. This can be avoided by recording how much product is being used during every service. The inventory management software can be used for the same. For instance, if 15 ml of a particular product is being used, it only has to be entered in the software. It will automatically recognise how much product is left and notify you when the quantity is lower than the threshold.
Enhanced Customer Experience
You won’t believe it but improved inventory tracking can enhance customer experience too. How? We’ll tell you. When a customer books a hair colouring appointment with you, you don’t know which colour they want. So it’s a surprise for you when they visit. Imagine a situation where you don’t have that colour in your inventory? They might get a bit miffed. As a salon owner, when you stay on top of your inventory and are always stocked, customers really like it. They’re spoiled for choice. This goes a long way in building customer trust and loyalty. Real-time tracking makes it easier for customers to purchase their desired products. It’s a win-win for both. They’re happy with their purchase and your profit margins increase.
Minimises Wastage
Real-time inventory tracking allows salon owners to continuously monitor stock levels. The most popular products used in a salon include shampoo, conditioner, makeup, serum and essential oils. These beauty products usually have a shelf-life. If they aren’t used before their expiry, they go to waste. Automated inventory tracking tells you which products are about to expire and prompts you to use them. You can also understand usage patterns within your salon and place orders with suppliers accordingly. This means, less product spoilage, less wastage and more savings. Salons and spas can maximise the value of every product they purchase.
Guaranteed Scalability
It’s the dream of every salon owner to expand their business. With poor operations, this dream will go nowhere. If you’re planning to expand your salon and scale, having an efficient salon inventory management software is important. It makes it easier to manage multiple branches. From one centralised system, you can monitor and control inventory. This improves your overall efficiency and consistency.
To Sum Up
Whether you’re an owner of a small, medium or large salon chain, you won’t understand the importance of salon software till you don’t start using it. It’s an invaluable tool to scale your business and make it more profitable. Joining you on this journey of simplifying operations and tracking real-time inventory is Salon360App, the best salon software in India. From sending out automated reorder notifications to tracking inventory in real-time, the capabilities of the software are much more than you can think of.
