What’s the story: Explore ways to help you protect inventory against risk more diligently.

Why it matters: As a small to mid-sized merchant, your inventory is likely your largest asset.

From your supplier to your customer’s front porch—each phase of your inventory’s journey has its risks. While you can’t control the weather, theft or road conditions, there are key partners businesses of all sizes can work with to protect inventory against damage or loss at every stage.

Protecting Inventory: What You Can Control

Fulfillment technology is quickly evolving, giving you full visibility into your inventory levels and fulfillment and delivery statuses. Finding a trusted logistics partner will help protect your inventory in the following ways:

SKU-level management of your SOPs:

• Proper labeling and storage of your inventory to ensure all items are accounted for and are stored according to humidity and temperature requirements.
• Proper inventory management following your FIFO or LIFO system to avoid revenue loss through obsolescence.
• Proper picking and packing according to your packaging and labeling requirements.
• Inventory and status visibility to monitor levels and fulfillment statuses.

Timely fulfillment:

• Affordable 1-2 day delivery windows for shipments keep customers happy.

Reliable carriers

• Use of a trusted carrier like UPS can instill confidence and reduce the risks of in-transit damage.

A trusted outsourced fulfillment provider can closely monitor and control many of the points of vulnerability in your inventory’s initial journey. They can ensure your product is properly stored, picked, packed and fulfilled in a timely manner, as well as help manage your inventory.

Protecting Inventory: What You Can’t Control

Unfortunately, you can’t control everything along your package’s journey.  Unforeseen events, including extreme weather events, can leave your shipments damaged and porch piracy can leave your customers empty handed. 

For these instances that are outside of your control, a full coverage insurance plan is the best measure to protect your revenue and the reputation of your business.

An experienced shipping insurance partner, such as UPS Capital Insurance Agency Limited offers comprehensive policies that can protect your revenue and the reputation of your business in the event of a shipping loss or damage. Knowing your shipments are protected allows you to immediately correct a customer experience, whether through refund or a replacement item, without worrying how it will affect your bottom line.