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Currently our inventory system would be very difficult to teach to someone. We only know where things are because we put them there.
Those of you who have over 500 items and have created a sku# system (or something similar), have you ever taught anyone how to pull items? Any issues?
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Jay.. That is the beauty of “good” complete system. That it is a “SYSTEM”. Which can easily be taught. I had hundreds of employees. Had about 25 employees in the shipping dept. I taught every one to be able to place into and pull out of our system [which I devised BTW]. So I employ a scaled down version of it for our inventory. The code I use is located in our listing. I can be out on the road and if I get an offer, my code will tell me what date I bought the item and how much we paid for it. Helps to know how low of an offer I should take. If it sells, I can also tell exactly what the item is in the inventory system and where it is located. If I needed to I could just text or call a neighbor and tell them exactly where to go in our storage area and which item to pull. They wouldn’t even need to look at it. The area location, then the bin, then the item number. They could do it blindly. Teach someone to ship for us [maybe someday] and we could do everything by remote control.
A system such as this would allow you to be on your trips, and never worry that your “new helper” could just go and pull, pack and ship your “solds”. That would keep you from having to use the “extended handling” time also. mike collins in atl.
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We use an alpha numeric system so it’s pretty easy to train new hires to find and pull orders.
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Sounds like I use something very similar to MDC, I adapted mine from the system our base supply folks used when I was in the Air Force and did a year at their warehouse. They had somewhere in the ballpark of 30,000 different SKUs. Everything from nuts and bolts to the wing of an F-15.
They divided the warehouse up into three main sections, then subdivided into 8 rows per section and continued to subdivide as needed by the size of the part. So rows with very small parts would have a lot more sections than rows with larger bulkier items. Their SkU’s were complicated but the same principle can be applied.
We use a simple sku code at the end of our title of the listing to tell us where its located and how long its listed. For example, BL5-1201 would be Black Row, Shelf 5 and it was listed in December. Its easy to teach any anyone can go directly to the shelf where the item needs to be pulled and only have to look in a four-foot section of shelving.
The reason it goes in the title is so that when you hit print items awaiting to be shipped all of the information is on one piece of paper. If it was buried in the listing or some type of database that’s extra time spent looking up information instead of moving on to pulling and packing.
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If I can jump into the conversation, is there a way to put an inventory site designation of an item into a listing, where it would show up when you get a message that you have made a sale other than using valuable space in the 80 character title area? Ideally it would be great if there were a field that you could fill out as you list that would print out on the shipping label itself. That would enable you to print out your shipping labels for the day and the inventory location of the item would be right on the shipping label. Thanks
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Jay- Yep all jumbled together. When I go to pack I print an “Awaiting Shipment” list and just sort them by color first. Then proceed to pull in order. For me, it actually makes it easier to have items mixed up. Instead of going to a shelf with 100 books and looking for one book, I may be going to a shelf that only has one book amongst other stuff.
BwBark, your right the title is very important and I hate wasting precious keyword space, but its a time-saving measure on my part. A few items wouldn’t be a problem to get the email and write them down. Tomorrow morning I have 48 items to pack, probably more by the time I get into the office. Just easier to have all of that info in one easy to print page.
I guess I could put the code in another field, or even in the item description. But you would have to go and look up each individual item and write the location code down. There are some programs that can allow you to input a location code and print pull lists directly from the program instead of using Ebay. I think Inkfrog and Auctivia have some of those functions.
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RE: CLOTHING ONLY
It may seem a tad quicker to pull an item with a traditional numbering system of some sort, however, I feel like it’s a wash in the end. Maybe it depends on a person’s personality type… if you are like that character from the film Stranger Than Fiction, Harold… a numbering system would be most efficient. But, my system still works for people like that too.
I like to think it will be workable and efficient for others, but until I try it, I can’t really say how teachable it is… I “designed” it with the intention of teaching others… but, it might not work well if I quadruple my inventory… although, I think even if I had 3000 items or more, it would still work. I have really given this a lot of thought and have actually been using it consistently, with success and there is room for growth, it is a good use of space and is probably a lot easier to understand once you do it or see it in action.
The problems solved by this, just to be clear, are
1. space efficiency issues (# 1 reason to use this)
2. expansion issues
3. mislabeled inventory/misplaced inventory
4. time efficiency (no time spent data logging or having to check for dis-associative data)
5. larger inventories that don’t already have a numbering system in place (situational)Ironically, I actually just made a video about this if anyone wants to see it… hopefully it is up by now… on OfftoShambala on YouTube and should be titled something about an inventory system for the eBay clothing reseller.
I keep clothing in boxes by color as the first category…and some items I do have organized by type (mens t shirts are all together in one box, but not by color for eg.)… but, as inventory grows, and since I rarely remove anything, I will need to, and can easily, open up new boxes with new categories where needed and NOT waste space. ie., black items can break down into black bottoms (pants/skirts/shorts) in one box, while the other black box can be just tops… THEN if my inventory gets so big that there are 3 boxes of black tops and 3 boxes of black bottoms, it could break down further to a box for “black tops sz 12/L & under” and “black tops sz 14/XL & over”, but one box can be just all black pants if they all still fit in one box… but, in the meantime, until I actually NEED those extra boxes, I can fill up the one’s I already have, thus utilizing the shelf space more efficiently.
Eventually, it is likely that I will have to add a numbering system but, I feel like it is a waste of time as of yet, and I think I can easily add a numbering system if absolutely necessary. For example, if I end up with so much inventory that I’m finally down to making a second box for “women black tops size XL/14/16” then all new inventory can have a location number placed in the title, or elsewhere, depending on the best option at the time. Anything without location data, then the first box to pull from will be the unmarked box. This way, I don’t have to go back anywhere and add numbers.
With that said, I put everything in labeled, sealed plastic bags. I make the labels on stickers as I am doing the listing & items go immediately into bags while I am at the computer. This keeps everything tidy & less mistakes… and I mark the bag with the brand, size & if it’s NOT a top, pants/shorts (type)… this way, if I do have to add boxes (move things around) or when I’m looking through the box, I am less likely to mistake one for another (I’ve done this with a sweatshirt, had two that looked a lot alike and sent the wrong one on accident & another time with two similar t shirts). The bag makes it easier to sift through the box, protects the item and it’s even faster when it’s time to ship. And as we all know, EVERYTHING EVENTUALLY SELLS. Most of the bags I use are reusable, so if there comes a time that I do a purge, most should be reusable.
The BIGGEST ADVANTAGE to this, is that IF, somehow the location data is wrong, then I (or an employee) don’t have to scratch my head and spend an hour going through 15 or 100 or ? random boxes of mismatched clothing items. I NEVER want to have to go through my entire inventory to find something misplaced and I NEVER wnat to have to cancel an order… BTW, I’ve only had to cancel orders twice, but not because I misplaced an item, but because I donated it, forgot to remove it and it sold. TWICE… this is a true testament to the list it and forget it – EVERYTHING EVENTUALLY SELLS approach.
Another ADVANTAGE to bagging & labeling the items, is that if one does get put in the wrong box, as you (or anyone) is retrieving things, you (they) are more likely to notice a black top that accidentally got put in the black skirt box and can put it in the correct box… OR if you are going through 4 black boxes for the missing black top, it is easier to see which item it is.
The following are some minor disandvantages to this system…
1. it may take a few practice runs for a newbie to really understand this, but doable (I hope)
2. sometimes it’s hard to tell which color box to store an item
3. different people might have different ideas about categorization
4. title is more important, a cohesive system needs to be adhered to by everyone
5. older inventory is not/or may not be up to parr w the systemHere is how I solve these problems… it happens when listing (and whoever does the listing makes the decision)… With clothing items, sometimes there are multiple colors, it’s almost equally blue & green, but I thihk it has more green, so I decide to put it in green… so the FIRST COLOR LISTED IN THE TITLE (and we always use a color) will be green and so anyone who knows the system will know to look in the green box and not the blue box. The size designation is important for the potential expansion of boxes by size… Sooo, if it’s a top marked size L… easy, it goes in the large box… if it’s marked as size 10/12 but doesn’t say XL or L… then it goes in the box marked L-10/12… SOMETIMES you get wierd sizes, so if something is marked as something like XL-12/14, then where does it go?… in this case, the FIRST SIZE IN THE LISTING is where this goes and would be the first box one would go to pull the item. If the item is black and accidently gets put in any of the other boxes of black items… then there are less boxes to look in. But, also, as a person is going through and pulling other items, and because the misplaced item has a label, someone is likely to notice it and put it in the right box… or there are just less boxes to look through, as I’ve mentioned. And it is actually rather quick to label the items… and I find it makes a big difference in preventing errors if you put the item in the bag and label it as you are listing the item.
Most older items that are not up to parr with the system, should still be relatively easy to locate, but there could be a few pesky one’s that throw someone off. But, this would be true if switching to a numbering type of system.. if one were to try to go to that after not using one. If someone has a relatively large inventory of clothing and is using some sort of category system vs a numbering system with mixed up items (ie., all t shirts in one box, all sweaters in one box etc.) than my system would be easier to switch to or to start utilizing without having to “go back”… I think.
Here are some category expansion examples and how they could expand as needed and how hopefully you can see the pattern and that this can go far before having to resort to the dreaded numbering system…
A Single box with all black clothing items eventually could expand to >
Blk Tops ~ Blk Bottoms >
Blk Tops L-12 & under ~ Blk Tops XL-14 & up ~ Blk Pants ~ Blk Skirts ~ Blk Shorts >
Blk Tops sz XS/S-4/5/6 ~ Blk Tops sz M-7/8/9 ~ Blk Tops sz L-10/12 ~ Blk Tops sz XL-14/16 ~ Blk Pants sz 12 & Under ~ Blk Pants sz 14 & Up ~ Blk Skirts ~ Blk Shorts
I hope someone gleans something useful from this… but, if you think I’m off my rocker, or you see other disadvantages, let me know… maybe I should start working on a different system LOL
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crystalachey,
Not a bad system, and it works for you so that is really all that matters. I think the problem would start when you add a helper..or even two helpers.
What if the top has two primary colors, or it has no primary colors but equally shares four colors? What if its color is Burnt Peach, Bluish/Green or Greenish/Blue, Taupe or whatever other crazy colors people label some of their clothing. Then it can be interpreted differently by each person listing and pulling.
The other problem I have is space. Let’s say black is the primary color of most of your tops and bottoms (Your store is now up to 8k items) you now have boxes and boxes stacked up and marked black 1-80 but you have an entire empty section near the solo Yellow Top Size Small Box and the Green Top Size XXL. You can move black boxes over to the under utilized sections but, this will complicate pulling black items as they are now in two or three different locations.
You are limiting your options by not utilizing the empty space in each box. It may not be a problem now, I am not sure what your available space or items listed hover around. But, as you grow you will want to squeeze every drop of space out of your current storage configuration before being forced to expand your storage. Trust me I went from rec room storage to single car garage, two car garage and a basement, 1.5k sqft office and now I am in a 3k sqft warehouse and still running out of space.
Ultimately, go with what works best for you, each time I changed my storage area I had to completely retool my storage methods. I am hoping this plan and space holds me for awhile longer.
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Michael D… I have much appreciation for you taking the time to review my entry and offering an objective critique. I always believe two minds are better than one and very often others will point out things I have not considered and a glad to have this wisdom. I work alone, so being able to get feedback is another reason for my appreciation… my ego is MORE attached to what works or will work, not what I already have that might not work out for the best later. Thank you!
And good for you! 3K is a huge space. I hope it holds you for a while too! You must be doing very well. I am planning on spending the next two years working out of the home office, but after that, I intend to move into a commercial warehouse or some kind of office… I recently had an office for a year and it was great. But, I’m back at home now… I was so much more productive there though, but the moving home, while I had some huge financial murphy emergencies & a few other considerations that prompted the move, it was ultimately a gut and Mom-driven choice.
It sounds like you might be experienced with clothing as you zeroed right in on the biggest problem with the “color” system… the colors are not always obvious. I recognized this early on. Even working alone, I question which color box I put something in quite often. The solution to this is in the title itself… the item would go in the first color mentioned in the title… so if something is equally green and blue, then whoever does the listing simply chooses one or the other. Upon the need for retrieval, one would know to look in the box with the first color listed in the title.
I TOTALLY see what you are saying about how the number system is actually a better use of space… I will experiment with ways to transition over without having to “go back in” to label everything somehow/so to speak.
If you had to do it all again, what would you have done to avoid having to revamp your inventory system for each move?
Thanks again! ~Crystal
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I think I would go mad if I stored everything by color! Searching through a tote of all black items for a specific black item? No way.
When I first started shoes I was placing all brown loafers together, black loafers, etc. It ended up that I would have to dump the entire dang tote out and dig just to find the specific pair I was looking for. Even then I’d have to study the label and size just to make sure they were right. I even shipped the wrong pair once because I had two pair of the same shoe but different sizes. Because of the color thing they were in the same tote.
I would highly recommend you stop the color system immediately and do intermingled inventory. A specific black shirt is much easier to find when stored with 10 different color shirts.
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Yep, solid black clothing items are the worst. You can’t tell them apart from one another. That’s one of the reasons I started to mark their bags with the brand name and size and type of item (top, skirt etc.). So when I go to the solid black bin, I just look at the label. And if I decide to make a box just for black skirts, it would be efficient to pull the skirts and place them in their box.
And shoes, I keep them on a shoe rack so it is easy to see what they are, but I don’t have a lot of those at this time… only about 20 and my rack is only half full. I tend to shy away from purchasing them, so I have not really come up with or thought too much about how to organize those if I were to increase my inventory in that category. I just don’t like the bin system for shoes as they get smooshed… but I do see how if one has a lot of them, shoe racks might not be the most efficient either.
So how do you organize the shoes in a bin so you don’t have to dump them all out even with a numbering system? are you utilizing smaller bins?
But, yeah, I am thinking that it might be a good idea to switch to a numbering system as I do intend to increase my clothing inventory this year.
Thanks for the feedback!!!!
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Our system is insanely easy. We have large numbered bins (currently 42 of them) and they are arranged numerically in our metal building on homemade plywood shelving. I put the item cost and bin number in the NOTE part of the listing. The NOTE shows up on the “sold awaiting shipment” screen so we know which bin to open.
I made a spreadsheet for listing items that has columns for all the bits of data that we will need including the cost & bin number. So as we photograph and bin the items we are writing down the bin number. I list directly from that sheet and the SD card from my camera.
The sheets are in a 3-ring binder organized by date, and I will start a new binder for each new year. So even if I forgot to add a NOTE to the listing we can look up the date it was listed on ebay, consult the binder for that date in that year, and see what bin(s) we were filling at that time.
As items are sold and removed we infill with newly listed items so that all bins stay full and we don’t start another bin until we really have to. We just built shelving for 40 more bins!
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I like that you can retrieve the location data in both the “sold awaiting shipment” screen and on your spreadsheet. I currently keep a similar spreadsheet and would definitely use that… but, I am glad to know that you could use the NOTE to keep the data… I will experiment with that, thanks for sharing!
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Beware though that if you end your items and relist as sell similar that you would lose the NOTE data.
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I use the numbered box system that one of the guys on the podcast mentioned and did youtube video on. I cannot remember his name off hand. I keep all of my listings in an excel spreadsheet with a column for storage location so i can find it. I started using sixbit recently for two reasons. one, eBay is screwed up and can no longer consistently email me when I list an item. This has been going on for months and they cannot fix it. I used to use those emails to copy the title, price and item number into my records. Second, we are trying to hire people and sixbit provides a way for them to list and do other work without having access to your actual store which is handy.
Th point is, sixbit also has a way to store item location in your database and you can print pick lists for your daily sales which are organized by location and even have photos of the item you are looking for. This is super cool when you have a lot of items to ship. I suggested that they have an iphone or ipad app that would integrate with the database and allow you to see photos better and check off items as you pull them, but apparently that is outside of their programming capabilities right now which is a bummer.
I use uline economy storage file boxes mostly. They are fairly cheap and stack well. I write the number on 2 sides of the box and lid and if the box has room for stuff in it I turn the lid around as a visual indicator that I can put something in it. I have also found that if you can get those industrial shelving units that are about 3′ wide and 12″ deep you can fit 4 medium flat rate boxes on a shelf with the flaps folded in. That is handy for small items. So I label them like A1 through A whatever fits for a particular unit.
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I use plastic tote bins on industrial shelving. Each shelf has a rack number, starting from the bottom (R1) and each shelf holds 3 bins. The bins are labelled left to right, B1, B2, B3. This rack-and-bin code is written onto packaging tape stuck on the front of the bins. So the bottom shelf holds R1B1, R1B2, R1B3. Beneath the code is written the designation for each bin. R1B1 is clothes, R1B2 is shoes, R1B3 is books, for example.
I never put two bins with the same designation together. E.g. R1B1 will never be shoes with R1B2 as shoes too. The reason for this is that I can accidentally put shoes into the “shoes” bin, without thinking about the RB number. By having a different rack and bin number for a designation, it ensures I put my items into the correct bin. For the same reason, a rack will not have a bin with the same designation as the bin on the rack above it. So R1B1 will not have shoes with R2B1 holding shoes too.
Once an item is listed, it is packed into a plastic bag and tied closed. Then it goes into the bin and that code is entered into my listing. Where I have more than one item that is similar (jeans is a big one for this) I add a colored sticker onto the front of the bag. These are just colored dots with codes written onto them; A1, A2, A3. I grab the next sticker from the page, put it on the bag, then add the color and code to the listing. So, a location code for a listing might look like this: R1B1RA99 = Rack 1 Bin 1 Red sticker A99. Sticker numbers go to 99 then change to the next letter of the alphabet (B1).
So far, finding anything in my inventory has been easy. The location code is included in my listing and so I have no duplicate listing information to complete. I have ADHD and if I had multiple spreadsheets to update, I’d never get it done. I am forced to keep my listing system as simple as possible to ensure I maintain it. I am also forced to keep my stuff extremely organized, or I’d never find it. The bin system has worked well for me so far.
Clothes that cannot be stored in bins, however, are stored on hanging rails. My husband build the rails for me with separating brackets. This turned out brilliantly. Now I have numbered the rails in the same way I numbered the racks, so the lower rails are HR1 (hanging rail 1) and the brackets are numbered as the bins. A blouse is listed, and hung on HR1B1 (hanging rail 1, bracket 1) and that code is included in my listing.
I sell mostly second hand, so have not had a problem with duplicates yet, apart from the jeans, where I can have multiples of one particular brand. They are usually different sizes though, so I check my photos in my listings to ensure I have the correct pair.
Shoes are either in bins, each pair tied into one plastic bag to ensure I send the correct left and right shoe in the pair (I read how somebody on SL sent the left shoe of one pair and the right of another) or in their original boxes, when I’m lucky enough to find them thus. These are labeled by rack and box, so R1Bx12.
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