The Inventory Advantage
Read Video Transcript and Main Points Addressed Below
Okay, let’s talk about one of my favorite topics here. That is going to be inventory. Look, we’re busy. We’re really busy and we’re making it and selling it as fast as we make it, so we’re doing everything we can to keep up. I am proud of the fact that we really don’t have too many delays compared to some other companies that we know out there that are three, four or five months back-ordered. Hey, God bless them. They are selling a lot but we’re trying to stay on top of it. But there’s a couple of different things about the inventory and buying in bulk that we want you to think about.
Get Better Panel Pricing With Bulk
Number one, price. I told you I brought in a new vice president of sales. William is now working and has created some programs that are allowing for larger distribution opportunities. If you have the ability to begin to to buy in bulk, and I’m talking truckloads, consistent truckload volumes that we agree to, then we can begin to offer better pricing. It’s just logical. We’ve got to grow in that direction. I’ve had somebody, one of my consultants say, “We got to stop watching every single pallet and start watching trucks.” That’s what we have to do here in order for us to grow. As we grow, I have better buying power. I can get hopefully lower cost materials in here and ultimately bring you not only better cost in materials but more efficiencies.
Stock Up For When You Need It And Save Even More Money On Freight
But it also behooves you to have inventory. I’ve got hundreds and hundreds of customers out there that we deal with every month, and if somebody comes in, and this happens, I mean, we can go in there and run 50,000 square feet of pro panels thinking that’s going to be enough to last me for a month. Boom, somebody comes in and takes them all and we’re out of stock. We then have to get new material made, have to get back in queue with the molder to start making parts. If you can begin to organize your sales predictions and bring in some material that you can then store, you’re not already going to see better pricing on the parts and truckload pricing, you’re going to see ridiculously better pricing in freight. Freight kills you. It kills me. I’ve got to bring raw materials in. I hate it. What we can do as far as if you’re buying in bulk, the freight rates going to be better. Your cost of goods is better. You’ll have the knowledge knowing that you’ve got product in inventory to fulfill your requirements. There’s nothing worse than having a project that you’re ready to start and you can’t get my product or you can’t get turf or you can’t get glue. It doesn’t work for anybody. It’s not easy to manage all of it. I know a lot of your other suppliers probably face the same issues we are, but I can only advise you that if you can hold some inventory, it’ll save you in pricing, freight, and some headaches. That’s really my big push to you guys is start thinking that direction.
Save Time and Money - Do It In Advance
We’re thinking about it also. We are looking really, really solidly at where else in the United States can we begin to hold inventory to make shipping to California better, shipping to the south better. It works for me, too. If I ship in truckloads of panels into, say, Nevada to ship to the West Coast, that’s a lot better than me shipping 20 pallets in there. I’m doing the same thing I’m telling you. I’ve got to do better. I’ve got to order more and I’ve got to get it shipped to locations with better freight rates. Think about that. I think it’s really important as we grow, things could get dicey along the way as we’re trying to satisfy everybody’s needs. Get in front of the line, order your material, buy some bulk, hold some inventory, and I think we’re all going to be a lot happier.
