Scarcity and surplus of goods: causes and consequences. Ways to sell surplus and illiquid goods. Demand Offer. Sectoral market equilibrium. Commodity deficit and commodity surplus The presence of commodity surplus means that

Demand - the desire and ability of consumers to purchase certain goods in given economic conditions. Availability of demand depends on the needs of buyers.

Size (volume) of demand - some number of goods, cat-e consumer, consumer group or population buys by definition. price per unit of time under given conditions.

IN market conditions, demand is effective demand , which is determined by the amount of money that the buyer is willing to spend on the purchase of goods.

The amount of demand for a product depends on various factors, primarily on the price of this product: Qdx = f(px), where Qdx – quantity demanded for a product X; Rx-the price demanded for the product X.

Ask price – the maximum price that the buyer agrees to offer for a unit of goods at a certain point in time. The higher the price of the goods, the less the ability and desire of the consumer to buy this product (unless, of course, the latter can be replaced by some other). This functional dependence is the content law of demand : ceteris paribus than the higher the price of a good, the lower the demand for it, and In other words, the lower the price, the greater the quantity demanded.

When demand goes down , on the graph the demand curve shifts Xia left-down (from position D 1 to position D 2), not necessarily parallel to the original position.

sleep a decrease in demand means that for the same price (for example, P3) the consumer buys a smaller amount of goods - not Q2, aQ1 (curve shift to the left), or for the same quantity of goods (for example, Q2) he is willing to pay a lower price - not P3, but P1(curve shift down).

Sentence - these are specific goods and services that producers are willing and able to produce, as well as sell in given economic conditions. This dependence is reflected in law of supply: with price growth when the quantity supplied increases, when the price decreases, the quantity on offers is reduced.

Combine the market curves on one chart. demand and markets. suggestions. At the point E they will intersect, while supply and demand will be equal and reach the equilibrium output Q e at equilibrium price R e . This point of intersection of the supply and demand curves called the point of a static market equal weight.

Demand and supply in the market fluctuate constantly, and the position of the equilibrium point changes accordingly. In equilibrium, neither buyers nor sellers have incentives to change their behavior, i.e. change in supply or demand. Indeed, all consumers who are willing to pay the unit price R e or higher can buy this product, it will remain too expensive for other buyers.

At the same time, sellers who are able to put goods on the market at a price R e or cheaper, will be able to find a buyer, and other less efficient producers will be forced to leave the market.

The question is How is market equilibrium established? , complex. Suppose manufacturers wish to set a price for their product R 1. At this price, they will be able to put on the market a product in quantity Q 2(point 2). However, at such a high price, buyers will only be willing and able to buy a quantity of Q 1 product (according to point 1 on the demand curve). The market will have surplus of goods in quantityQ2 – Q1.

Competition between sellers force them to lower their price in order to sell their product. The market price will start to fall, and those sellers who will be unable to reduce the price to the value R e , will leave the market. If the market price falls to the level R2, then at such a low price, consumers will demand in the amount Q2 (dot 4). But the producers will be able toput only a small amount of goodsQ1 (point3), and onmarket will ariseshortage of goods , as a result of competition between buyers, prices will rise to the level R e .

Commodity surpluses and shortages

Purchasing planning based on inaccurate data can lead to incorrect determination of the necessary stocks of goods. The management of surplus consumer goods is not particularly difficult and is solved by reducing the volume of purchases and thus bringing the inventory to a normal level. Surpluses of goods that are not in consumer demand increase the costs of the enterprise for their storage and require the development of special measures for their implementation.

Irregularity in the supply of goods leads to a shortage of inventory in the warehouse and creates significant difficulties in meeting the needs of customers. When there is a shortage of goods wholesale company either refuses to serve customers, or finds ways to meet their needs, making special purchases that require additional capital investment.

Irregular deliveries of goods require the creation of reserve stocks sufficient to meet the needs of consignees in the period between deliveries.

Inventory management is an eternal and always relevant topic. But in order to achieve results, it is necessary to change approaches and methods, taking into account the dynamics of the external environment. It is advisable to take advantage of the express analysis (see EJ, 2015, No. 26) and go further, initiate a working capital optimization project. What should be paid attention to today, looking into the future? Consider one of the methods for solving the problem.

If you do not change approaches to inventory management, then problems accumulate over time, and their consequences will have to be dealt with. We present the main ones.

Big company is inert. According to Newton's second law (a=F/m), the acceleration, and in our case the dynamics of the company's adaptation to changes in internal/external conditions, is directly proportional to the applied force - the decisiveness of the manager and the effectiveness of the managerial decision made by him and inversely proportional to the mass, that is, the size of the company. Thus, with an increase in the number of control levels, the errors transmitted down grow like an avalanche. The dynamics of changes in the external environment is high - decisions must be made in real time. It turns out that the management big company management decisions are late and not only solve, but in themselves create new problems. The company simply does not have time to qualitatively adapt to the change in the "economic landscape", suffers losses and subsequently "falls out of the race".

Moreover, most business processes become obsolete and actively "devour" the added value of the company. In order for a business to develop, inefficient processes need to be identified and changed.

In addition, a strict requirement for a detailed (to the ruble) justification of all allocated funds for projects (especially current or overhaul) leads to the fact that local estimates compiled for a business plan for six to ten months, summary estimates are rapidly becoming outdated. For use, they are almost always recalculated, and the result is work "on the basket", on maintaining the illusion of control and the validity of costs. This is budget thinking paradox #1.

Budget thinking paradox #2 (“ask for more, they will give you what you need”) generates the following inefficient behavior. If the limit on resources is agreed, it must be mastered at any cost. Therefore, often the key criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of a manager is the degree of execution of the planned budget. As a result of such actions, there are excess stocks in warehouses, unjustified losses and storage costs.

Finally, the lack of management motivation for the rational use of the company's working capital. Building a complete system effective management reserves - laborious process requiring constant attention. In addition, with the underdevelopment of the analytical apparatus and the low qualification of employees, there is no understanding of the magnitude of the potential economic effect, which determines the management of the company's reserves according to the residual principle. But what can be done to prevent this from happening?

A differentiated approach to inventory management and division of responsibility for their formation

First of all, it is necessary to categorize the reserves and determine those responsible for their formation.

develop a clear, unambiguous interpretation of the composition of stocks for each category: technological materials in the system, disposable materials (MRP), regularly consumed materials (RPM), emergency technical stock (ATS), replacement fund, spare parts - tools - accessories (PF, ZIP ), unclaimed property (NVI);
introduce criteria for the optimality of categories and tools for achieving it;
not to form current stocks (TO) according to the residual principle;
for each category (model) use their own tools;
to share responsibility for the accumulation of excess stocks:

- to the supply service (brought earlier than necessary), taking into account reasonable reserves;

- customer services (ordered more than required, could not use during repairs, etc.), which allows you to reserve stocks only for specific needs, for which the required quantity, purpose (project) and expected date of their use are determined.

Separation of responsibility allows a more targeted focus on actions and decisions that lead to stockpiling.

Identification of key reasons for changes in stocks and development of measures to reduce surpluses

In inventory management, it is important to apply factor analysis to identify and visualize the key causes of inventory changes and locate accumulated surplus stocks. Then you can begin to develop measures to reduce the identified excess stocks.

Here are some reasons for the formation of stocks of materials and equipment.

The first one was not used at all:

leftovers after completion of work - ordered with a margin, planned incorrectly;
did not cancel the requirement - they forgot to make changes to the annual requirement, they chose the limit;
canceled the need late - contracted early, canceled late;
brought later than necessary - ordered late, did not meet the purchase deadlines;
there was no budget for contractors - they allocated a budget for contractors separately from the MTR.

The second one was used later:

brought earlier than necessary - combined purchases, did not pay attention to delivery on time;
bought more than necessary - the minimum supply quantity exceeds the need;
changed the terms of work - declared a need without reference to the start of work, did not make changes to purchase orders;
ordered for several needs - combined needs related to different times.

Third - formed a non-optimal stock:

there are no tools for calculating the stock - they did not calculate the optimal purchase lot;
there is no correct information about stocks - positions in the directory are duplicated, write-offs are reflected in accounting late or ahead of the fact.

Providing decision-making support in the selection of a commercial offer and justification of an emergency technological reserve

The choice of the most advantageous commercial offer for the company should be made in unified system coordinates.

The original offers from suppliers are difficult to compare, because in addition to the price commercial offers differ in a number of other parameters: terms of payment and delivery, quantity, delivery costs and other parameters, especially the cost of storage. In this regard, it is advisable to develop a model for calculating the total cost of inventory ownership, taking into account all of the above conditions (disposal Money taking into account time) and recalculating all offers to a single indicator - the net present value of inventory ownership, which allows you to objectively compare offers with each other.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the validity of the formation of an emergency technical reserve (ATS). The purpose of its formation is to reduce a specific risk. The risk of downtime due to an accident can be reduced different ways, and ATZ is just one of the possible tools.

The principles for calculating (determining) the optimal level of ATZ are as follows:

1) a clear and identical purpose of stocks within each category;

2) the balance of risks and costs for their mitigation (reduction) - MTR are included in the ATZ, provided that the costs of their storage do not exceed the amount of risk reduced with their help:

the risk is calculated based on an assessment of the consequences associated with downtime damage, and the probability is a mathematical calculation based on the mean time between failures and the delivery time of the part;
storage costs are calculated based on the price of the part and the cost of the AC;

3) accounting for reserve equipment as the first units of ATZ;

4) taking into account the simultaneous replacement of several parts when one of them breaks (for example, bearings on the same axle are changed in pairs);

5) the need for professional expertise, the availability of ATZ does not remove the responsibility from the management of the enterprise for the quality operation and repair of equipment.

Organization of regular work with non-liquid assets and setting a SMART goal for inventory management

Regular work with non-liquid assets involves dividing them into different categories and applying different approaches to them. Stocks of unclaimed property (NVI) are divided into categories to find a balance between the possible price and the speed of implementation (see Fig. 1).

create transparency in setting goals to reduce NVI;
determine implementation priorities;
apply a differentiated approach to the assessment and implementation of NVI, taking into account the specifics of positions;
normalize the implementation period of NVI;
objectively evaluate the effectiveness of implementation;
introduce a motivation system that depends on the specifics of the NVI being sold.

It is also important to determine the order of transition between the categories of illiquid assets in the absence of a result on their implementation.

At the first stage, all excess reserves, except for those that have obviously lost their suitability for use and are subject to immediate write-off, are considered liquid NVI. For all of them, active measures are being taken for the speedy implementation.

At the second stage (in the absence of a sale of reserves for three to nine months, depending on the type of NVI), the working group created in the company collectively reclassifies from the Liquid NVI category:

in "Piece NVI" (expensive, specialized positions - require active search buyers) without any markdown, or
in "NVI for sale" with the formation of a markdown (reduction of the proposed price for sale). Inventory depreciation can be carried out several times in a row, for example, in increments of 10-15% of the original cost.

In the absence of the sale of such reclassified reserves within the allotted period, for example, for the category "Piece NVI" - up to 18 months, for "NVI for sale" - up to nine months, by decision working group such reserves are transferred to the final category "NVI to write off", such a decision is approved by the head of the company. From the latter category, inventories are written off (reduce the company's profit during the write-off period) in the current quarter, but not earlier than one month before its end, in order to eliminate an excessive burden on the accounting department.

The categorization of NVI creates transparency in setting targets for the reduction and implementation of NVI.

The above methodology allows you to set adequate goals for effective inventory management (see Fig. 3).

Promising solutions in company inventory management

In the future, three main directions for inventory management are possible.

Stock management system Keep stock. It allows an employee of the company's warehouse to order and receive guaranteed materials, spare parts, consumables for equipment, etc. within 24 hours from the supplier.

Another direction is the replacement of warehouse employees with specialized warehouse robots:

at least 70% of all warehouse operations;
an average of 33% increase in the effective area of the warehouse;
an average of 39% increase in the number of SKUs stored in the same warehouse 1 .

Finally, VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) technology. Its main meaning is that the supplier himself takes over the management of the stocks of his products in the customer's warehouse on the basis of a service level agreement signed between them. The supplier has access to information about the stock level in the customer's warehouse for their inventory categories and creates purchase orders for the customer. Moreover, various options are possible for VMI to work, including cloud services.

Of course, such work should be aimed at obtaining an ambitious economic result. Therefore, it is better to organize it as a separate project. Its effectiveness largely depends on the experience and determination of the project manager, the high motivation of all project participants, as well as the coordination of actions during design work. This is the only way to ensure the consistency and effectiveness of the implementation of changes with a minimum level of management risks.

As well as professional competencies and know-how knowledge in project management will be required to make it successful.

1 SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) — item identifier (detailed stock keeping unit) used in trade to track statistics on goods/services sold, for example, the same shirt size 41, 42, 43 is a SKU.

balance on the market is called situation when sellers offer for sale exactly the amount of a good that buyers decide to buy ( the volume of demand is equal to the volume of supply ).

Since sellers and buyers want to sell or buy different quantities of a good depending on its price, for market equilibrium it is necessary that a price be established at which the volumes of demand and supply coincide. In other words, the price equalizes the volumes of supply and demand.

The price that causes the volumes of demand and supply to coincide is called the equilibrium price, and the volumes of demand and supply at this price are called equilibrium volumes supply and demand.

Under equilibrium conditions, the so-called clearing of the market occurs: there will be no unsold good or unsatisfied demand (buyers who want to buy the good at the established price and who are unable to do this due to the lack of sellers) will remain on the market.

Thus, in order to find equilibrium in the market for a certain good, it is necessary to determine what price will cause in this market such a volume of supply that will correspond to the volume of demand: at this price, sellers will bring to the market exactly as much of the good they have produced as buyers want to carry away. Such a price is called the equilibrium price, and the volume of supply and demand corresponding to it: the equilibrium volumes of supply and demand.

The speed with which the market finds an equilibrium price depends on the "mobility" of its participants and on the ease of information transfer in the market (that is, on the perfection of the market).

Under the equilibrium of the sectoral market understand the optimization of the size of firms in a given industry while reducing the price in the industry market to the level of the minimum average cost of production. Equilibrium in an industry is reached when each firm reaches its own equilibrium.

Demand curve industry shows how many goods will be purchased by all consumers. It decreases as consumers buy more goods at a lower price. The price here is determined by the interaction of all firms and consumers in the market, and not by the decision of an individual firm.

Industry Supply Curve shows the volume of output carried out by the industry at each possible price. The output of an industry is the total supply of all individual firms.

Sectoral equilibrium occurs when the terms:

All industries maximize profits.

All factors of production become variable and the number of firms in the industry changes.

No firm has an incentive to enter or exit the industry, as all firms earn zero economic profit. In other words, the price should be equal to the average total cost. Since entering and exiting an industry is fairly easy, positive or negative economic profits spur firms to change. An industry cannot be in equilibrium if firms are in motion: either entering the industry or leaving it. Long-term equilibrium requires that all changes in the industry be completed.

The price of a good is such that aggregate supply equals aggregate demand.

Thus, the equilibrium of an industry market is understood as the optimization of the size of firms in a given industry while reducing the price in the industry market to the level of the minimum average production costs. Sectoral equilibrium occurs when the following conditions: all industries maximize profits; all factors of production become variable and the number of firms in the industry changes; no firm has an incentive to enter or exit the industry; the price of a good is such that aggregate supply equals aggregate demand.

Market equilibrium can only be considered with respect to a fixed unit of time. At each subsequent moment of time, market equilibrium can be established as some new value of the market equilibrium price and the number of sales of goods at this price, which are formed during a month, season, year, series of years, etc. but market equilibrium is always a state of the market in which QD = QS (demand = supply). Any deviation from this state sets in motion forces that can return the market to a state of equilibrium: eliminate the shortage (QD > QS) or excess (surplus) of goods on the market (QD< QS).

Thus, a surplus occurs if, at a certain price, the supply of a good exceeds the demand for it.

A good is in short supply if the quantity demanded for the good is greater than the quantity supplied.

Consumers do not always believe that existing prices are optimal. The fact is that the imperfection of the social structure of production appears on the surface as the imperfection of the price system. Public dissatisfaction with existing equilibrium prices forms a fertile ground for government intervention in market pricing. In practice, this results in the establishment of maximum or minimum prices. If the maximum price set by the state ("price ceiling") is below the equilibrium level, then a deficit is formed, if the state sets a minimum price above the equilibrium level (the so-called subsidized price), then a surplus is formed. Fixing prices means turning off the mechanism of market coordination. In conditions when the price is below the equilibrium level, the deficit does not weaken, but increases, moreover, non-monetary costs are added to the consumer's monetary costs. The latter are associated with the search for goods, standing in lines, etc. - they are all deadweight costs that do not serve to expand the production of scarce goods. They settle in the sphere of distribution of a scarce commodity, and do not reach those who actually produce it. The price ceiling "cuts" the surplus of producers and thereby reduces the incentives for its production at those enterprises that have the lowest production costs of this product. Therefore, the deficit does not decrease. On the contrary, those who sell (or distribute) a scarce product are interested in preserving it, since it becomes a source of their income (because it increases the size of non-monetary costs.) Therefore, they will in every possible way promote state regulation prices under various "plausible" pretexts.

In cases where the price is above the equilibrium, there is a need for additional incentives to restrict supply and increase demand in order to reduce the gap between the subsidized and equilibrium prices. In both cases market economy becomes less efficient than under perfect competition.

The balancing function is performed by the price, which stimulates the growth of supply when there is a shortage of goods and unloads the market from surpluses, holding back supply. According to Walras, in conditions of scarcity, the active side of the market is buyers, and in conditions of excess, sellers. According to Marshall's version, the dominant force in the formation market conditions are always entrepreneurs.

Any surplus of goods, i.e. commodity surplus, pushes the price of goods down to the point of equilibrium. Any commodity shortage, shortage of goods on the market will push the price of goods up, to the point of equilibrium of supply and demand. Eventually set up equilibrium price PE, at which QE of goods will be sold on the market.

According to statistics, the shortage of goods is one of the most acute problems for both the seller and the buyer and is often estimated at about 8% of the total turnover. According to another, no less sad statistics, in big stores surplus goods (often called "non-liquid") is up to 20% of the entire range!

In other words, getting rid of these two misfortunes is extremely difficult. Both are often the result of poor planning and insufficient control over consumer demands. The healing process can drag on for months, and as a result, getting rid of the global shortage syndrome, the store often ends up with excess inventory.

What is more dangerous for the company? Deficiency or surplus? By far the most dangerous situation is to have a deficit in one good and a surplus in another. Conversely, it is best to have neither. However, let's not close our eyes to the obvious - there were, are, and may still be deficits and surpluses. It is necessary to know the enemy by sight, so let's take a closer look at these two common phenomena.

Deficit. Its causes and consequences

deficit- excess of demand over supply. A shortage indicates a mismatch between supply and demand and the absence of a balancing price.

Deficiency can be temporary or permanent. But in any case, its consequences are quite obvious - the company receives less profit. However, not all so simple. If the deficit is of a permanent protracted nature, then the consequences can be sadder than it seems at first glance:

Loss of profit due to too low a price;
Direct losses due to lack of sales;
Deterioration of the store's image in the eyes of customers: "There are never the right products here";
Loss of potential and real customers;
Emptiness on the shelves of stores, empty counters;
Growth in sales from competitors who have such a product;
Costs due to actions aimed at eliminating the shortage - moving goods on the shelves, urgent search for a substitute product;
Wasted money on advertising campaign or tasting;
Stress among employees and, as a result, their demotivation.

The consequences of shortages are more related to the external environment of the store and are especially dangerous for a company that is in a stage of growth and development, when winning customers and their loyalty is a strategic goal.

Let's consider the possible factors why we have dissatisfied buyers, nervous sellers and the lack of goods in stock:

1. Unbalanced price (demand outstrips supply). A shortage usually indicates low supply caused by a low price. “They are snapping up like hot cakes,” we say, implying that the goods are leaving quickly. Too fast. So fast that we can't keep up with the increased demand. A striking example is a product during sales. A discount of up to 50% has been announced, and as a result, people are pouring into the store, buying up everything that has yellow price tags. Who doesn't want to buy candy for half the price? However, not always only the price is the cause of the shortage.

What to do? Raise the price.

2. Errors in procurement planning and sales analysis. As a rule, this reason lies in people who, for some reason, do their job poorly. Perhaps they are not trained, perhaps they do not see the connection between the purchased and sold goods. Either way, without serious sales analysis and precise planning, a company quickly ends up with an unbalanced inventory. The manager of the production company says: “When we first started producing these dumplings, no one knew how they would be sold. We made a batch for testing and, surprisingly, it went very well. Then we launched another batch into production. Our sales department was enthusiastic set about "promoting" the goods. A week later, the wholesalers almost smashed the plant - so great was the demand for this product. And everyone wanted it immediately, but our production could only satisfy half of the total demand ... And a month later, customers began to refuse purchases, motivating this by a too long waiting period... People in the stores tasted dumplings, but the lack of goods on the shelf led to the fact that all efforts to promote were in vain. The lack of accurate forecasts and planned purchases leads to a direct loss of customers. They tend to forget about a new product if they don't see it on sale for a long time.

What to do? Teach buyers how to plan, understand why the analysis does not show the whole picture. Maybe the point is in the incorrect accounting of positions - when "there is in the computer", but not in the warehouse?

3. Change in the current situation on the market (appearance of new fashion, trends, law). A familiar picture, isn't it? Just yesterday, a hole in jeans seemed like a disaster. And today, young shoppers roam stores looking for the most tattered and frayed items. The new healthy lifestyle trend has shoppers asking and sellers rushing to fill warehouses with products labeled "0 calories" or "low fat" or "no soy." If yesterday was accepted new law that all children under the age of 12 must be transported only in a child car seat, it is possible that such car seats will suddenly become in increased demand.

What to do? Respond to customer requests and new laws in a timely manner, keep abreast, make market research your direct responsibility. Or wait until the end of the law ...

4. Active advertising or PR campaign. A case from life: "We have an ordinary store that sells many products from different manufacturers. Suddenly, buyers begin to actively ask "that yogurt that is in the advertisement." We have never sold it so actively! We start to figure it out, and we see that the manufacturer has launched an active advertising on television and in family magazines.We wanted to do a surprise.If we had known about this action in advance, of course, we would have prepared and increased inventory for this yogurt ... ". In our country, people trust advertising and actively buy the advertised product. Therefore, such a "sudden" attack on the consumer does not lead to anything but problems and shortages.

What to do? Educate suppliers by explaining to them what the consequences of such activities are. Before any promotion, increase orders according to the planned increase in demand.

5. Logistic problems. The item may be correctly ordered. It can be priced right. It is properly advertised. But if for some reason it is not delivered to the warehouse or is late for the store, there is a high probability of being in a state of shortage. This is especially true for perishable goods (meat, fish, dairy products, bread), where one day of delay can reject the entire batch. If the cargo moves to the store for four days instead of the planned two days, then all ideal planning comes to naught - the store gets two days of work with empty shelves. Sometimes this is enough to lose many regular customers and earn the image of the store "where there is never anything."

What to do? Work with those suppliers and transport companies who take responsibility for the delay of the shipment. Or not work with those who constantly let you down. After all, it's your money.

6. The goods are ordered without taking into account the complexity. There is a product whose sales affect the sales of another - for example, champagne and sweets, flour and yeast, green peas and mayonnaise. In such a case, the qualifications of the manager who draws up the purchase order may be crucial. "In our company, orders for beer are taken by one manager, and another manager is responsible for snacks, chips, crackers and nuts. The trouble is that they operate separately from each other. As a result, we get chips, but the beer has not yet arrived ... ". The shortage of one product leads to the difficulty of selling another.

What to do? Understand the qualifications and motivation of your staff. Or deal with the categories of goods - who is responsible for what. Are buyers motivated enough for such a result as the sale of goods?

7. Social and environmental factors. Weather, ecology, epidemics can provoke an unexpected high demand for a product. If the summer turned out to be very hot, then the demand for ice cream and soft drinks may exceed the supply by several times. An unexpected shutdown of water in the area provokes a demand for bottled water. During the SARS epidemic, the demand for respirators in China jumped tenfold! Such a shortage is in the nature of an outbreak and ends as abruptly as it begins.

What to do? You can wait - such phenomena pass quickly. You can have time to respond to demand, quickly purchase the required product and earn decently on the increased demand.

Surplus goods. Ways to sell surplus

Surplus stock can be:

reversible, but too big. Then it makes sense in the first place to reduce the volume of purchases of this product.
have a slow turnover. In this case, it is more correct to first reduce the price and stimulate sales.
"dead", that is, not for sale at all. If the consumption of the goods for three months 1 was not made, then it falls into the category of "dead". In this case, you can try to perform other actions.

But before the necessary steps are taken, it is necessary to understand the causes of the surplus:

1. Unbalanced price(the price is too high for this market or for this type of product). No one will overpay for a product or service if the price on the market is already set or exceeds reasonable limits.

2. The expiration date or sale has expired. The store sells food products, including perishable goods (for example, fish), or has in its assortment goods with a limited shelf life (household chemicals, cosmetics). Failure to sell it within the required period leads to the formation of substandard goods. It is practically not subject to further processing and sale.

3. Mistakes in sales forecasts. Says the buyer of one of the major trading companies: "When we first started buying this vegetable juice, no one knew how it would be sold. We brought a batch for testing and, surprisingly, it went very well. Then we ordered three more containers of this juice ... And sat down with a six-month supply - all of a sudden customers who at first actively bought juice stopped taking it at all, they tried it and didn’t like it ... ". Purchase of goods "maybe" and leads to such sad results.

4. Overbuying. For example, we sell 30-32 bottles of wine per month. But the purchased batch is 24 bottles - this is the minimum packaging from the supplier's warehouse. We cannot buy less and have to buy more - 2 batches of 24 bottles - to meet the demand. If we do not stimulate demand for this wine, we will soon find ourselves in a situation of overstocking.

5. Commodity cannibalism(the appearance of one product crowds out the sale of another). In order to expand the assortment, the company introduced cheaper milk into the assortment good quality. As a result, the demand for milk has fallen trademark, and after a short time there was an excess of this product in the warehouse.

6. Changing the fashion or taste of consumers. The emergence of DVD technology on the market has pronounced its verdict on video cassette recorders. Fashion doesn't change as fast in food as it does in manufactured goods markets, but the classic example is the bouillon cube fashion that came and went quickly. At first they were in great demand, then the consumer "ate" prepared food and turned his gaze to the side healthy lifestyle life. At one time, soy products were very popular, but now there is a lot of information that genetically modified components are often found in soy. As a result, the demand for soy and products containing it has fallen sharply.

7. Legislative acts(prohibition on the sale of products). The ban on the sale of poultry meat in some countries due to the threat of an epidemic of bird flu has led to the fact that millions of tons of chicken meat have been transferred to surplus, and then to substandard goods. The introduction of censorship on advertising beer led to a decline in sales

8. Insufficiency of goods, erroneous proportions when ordering complete goods. As a result, there is a deficit for some goods, and a surplus for others. The director of one vegetable pavilion says: “We sell vegetables. If we make a mistake with the order of potatoes and bring less, then there will certainly be a surplus of beets in the warehouse - this product is usually bought together. Beets are sold less often, but potatoes can be sold and without beets.

9. Reserve in anticipation of an increase in demand or prices(in wholesale companies). Managers can issue additional invoices to protect themselves in the event of a shortage. If the purchasing department is not aware of such "reservation" facts, then the delivery of goods to the warehouse continues. After a short time, it turns out that the goods were in reserve not at the request of customers, but at the will of sellers and real demand goods are not provided.

And although it's not the best the best way- to sell goods for a penny, but perhaps this is better than believing that one day the client will come to his senses and buy all the dusty piles of cans in the warehouse. Don't get used to your reserves! The purpose of inventory reduction is to get rid of unnecessary items at the most favorable price or with minimal cost.

This can be done in different ways:

1. Sale with a discount or a global price reduction.

2. Stimulation of the selling personnel. You can assign monetary or in-kind remuneration to sellers for the sale of "illiquid assets". This works especially well if the customer can choose between several types of goods.

3. Selling to competitors at preferential prices. Perhaps you just have an excess of a well-selling product, and your competitor around the corner is in dire need of it. Why not try?

4. Actions to stimulate demand for this product(artificial creation of demand). Requires additional investment in advertising, but often brings good results (for example, hold a wine tasting or arrange a gourmet corner, where cheese and grapes will be laid out along with wine)

5. Creation of artificial scarcity. Sometimes it is enough just to announce that there will be no deliveries of goods for the next two weeks (for example, due to holidays or holidays). This helps to optimize stock if the item has good turnover but is overstocked.

6. Return to supplier or manufacturer. The best time for this type of negotiation is in the lead-up to an agreement to purchase a new product line or a large purchase order. Case study: “We just opened a store and took the advice of a supplier to buy a batch of expensive wines. It didn’t work, and for three months we kept a stock of these wines worth almost $ 4,000 in our warehouses. During this time, our relationship with the supplier developed and We switched to a credit basis. One fine day, we turned to him with a request to take back this product, which was so incorrectly imposed on us. The supplier refused. Then we negotiated that we would be able to repay our loans only if we restructured the debt due to this wine As a result, the supplier bought this batch from us in parts on account of our debt." Naturally, this method is only good for those products that can be stored for a sufficient time under suitable conditions.

7. Creation of "kits"(in socialist times, this was called "loaded"). Stale goods are given as a bonus or as a gift. It is also possible to sell the excess on the principle of "two in one" ("when you buy two cans of peas, you get a third can (or a can of corn) for free!").

8. Sale of goods to own personnel or use for the needs of the company. In some stores, there is a culinary department, where goods are transferred with an approaching expiration date. The main thing here is the strictest quality control of such products, so as not to violate the real terms of implementation in any case - the consequences can be the most sad. One of the most famous Western companies practiced a method of selling to employees goods with an expiring (by no means expired!) Expiration date at symbolic prices. However, soon the abuses (resale in the markets) on this basis became so obvious and large that this practice was discontinued. This way of getting rid of excesses is as effective as it is dangerous. Before you resort to it, make sure that you are able to control the entire chain of movement of goods.

9. Implementation charity events or donations. Give the product to those who may need it. You will not only get rid of excesses, but also do a good deed. The main thing is to inform as many people as possible about this good deed ...

Buzukova E.A., consultant, specialist in assortment management

According to statistics, the shortage of goods is one of the most acute problems for both the seller and the buyer and is often estimated at about 8% of the total turnover. According to another, no less sad statistics, in large stores, surplus goods (often called “illiquid stock”) make up to 20% of the entire assortment!

Deficit. Its causes and consequences.

A shortage is an excess of demand over supply. A shortage indicates a mismatch between supply and demand and the absence of a balancing price.

Loss of profit due to too low a price;
Direct losses due to lack of sales;
Deterioration of the store's image in the eyes of customers: "There are never the right products here";
Loss of potential and real customers;
Emptiness on the shelves of stores, empty counters;
Growth in sales from competitors who have such a product;
Costs due to actions aimed at eliminating the shortage - moving goods on the shelves, urgent search for a substitute product;
Wasted money on an advertising campaign or tasting;
Stress among employees and, as a result, their demotivation.

Let's consider the possible factors why we have dissatisfied buyers, nervous sellers and the lack of goods in stock:

Unbalanced price (demand outstrips supply). A shortage usually indicates low supply caused by a low price. “They are snapping up like hot cakes,” we say, implying that the goods go quickly. Too fast. So fast that we can't keep up with the increased demand. A striking example is a product during sales. A discount of up to 50% has been announced, and as a result, people are pouring into the store, buying up everything that has yellow price tags. Who doesn't want to buy candy for half the price? However, not always only the price is the cause of the shortage.

What to do? Raise the price.

Mistakes in procurement planning and sales analysis. As a rule, this reason lies in people who, for some reason, do their job poorly. Perhaps they are not trained, perhaps they do not see the connection between the purchased and sold goods. Either way, without serious sales analysis and precise planning, a company quickly ends up with an unbalanced inventory. The manager of the production company says: “When we first started producing these dumplings, no one knew how they would be sold. We made a trial batch and, surprisingly, it went very well. Then we launched another batch into production. Our sales department enthusiastically set about "promotion" of the product. A week later, wholesalers almost smashed the plant - so great was the demand for this product. And everyone wanted it immediately, but our production could only satisfy half of the entire demand ... And a month later, customers began to refuse purchases, citing a too long waiting period ... People in stores tasted dumplings, but the lack of goods on the shelf led to the fact that all efforts on the promotion were wasted. The lack of accurate forecasts and planned purchases leads to a direct loss of customers. They tend to forget about a new product if they don't see it on sale for a long time.

What to do? Teach buyers how to plan, understand why the analysis does not show the whole picture. Maybe the point is in the incorrect accounting of positions - when “there is a computer”, but not in the warehouse?

Changing the current market situation (appearance of a new fashion, trend, law). A familiar picture, isn't it? Just yesterday, a hole in jeans seemed like a disaster. And today, young shoppers roam stores looking for the most tattered and frayed items. The new healthy lifestyle trend has shoppers asking and retailers rushing to fill warehouses with products labeled "0 calories" or "low fat" or "no soy." If yesterday a new law was passed that all children under 12 must be transported only in a child car seat, then there is a possibility that such car seats will suddenly begin to be in increased demand.

What to do? Respond to customer requests and new laws in a timely manner, keep abreast, make market research your direct responsibility. Or wait until the end of the law ...

Active advertising orPRcampaign. Real life story: “We have a regular store that sells a variety of products from different manufacturers. Suddenly, buyers begin to actively ask for “that yogurt that is in the advertisement.” We have never sold it so actively! We begin to understand, and we see that the manufacturer has launched active advertising on television and in family magazines. We wanted to make a surprise. If we had known about this promotion in advance, of course, we would have prepared and increased the inventory of this yogurt…”. In our country, people trust advertising and actively buy the advertised product. Therefore, such a "sudden" attack on the consumer does not lead to anything but problems and shortages.

What to do? Educate suppliers by explaining to them what the consequences of such activities are. Before any promotion, increase orders according to the planned increase in demand.

Logistic problems. The item may be correctly ordered. It can be priced right. It is properly advertised. But if for some reason it is not delivered to the warehouse or is late for the store, there is a high probability of being in a state of shortage. This is especially true for perishable goods (meat, fish, dairy products, bread), where one day of delay can reject the entire batch. If the cargo moves to the store for four days instead of the planned two days, then all ideal planning comes to naught - the store gets two days of work with empty shelves. Sometimes this is enough to lose many regular customers and earn the image of the store "where there is never anything."

What to do? Work with those suppliers and transport companies that take responsibility for the delay of the cargo. Or not work with those who constantly let you down. After all, it's your money.

The goods are ordered without taking into account the complexity. There is a product whose sales affect the sales of another - for example, champagne and sweets, flour and yeast, green peas and mayonnaise. In such a case, the qualifications of the manager who draws up the purchase order can be critical. “In our company, orders for beer are taken by one manager, and another manager is responsible for snacks, chips, crackers and nuts. The trouble is that they operate separately from each other. As a result, we get chips, but the beer has not yet arrived ... ”. The shortage of one product leads to the difficulty of selling another.

Social and environmental factors. Weather, ecology, epidemics can provoke an unexpected high demand for a product. If the summer turned out to be very hot, then the demand for ice cream and soft drinks may exceed the supply by several times. An unexpected shutdown of water in the area provokes a demand for bottled water. During the SARS epidemic, the demand for respirators in China jumped tenfold! Such a shortage is in the nature of an outbreak and ends as abruptly as it begins.

What to do? You can wait - such phenomena pass quickly. You can have time to respond to demand, quickly purchase the required product and earn decently on the increased demand.

Surplus goods. Ways to sell surplus.

Surplus stock can be:

But before the necessary steps are taken, it is necessary to understand the causes of the surplus:

Unbalanced price(the price is too high for this market or for this type of product). No one will overpay for a product or service if the price on the market is already set or exceeds reasonable limits.
Expired or expiration date. The store sells food products, including perishable goods (for example, fish), or has in its assortment goods with a limited shelf life (household chemicals, cosmetics). Failure to sell it within the required period leads to the formation of substandard goods. It is practically not subject to further processing and sale.
Mistakes in sales forecasts. The buyer of one of the large trading companies says: “When we first started buying this vegetable juice, no one knew how it would be sold. We brought a batch to sample and, surprisingly, it went very well. Then we ordered three more containers of this juice... And sat down with a six-month supply - all of a sudden, the customers, who at first actively bought juice, stopped taking it at all, They tried it and did not like it...». Purchasing goods on the "maybe" and leads to such sad results.
Overbuying. For example, we sell 30-32 bottles of wine per month. But the purchased batch is 24 bottles - this is the minimum packaging from the supplier's warehouse. We cannot buy less and have to buy more - 2 batches of 24 bottles - to meet the demand. If we do not stimulate demand for this wine, we will soon find ourselves in a situation of overstocking.
Commodity cannibalism(the appearance of one product crowds out the sale of another). In order to expand the assortment, the company introduced cheaper milk of good quality into the assortment. As a result, the demand for milk of another brand fell, and after a short time there was an excess of this product in the warehouse.
Change in consumer fashion or taste. The emergence of DVD technology on the market has pronounced its verdict on video cassette recorders. Fashion doesn't change as fast in food as it does in manufactured goods markets, but the classic example is the bouillon cube fashion that came and went quickly. At first they were in great demand, then the consumer "ate" ready-made food and turned his eyes towards a healthy lifestyle. At one time, soy products were very popular, but now there is a lot of information that genetically modified components are often found in soy. As a result, the demand for soy and products containing it has fallen sharply.
Legislative acts (prohibition on the sale of products). The ban on the sale of poultry meat in some countries due to the threat of an epidemic of bird flu has led to the fact that millions of tons of chicken meat have been transferred to surplus, and then to substandard goods. The introduction of censorship on advertising beer led to a decline in sales
Insufficiency of goods, erroneous proportions when ordering complete goods. As a result, there is a deficit for some goods, and a surplus for others. The director of one vegetable pavilion says: “We sell vegetables. If we make a mistake with the order of potatoes and bring less, then there will certainly be a surplus of beets in the warehouse - these goods are usually bought together. Beets are rarely sold separately from potatoes, but potatoes can be sold without beets.”
Reserving in anticipation of an increase in demand or prices(in wholesale companies). Managers can issue additional invoices to protect themselves in the event of a shortage. If the purchasing department is not aware of such “reservation” facts, then the delivery of goods to the warehouse continues. After a short time, it turns out that the goods were in reserve not at the request of customers, but at the will of the sellers and the goods were not provided with real demand.

Of course, there are a thousand reasons to keep inventory in stock. But it must be understood that if the product is not for sale, then it does not contribute to the generation of profit for which the business exists. Purchased goods are related funds. You have invested them. And it doesn't matter how much these reserves cost now - there is no money left. And although this is not the best option - to sell the product for a penny, but perhaps it is better than believing that one day the client will come to his senses and buy all the dusty piles of cans in the warehouse. Don't get used to your reserves! The goal of inventory reduction is to get rid of unnecessary items at the best price or at the lowest cost. This can be done in different ways:

Sale with a discount or a global price reduction.
Stimulation of sales staff. You can assign monetary or in-kind remuneration to sellers for the sale of "illiquid assets". This works especially well if the customer can choose between several types of goods.
Selling to competitors at preferential prices. Perhaps you just have an excess of a well-selling product, and your competitor around the corner is in dire need of it. Why not try?
Promotions to stimulate demand for this product(artificial creation of demand). Requires additional investment in advertising, but often brings good results (for example, hold a wine tasting or arrange a gourmet corner, where cheese and grapes will be laid out along with wine)
Creating an artificial scarcity. Sometimes it is enough just to announce that there will be no deliveries of goods for the next two weeks (for example, due to holidays or holidays). This helps to optimize stock if the item has good turnover but is overstocked.
Return to supplier or manufacturer. The best time for this type of negotiation is in the lead-up to an agreement to purchase a new product line or a large purchase order. Case study: “We just opened a store and took the advice of a supplier to buy a batch of expensive wines. It did not work, and for three months our warehouses kept a stock of these wines in the amount of almost $ 4,000. During this time, our relationship with the supplier has developed and moved to a credit basis. One fine day, we asked him to take back this product, which was so incorrectly imposed on us. The supplier refused. Then we negotiated that we would be able to repay our loans only if the debt was restructured at the expense of this wine. As a result, the supplier in parts on account of our debt bought this batch from us.” Naturally, this method is only good for those products that can be stored for a sufficient time under suitable conditions.
Creation of "kits"(in socialist times, this was called "loaded"). Stale goods are given as a bonus or as a gift. It is also possible to sell the surplus on the principle of "two in one" ("when you buy two cans of peas, you get a third can (or a can of corn) for free!").
Sale of goods to own personnel or use for the needs of the company. In some stores, there is a culinary department, where goods are transferred with an approaching expiration date. The main thing here is the strictest quality control of such products, so as not to violate the real terms of implementation in any case - the consequences can be the most sad. One of the most famous Western companies practiced a method of selling to employees goods with an expiring (by no means expired!) Expiration date at symbolic prices. However, soon the abuses (resale in the markets) on this basis became so obvious and large that this practice was discontinued. This way of getting rid of excesses is as effective as it is dangerous. Before you resort to it, make sure that you are able to control the entire chain of movement of goods.
Carrying out charitable actions or donations. Give the product to those who may need it. You will not only get rid of excesses, but also do a good deed. The main thing is to inform as many people as possible about this good deed ...
Last resort - throw away unwanted products. In the end, this is more correct than admiring it for weeks and wasting precious storage space. But observe the conditions of disposal, that the "sausage cycle in nature" did not work out ...

As you can see, there are enough ways to get rid of commodity surpluses. And this must be done - if only because excess inventory requires significant company resources - storage in a warehouse, frozen funds, inventories, accounting and analysis, and so on. The greatest danger of an excess of goods is for a company if it is at the stage of introduction to the market or at the stage of survival - that is, when resources and funds are most needed. If for a company external environment less important than solving the problems inside, then the surplus can be deadly for her.

It might be useful to read: