Running a small business can often feel like being in a one-person band, but instead of playing instruments, you play the roles of expert salesman, accountant, team leader, and more.
While you can handle most of these tasks on your own, there’s one aspect of owning a smoke shop you can’t do by yourself: stocking your shelves.
A well-stocked smoke shop depends on your ability to build relationships with your suppliers. That’s why we’ve created this quick guide to smoke shop vendor management. We’ll explore why effective vendor management matters, plus our top three tips for streamlining the stocking process.
Why Does Smoke Shop Vendor Management Matter?
Without vendors, you’ll have no inventory. And without inventory, you can’t make sales.
That’s why your smoke shop vendors are critical to your business’ success. Building strong relationships with suppliers you can trust ensures a steady flow of stock and revenue.
But smoke shop vendor management is more than negotiating and making deals with your suppliers; it’s an ongoing process that requires constant, careful attention. Here are a few reasons you need a solid plan to manage your vendors:
- Diversification: It’s rarely a good idea to rely on a sole vendor to stock your store. If they miss a delivery or run into supply chain issues, you’ll have nowhere to turn. To prevent this disaster, you need a way to maintain relationships with multiple vendors for a failsafe stocking strategy.
- Easy reference: When a vendor sends the wrong products in the wrong amounts, you need a way to quickly get in touch with them to fix the problem. Having convenient access to your vendors’ contact information along with past purchase orders can help you resolve it quickly.
- Streamlined inventory management: A robust smoke shop vendor management plan combined with the right technology can make restocking your store nearly effortless.
Now that we’ve established how important smoke shop vendor management is, let’s dive into how to do it.
1. Build Strong Vendor Relationships
When it comes to supplier relationships, trust is key. You should be able to trust your vendors to deliver the right products at the right time and to charge the right amount.
Your vendors should trust you to clearly communicate your needs, send in purchase orders in a timely manner, and pay them on time.
Investing time and energy into these relationships will ensure smooth sailing when it’s time to restock your store or readjust your inventory priorities. You’ll be able to work collaboratively with your vendors to give your customers everything they want.
Pro tip: While vendor relationships need a human touch, your point of sale (POS) system can be a big help when it comes to managing your suppliers. We’ll take a closer look at some specific ways to use your POS system for smoke shop vendor management in the next section.
2. Make the Most of Your Point of Sale System
Smoke shop vendor management might seem like a full-time job, but your smoke shop POS system can carry most of the load.
Instead of memorizing your vendor’s contact information, creating purchase orders from scratch, and slogging through the receiving process all on your own, you can use your POS system to automate these tasks and make restocks a breeze.
Here are some key smoke shop POS features that can help you with vendor management:
- Vendor tracking: Your POS system should keep detailed records of each vendor including contact information and order history. This allows for quick, easy references when making inventory decisions.
- Automated purchase orders: Your POS system should be able to detect when an item is low in stock and automatically generate a purchase order for it. This feature helps you prevent stockouts and lets vendors better meet your needs.
- Automated receiving: Your POS system should automatically update your inventory levels when you receive new stock and compare your actual stock levels against your purchase orders to identify discrepancies.
These three features can make a world of difference for you and your vendors, making it easier than ever to collaborate to keep your shop perfectly stocked.
3. Leverage Your Sales Reports
Part of a successful smoke shop vendor management strategy is knowing when to switch up your inventory. If you just order the same products in the same quantities from your suppliers over and over again, you’re missing out on opportunities to fine-tune your stock and grow your sales.
That’s why your POS system’s sales reports play such an important role in your vendor management approach. These reports reveal which products are flying off the shelves and which are gathering dust, giving you insights to place orders that align with your customers’ preferences and shopping habits.
Simplify Smoke Shop Vendor Management With Cigars POS
What goes into an effective smoke shop vendor management plan? It takes intentional relationship-building plus the right technology.
Your POS system will play a significant role in your vendor management strategy, helping you maintain detailed records of your vendors, generate purchase orders, streamline the receiving process, and adjust your ordering strategy to meet your customers’ wants and needs.
If you’re looking for a smoke shop POS solution to help you with vendor management and more, check out Cigars POS. With robust inventory management, built-in age verification, and sales-boosting features like flexible promotions and a customer loyalty program, Cigars POS has everything you need to take your business to new heights.
Take Cigars POS for a spin by scheduling your personalized demo with one of our smoke shop industry experts today.
