INVENTORY LIQUIDATION ON B-STOCK

There are several efficient ways for a retailer or manufacturer to liquidate excess and returned inventory on a large scale, including:

1. Online B2B liquidation auctions
   This involves selling excess and returned inventory through an online auction platform that caters to business-to-business (B2B) customers. These auctions can reach a large audience of potential buyers and allow retailers or manufacturers to sell their liquidation inventory in bulk. B-Stock fits squarely into this model, which provides the best balance of value recovery, cycle speed, efficiency, brand protection, brand control, compliance-oriented features, and sustainability.

2. Bulk sales to liquidation companies
   There is no shortage of liquidation companies that will purchasing excess and returned inventory from retailers and manufacturers at a discount in order to resell it to other businesses or consumers. While this can be a quick way to dispose of excess inventory in large quantities, there are some limitations. Unless your lots are offered on an open marketplace to a large body of potential buyers, you can never be sure you are securing the highest willingness to pay. Further, with most traditional liquidators, you’ll rely on a slow, non-automated sales process and have minimal control over where and how your brand is resold.

3. Clearance sales
   This method involves selling excess inventory at a discounted price through a brick-and-mortar store or online. This can help retailers or manufacturers quickly sell off inventory in large quantities to generate revenue, but it is a very hands-on approach that requires an organization’s attention and resources.

4. Donation
   Donating excess inventory to charities or non-profit organizations can be an efficient way to dispose of unneeded inventory while impact your community and public image in a positive way. This is not always a perfect strategy, however—there are some items that either can’t be donated, or are in limited demand among charities.

5. Recycling
   Recycling excess inventory can be an efficient way to dispose of inventory while also reducing waste and supporting sustainability efforts, however it does not necessarily recovery value for a company, and not all goods can be recycled.

As you learn about how to liquidate inventory and shop for solutions, it’s important to keep this in mind: The most efficient way for a retailer or manufacturer to move out excess and returned inventory on a large scale will always depend many variables. One-size-fits-all solutions are rare. But, again, retailers and manufacturers are increasingly relying on online B2B liquidation auctions, as they offer the optimal balance of value recovery, cycle speed, efficiency, brand protection, brand control, compliance-oriented features, and sustainability.

It’s important for a company to protect its primary sales channels and brand reputation at all times—especially when liquidating excess inventory. Here are some ways to do that:

1. Limit distribution
   You can do this by selling only to specific buyers or by using a liquidator who has a network of buyers that only operate outside of your core regions or country, or perhaps limit their operations to either online or in-store sales.

2. Use a secondary brand
   Using a secondary brand during the liquidation process will help ensure that your primary brand remains associated with higher-end, in-demand products and doesn’t become associated with discounted or low-quality products. Note, however, that once you sell your products to most traditional liquidators, they are out of your hands, so you’ll have minimal control over where and how it’s sold.

3. Control pricing
   Avoid devaluing your brand or undercutting your primary sales channels by setting minimum advertised prices or by working with a liquidator who understands the importance of pricing control—perhaps easier said than done in the case of many traditional liquidators.

4. Communicate with customers
   Talk openly with your shoppers about the reasons for the liquidation and to assure them that it won’t affect the quality of the goods or the availability and exclusivity of your primary sales channels. You can use social media, email campaigns, in-store signage, or other channels to deliver this message and address any concerns they may have.

5. Monitor online marketplaces
   Keep an eye on large online marketplaces for any unauthorized sales of your inventory. Often, entrepreneurs will turn to these sites to turn a profit, although this can certainly undermine your hard-won brand image.

There are ways to effectively liquidate unsold and returned goods without encroaching on your primary sales channels or damaging your brand reputation, but not liquidation services are sensitive to this concern. A key benefit of the B-Stock platform is that it can limit your buyer pool to a pre-approved list and help enforce your business’ preferences as far as where and how your goods can be resold.

Handling the logistics and shipping of large quantities of liquidation inventory is a tough challenge that many retailers or manufacturers face sooner or later. Here are some ways to better manage this process:

1. Pick reliable logistics partners
   Work with a logistics partner who has many years of experience in handling large quantities of inventory. This will help ensure that your inventory is transported safely and efficiently, and that they have policies in place for when things go wrong.

2. Automate the process
   Implementing automated systems and technologies can help streamline the logistics and shipping process, making it more efficient and reducing the risk of errors. Solutions for automated inventory tracking, order fulfillment, and shipping label generation, are just some examples of solutions that are currently available, but new offerings are hitting the market all the time.

3. Optimize your packaging
   Ensure that liquidation inventory arrives at its destination in good condition by improving packaging. This can even reduce weight and volume, thus reducing shipping costs in some cases. You’ll always want to balance protection, weight, space, and cost to minimize the risk of damage during transport while keeping your bottom line in mind.

4. Plan ahead
   By planning ahead as much as possible, you can improve the logistics and shipping process and avoid last-minute complications. This includes forecasting demand, optimizing inventory levels, and planning for seasonal fluctuations. Keep in mind that while this step is key, it’s far easier said than done.

5. Leverage new technology
   There are lots of new tech-forward solutions available to help retailers and manufacturers run their logistics and shipping process. Some tools to note are transportation management systems (TMS), warehouse management systems (WMS), and order management systems (OMS).

6. Always monitor performance
   It’s critical to monitor the performance of logistics and shipping operations regularly in order to identify areas for improvement. Use all the tools at your disposal to keep an eye on delivery times, inventory levels, and customer satisfaction.

While these are some very general tips to help ensure that inventory is transported safely and efficiently, B-Stock can provide distinct advantages in this area. Our clients can leverage our longstanding partnerships with world-class logistics companies and gain access to years of experience and network-wide data to learn the methods that work best for the most demanding sellers.

Truckload liquidation can be a daunting task, and the various associated costs are just one aspect of this undertaking. And as with any business process, the cost of clearing out unsold and returned stock by the truckload varies widely depending on many factors. Here are some costs that businesses will commonly encounter as they explore liquidation solutions:

1. Transportation costs
   This is perhaps the most obvious and unavpidable expense associated with liquidation—especially when liquidating truckloads. You’ll always need to factor in the cost of transporting the inventory from your warehouse or storage facility to the liquidation partner or buyer. Whether the you bear this cost or pass it off to your liquidator or end-buyer, the sale price of your goods will aways reflect it.

2. Handling and processing fees
   Often, liquidation partners or buyers will charge handling and processing fees to cover the costs including inspecting, sorting, and preparing the inventory for sale. As always, such fees will vary depending on the type and condition of the inventory.

3. Commission or percentage fees
   Some liquidation partners or buyers charge these fees as a percentage of the final sale price of the inventory. These fees might vary depending on the type and value of the inventory, be firmly fixed as a company policy, or be negotiable at the contract stage.

4. Storage fees
   Space concerns are one of the main reasons that businesses seek to liquidate, so its not uncommon to need a place to store the excess inventory for a period of time before it is liquidated. If your solution offers this as a service, be prepared to pay for it.

5. Marketing and advertising costs
   While many a liquidator will have their own small network of repeat buyers, some like to sell to a broader audience. If a liquidation partner doesn’t have these buyers on tap, they may charge marketing and advertising fees to cover the cost of promoting your inventory to potential buyers.

B-Stock employs a relatively simply pricing model, a relief to many, especially when dealing with truckload liquidations. The only prices they must pay are a flat annual subscription fee plus a small percentage of each sale’s revenue to be determined at the contract stage. As an included benefit, our full-time marketing team continuously runs targeted campaigns to bring new buyers to your listing. As far as shipping, the seller may cover these costs or opt for one of several other models. Visit B-Stock’s seller pricing information page to learn more about subscription tiers and or see our sellers’ shipping FAQ page for more information on various shipping models.

In order to avoid fines, legal action, and reputation damage, retailers and manufacturers must must comply with laws, regulatory requirements, audits and more. For an business that’s just beginning to learn about how to liquidate inventory, compliance and regulatory concerns can present yet another challenge. That’s why we’ve put together a few general tips on how to stay above-board:

1. Know the laws and regulations
   Business leader will need to develop a thorough understanding of regulations that apply to inventory liquidation in your industry and location, wich might be designed to ensure product safety, transparent labeling, responsible advertising, general consumer protection, and more.

2. Work with an experienced partner
   Any partner that you consider working withshould have a track record of success liquidating in your industry and location. Furher, they must have a thorough understanding of the relevant laws and regulations, and legal counsel to help insulate them and their clients from liability.

3. Develop clear policies and procedures
   While it’s wise to develop clear compliance-focused policies and procedures for excess inventory liquidation, the best partners will do the majority of this work for you. For example, B-Stock has many key procedures and protections baked into the user experience, from contracts to platform features. No matter your liquidation partner, however, it will always be on you to ensure that your employees and third-party partners follow relevant policies and laws.

4. Maintain accurate records
   Record keeping is absolutely critical. The more complete your records are in terms of quantity, value, and destination of inventory, the better. This can be helpful for insurance and audit purposes, and help you demonstrate compliance with laws in the event of any mishaps. Those reasons aside, keeping and analyzing this data can help you improve your velocity and recovery rate as you clear out unsold goods.

5. Conduct regular audits
   Conduct regular internal audits of your excess inventory liquidation activities to be sure that you’re fully compliant. When you’re moving out goods by the truckload, liquidation done sloppily can have you racking up fines and offenses quickly. That’s why its so important to identify and address potential issues before they turn into major legal, financial, or PR headaches.

True to form as a leading liquidation solution, B-Stock maintains permanent, detailed records of all transactions that take place on our platform—bid patterns, times, dates, auction winners and their locations, and more. These records have helped our clients with their general bookkeeping needs, along with tax reporting, insurance assessments and claims, and sustainability benchmarking. Even better, these records enable data-backed decision-making that can boost your sales performance in the future.