As promised, here’s the second half of our guide to dealing with dead inventory in a proactive and potentially profitable manner:

4 – Separate The Inventory

It’s a good idea to go through your dead inventory and separate the various items into a number of categories. Namely, you should be looking at grouping together the kind of inventory that should be easiest to sell, the items that may prove literally impossible to sell and others of a miscellaneous nature. This will make it much easier to deal with the stock you’re looking to get rid of.

5 – Desirable Inventory

In terms of the inventory that you consider to be the most desirable, focus your attention on these items first of all. Run a special offer, discount the items heavily or consider putting together product bundles to help get them moving. Shy of actually giving them away, consider any and every option available to you that might improve their appeal in the eyes of your customers

6 – Undesirable Inventory

As for the stuff right at the opposite end of the spectrum, you might want to think twice about even putting your most undesirable inventory in front of your customers. Why? Well, while it’s true to say that massive discounts might help get it shifted, putting it out there in public might not do a great deal for your reputation. Instead therefore, consider donating it to charity, maybe selling it online as a job lot or if all else fails, throw it out and save yourself any more wasted time.

7 – Get Creative

With any of the items you believe could possibly still sell…albeit with heavy reductions…it’s always worth getting a little creative. This applies to both the way you present your products in terms of visual marketing and even their very packaging. It’s perfectly possible to transform what appears to be an entirely undesirable product into something of a must-have – simply by hitting a home run with presentation. Once again though, just be sure not to put anything out there that doesn’t speak volumes for you as a brand.

8 – Staff Freebies

It might sound like a long shot, but it’s always worth considering the option of unloading some of your dead inventory on your employees. Of course this doesn’t mean simply giving away all manner of random bits and pieces that are nothing short of pure garbage and expecting them to be well received. Instead, it simply means opening up your collection of dead inventory to your staff members and giving them the go ahead to help themselves, should anything appear of interest to them.

9 – Other Businesses

Last but not least, it’s also worth remembering that there are other businesses out there that may have considerably more practical use for your dead inventory than you yourself do. From independent high street stores to online sellers to market traders and so on, it all comes down to the old ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ way of thinking. And of course, giving items away to those that will use them is always a better option than throwing them in the trash…always!