Every showroom has stock that has not moved in months, and keeps reordering it while fast movers run out. Here is how to find it and stop paying for it.
Walk to the back of most showrooms and you will find it: boxes of a design that was popular two years ago, sizes nobody asks for, a colour that looked good in the catalogue. It is paid for. It takes space. And because nobody has a list of it, it often gets reordered.
At the same time, the designs customers actually ask for run out, and the salesperson has to say "it will come next week" to someone who is ready to buy today.
Why dead stock builds up
Showrooms reorder from memory and from supplier visits. The salesperson remembers what was asked for this week. The supplier's representative suggests what they want to sell. Nobody looks at what has not moved, because the system, if there is one, shows stock by item, not by how long it has been sitting.
With more than one branch, it gets worse. One branch has too much of a design that another branch keeps running out of.
What good looks like
A well-run showroom knows three lists at any time: what is selling fast and running low, what is moving normally, and what has not moved in ninety days. It reorders from the first list, clears the third with schemes or transfers between branches, and never reorders anything on it.
How to start without software
Once a month, walk the godown with a notebook and mark every design you have not sold in three months. Put a price on the list. Most owners are surprised by the total, and that surprise is usually enough to change how reordering is done.
Where AI helps
- Every design is recorded by branch and by age, and an agent keeps the dead-stock list with what it is costing you.
- Reorder suggestions come from what actually sells in each branch, not from memory or a supplier's visit.
- Supplier bills and challans are read from a photo, so stock is current without typing.
- At the counter, staff can ask in plain words: "Do we have 600 by 600 matt grey in forty boxes, in any branch?"
- Every walk-in is followed up on WhatsApp, with their quote and a reminder, so the customer who asked for a design you have is not lost.
The owner still decides what to clear and what to stock. The AI makes sure the decision is made from a list, not from memory.
Where to start
Start with the ninety-day list. We have set out how this works for showrooms, from walk-in to delivery.