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Inventory Acquisition
Inventory Acquisition and Management
Strategy: Acquire unused “seconds” building materials and tools
Where: Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, Restore Home Improvement Center (MA), ReNew Building Materials and Salvage
Description: Access the new building and hardware product supply chain for new but unsalable products and materials that are headed to the landfill. Develop strategic product sourcing relationships at various points along the supply chain to acquire desirable “new” products. New “seconds” sold at low prices increase customer interest and compliment used materials.
Pros:
- Consistent new product
- High quality and valuable products
Cons:
-
Inconsistent product selection
Practice: Code price tags by date to indicate product age
Where: Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, The ReBuilding Center, The Reuse People, Second Use, Urban Ore, Ohmega Salvage
Description: Material entering the facility is tagged, indicating the date (month) it was put on sale. Discounted prices can be automatically connected to the age of the inventory item to reduce staff time spent negotiating with customers.
Pros:
- Increases inventory turnover
- Encourages customers to check back regularly
- Direct feedback on product acceptance practices, i.e., able to quickly review what products have slow turnover
Cons:
- Reduced margins
- Customers might wait to purchase items that will drop in price
Practice: Remove all doorknobs for compact and efficient door storage
Where: Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, The ReBuilding Center, The Reuse People, Second Use, Urban Ore, Ohmega Salvage, ReNew Building Material and Salvage
Description: Remove door hardware (hinges, knobs, latch plate) to facilitate door racking and organization.
Pros:
- Additional sales items (hinges, knobs, latch pates)
- Reduces damage to doors from customer browsing
- Increases inventory density per linear foot of racking
- Uniform and organized door racking
- Improves facility cleanliness and order
Cons:
- Increased material (hinges, knobs, latch pates) requiring storage and organization
- Labor required for disassembly
Practice: Tag door and window edges with dimensional information and sketch
Where: RE-Store (WA), Urban Ore, ReNew Building Material and Salvage
Description: Include dimensions and product attribute sketch (e.g. door panels/window pane arrangement) to facilitate convenient customer shopping. Ensure tag is readily visible allowing customers to efficiently shop these categories and eliminating unnecessary product movement.
Pros:
- Customer convenience
- Ease of racking and organization
- Reduces damage due to customer browsing
Cons:
- Time and materials required to produce tags
Practice: Do not value inventory for tax return
Where: Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, ReNew Building Material and Salvage
Description: Work with accountants to eliminate the process of valuing donated material for tax purposes. By assuming that the value of donated materials is essentially zero, the organization can eliminate the costs and hassles of evaluating the inventory value.
Pros:
- Reduced annual auditing/tax costs
Practice: Only accept complete cabinet sets
Where: Build it Green! NYC
Description: Encourage the donation of complete cabinet sets. Complete cabinet sets tend to sell more quickly and at higher value than incomplete or individual cabinets.
Pros:
- Increase inventory turnover
- Increased profit margins on cabinets
Cons:
-
Requires significant showroom space
Practice: Material condition acceptance policy
Where: The Reuse People, ReSource
Description: Mandating material condition acceptance policies facilitate storage and stocking efficiency. This practice includes requiring donators and deconstruction contractors to denail lumber, bundle wood and trim, and palletize larger amounts of dimensional lumber.
Suggestion: Continuously work with local construction and deconstruction contractors to educate and guide them in proper material condition standards.
Pros:
- Ease of material storage and stocking
- Product consistency
Cons:
-
Donator/contractor time and labor requirement might reduce donations
Strategy: Partner with government organizations to deconstruct municipal buildings and schools
Where: RE-USE Consulting, The Reuse People
Description: Foster relationships with local government in order to gain access to valuable materials in municipal buildings, such as government buildings and schools that are slated for deconstruction.
Pros:
- Community connection
- Large lots of valuable architectural salvage products
Cons:
-
Time and resources to develop relationships
Discussion
