One click solutions to managing your stock!

Learn to buy and manage your stock effectively in less than one hour with the FREE resources included in this short article.

For the majority of PGA Professionals the responsibility to buy and manage stock at the facility is a must! If you are a self-employed PGA Professional that may be stock for your own business i.e. the Pro Shop, or, if you are employed, that may be stock for the facility where you work. Regardless of the employment situation the likelihood is that, as a PGA Professional, at some point in your career you will be responsible for managing stock, and it is essential that you do it right! Because effective stock management is not only essential for administrative purposes it is also key for revenue generation.

The good news is that there are certain principles when it comes to effective stock management and these can be applied irrespective of the type of stock being managed. So, whether you are responsible for golf merchandise or catering supplies, the same rules should be applied.

Let’s look at the buying stage as an example: The last thing you want is to be carrying stock that is either unwanted, in too much (or too little) supply, at margins that do not benefit your business or unsuited to your seasonal needs. Therefore, you need to incorporate an effective buying plan. This usually includes four main decisions:

• What to buy – What do your customers want?
• How much to buy – How much do your customers want (can you sell)?
• From whom to buy – Who provides you with the best deal?
• When to buy – When will your customer buy?

The buying stage is the first step in effective stock management and it needs to be a well thought-out, strategic decision. If you consider the four points above when it comes to your buying you will be well on your way to purchasing products your customers want and under the terms and conditions you want!

The five e-resources that follow have been developed by the PGA to assist you when it comes to effective buying and stock control. They will guide you through the buying process, the principles when it comes to managing stock, and you will also review buying groups. Click on each of the e-lessons below to move forward (you can also locate these in the online resources section of PGA.info):

• Introduction to buying & what to buy?
• How much to buy?
• From whom to buy and when to buy?
• Stock control?
• Buying groups?  

*Please note, at present these resources cannot be accessed on an iPad. We will endeavour to provide iPad compatible resources as soon as possible.