3.5 Inventory Management

Effective inventory management is essential for maintaining flexibility, meeting customer demand, and ensuring a smooth operation. Follow these guidelines to optimize your storage and ordering processes.

Storage Requirements

• Minimum Storage Capacity:
  
  • We highly recommend being equipped to hold 4,000 pops (requiring two 20-cubic-foot freezers) per territory to accommodate growth and unexpected opportunities.
• Freezer Specifications:
  • Freezers must be able to maintain pops at -10°F or colder for optimal product quality.
  • For long-term storage or freezing cold plates, consider freezers capable of reaching -20°F.

     

Delivery and Accessibility

• Weekly Shipments:
  • Pops are delivered weekly, so ensure you have a dedicated, easily accessible space for unloading.
  • If you prefer delivery drivers to leave pops when you’re unavailable, provide access to a garage or detached building where products can be securely stored.
• Advantages of Larger Orders:
  • Placing larger orders minimizes potential customer service disruptions, such as running out of stock for high-demand events.
  • Having excess inventory ensures you can take on last-minute or unexpected opportunities without hesitation.
    
    
    

• Organized Storage:
  • Group pops tightly together in boxes to maintain consistent temperatures.
  • Label and rotate inventory to reduce waste and ensure freshness.
• Scaling for Events:
  • Keep additional inventory on hand for peak seasons, large events, or unexpected sales spikes.
  • Regularly review your stock levels to align with your upcoming calendar and event history.

By adhering to these practices, you’ll maintain a robust and scalable inventory system that supports the growth of your business while delivering excellent customer service.

Ordering, Receiving, and Storing Inventory

To ensure timely delivery or pickup, all orders from the Atlanta, Charlotte, and Florida warehouses must be placed by the deadlines listed below. For more information on distribution, check out the Rainforest section of the Hub.

• Friday at noon for Tuesday delivery
• Monday at noon for Wednesday delivery
• Tuesday at noon for Thursday delivery
• Wednesday at noon for Friday delivery

Placing Your Order:

• Log in to your ordering portal.
• Add the pops, merch, and/or supplies needed for your next order to your cart. Please note that to order a cart, you must attached your signed cart lease.
• Review your cart to confirm all items are correct.
• Select the appropriate delivery or pickup option at checkout.

Adhering to these deadlines ensures your order is processed smoothly and delivered or ready for pickup on time.

• Our pops have a best-by date ranging from 6 to 18 months. We strive to deliver them as quickly as possible to maximize their usability.
• Proper storage allows you to safely hold stock for several months.

• Always use the FIFO system (First In, First Out) to ensure older inventory is used first.
• Keep pops tightly packed into as few boxes as possible; this minimizes air exposure and ensures better temperature stability.

• Ice on the pops indicates temperature variation. Common causes include:
  • Pops not packed tightly together in their boxes.
  • Pops being exposed to warmth repeatedly (e.g., going in and out of carts).
  • Freezers with cycles that run too long or freezers that aren’t cold enough.
  • To reduce this, store pops deeper in the freezer where temperatures are more stable.

• Note that fruit-based pops are more prone to developing ice crystals than creamy ones. Take extra care to minimize temperature fluctuations for these items.
• Creamy (dairy-based) pops melt faster than fruit-based ones.

Tracking Inventory 

It is highly recommended that you run your own weekly inventory count in order to better track quantity and quality of your pops. 

Receiving and Checking Inventory Delivery

It is important to check your inventory as quickly as possible when it arrives to you. It's recommended that you check every box so that you can immediately report any issues, and if done while the driver is there, you can refuse the product. This would remove the charge for the product from your invoice. 

If you receive any damaged or melted pops and the driver has already left, you have one week to submit a request for credit for the affected pops. 

• Pictures (including outside of case and pop)
• Order number
• Flavor
• Lot code
• Product quantity affected
  
  

Shrink

If you need to discard any inventory, it’s important to track this accurately. Follow these steps to account for the loss in your financials:

• Multiply the cost of the discarded pops by the quantity discarded to calculate the total loss.

• Shrink refers to inventory loss due to factors like melting, expiration, accidental opening, or damage.
• To maintain profitability, shrink should be kept below 2% of your total sales.

• If you generate $10,000 in sales, your shrink should not exceed $200 during that period.

• Franchisees should report shrink using the Twice Yearly Inventory Form. to ensure accurate tracking and analysis.