We have a question today from a blog reader who purchased their first load of salvage food; his name is Antonio, and he writes:
“Hello, I have been reading your blog for some time now and I have a question about our first 12 pallets of salvage food we bought last week. Let me give you a little background information about our business…My wife has owned a trendy little clothing boutique here in Vero Beach for some time and we had the opportunity to lease the adjacent store front this month with the intent to start a small salvage food store. The store is approximately 1200 square feet and we feel it will fit right in within others stores, here at the plaza. It was my idea to start this discount food store after careful research of the salvage food industry. Here is my question: we just bought our first load of inventory, which was twelve pallets and I must say it has taken a lot of time to sort and price the grocery items…how do we know when to reorder? Should we get started on our next purchase or wait a week or two?
Answer: Congratulations are in order for your new store, and I wish you and your wife all the success hard work brings! It is not possible to give you a definitive answer as far as when to reorder as it will depend on several factors including:
Inventory Mix – If your first twelve pallets of salvage food arrived with a good product mix (assortment of various staple grocery items) your opening inventory should be fine. But, if the first load was not very assorted you might consider a quick reorder to even out your stores’ inventory.
Store Traffic – Take into consideration how many customers you have on a daily basis to decide when to reorder your next load of salvage food. Obviously, if your store is constantly experience heavy traffic, stock levels will give you a clear indication of when it is time to reorder. I would say, on average, a store with moderate traffic will reorder a new load about every 12-15 days.
