Managing inventory is as much an art as a science, and like any art, a number of tried-and-true techniques exist that publishers may want to consider to manage their investment in inventory more effectively.
1. Focus on the ABCs.
Perhaps the worst mistake one can make when managing inventory is to view everything from a one-size-fits-all perspective. All inventory is not alike, and a comprehensive inventory strategy should start with one of most basic tools of inventory management—the ABC Analysis. ABC Analysis is similar to a Pareto Analysis—sometimes described as the 80/20 rule, where 80 percent of an organization's sales come from 20 percent of its titles. Using a full year's sales as the starting point for your analysis, all of the titles in your publishing program should be segregated into three classes: