Manufacturing

The manufacturing sector is plagued with uncertainty, and is often hostage to factors beyond its control such as fierce global competition, interest rates, currency values, employment levels, and educational training.

Companies operating in such a business environment need experienced, professional advisers to help them steer a steady course. With years of experience acting for clients in the manufacturing sector, we can help you:

Minimise risks from pricing and supply fluctuations
Optimise your stock control
Make important investment decisions
Arrange acquisitions, mergers, or disposals
Raise finance
Manage cashflow through interest rate exchange and rate fluctuations
Handle foreign currency transactions

And, of course, we can help with all your accounting, tax, and audit requirements.

Whatever your business structure – sole trader or a limited company – we can help you manage your profitability through our specialised services.

There are three powerful forces at work in the retail sector that are driving changes in the way manufacturers manage their stock:

The need to supply an increasingly wider range of products, often with narrower, specialist appeals
The need to cut the cost of holding stock to a minimum
The need to be able to order and reorder at short notice in response to fluctuations in increasingly volatile markets

In other words, retailers are requiring more frequent, smaller deliveries, while manufacturers would prefer to deliver larger consignments with longer lead times.

The onus shifts to manufacturers
The retailers seem to be winning, and gradually the onus and cost of holding and managing stock is being transferred to manufacturers.

Since holding stock is no less expensive for manufacturers than it is for retailers, manufacturers need to develop effective stock management procedures if they are not to see their margins corroded by this trend. The key is to analyse your stock into individual stock keeping units (SKUs) and then to monitor the movement and performance of each.

For example you might discover that a particular size or colour of a garment outsells all others and adjust stock levels accordingly. Indeed, this approach enables you to mix and match SKUs to optimise sales with different customers and in different markets.

Focus on profitability not volume
The secret is to focus on the profitability of each SKU rather than its volume. For example, high volume low margin products might turn out to be less profitable than relatively low volume high margin ones, and you might want to reflect this in your stock management priorities.

Stock management audit
Stock management can be a complex and time-consuming area for business owners. We are always happy to help you conduct an audit of your stock management procedures and develop a more effective and profitable approach.

With years of service to clients in the manufacturing sector, we pride ourselves on being able to deliver a full range of client-focused services, including help and advice with:

Improving financial controls
Managing cashflow
Controlling and reducing production costs and especially material costs
Effective supply chain management
Optimising stock management through improving sales forecasts and production plans
Improving production and process efficiency and adopting appropriate technologies
Improving management processes
Capital and finance planning to enable appropriate and timely investment
Dealing with an increasingly complex tax, reporting, and regulatory environment