Why do companies run out of stock?

[wrecktangle]

I've seen this many times from several of my favorite suppliers, go to order something and it's "out of stock" or "on order".

I know a lot of suppliers are small individual companies running the business out of their house, but how do you run out? You have a history of what people are ordering, you can see the 510's, or 901's or 36mg juices getting low.

You generally know how long it takes to get the stock from your suppliers in china or whereever you order from.

How do you get in a position that you don't have any stock to sell?

Then on top of that you run a "sale", but have nothing to sell.

Just curious...... and frustrated.

 

[QueenInNC]

It's very simple...supply and demand. They both fluctuate. Also, many suppliers wait much longer for an order to get through customs than others.

 

[Jayhawks]

Also currently there is a large delay on items getting out of china.. Not just ecigs.

 

[Silence]

Heh, and here I thought it was just cause I vape like a fiend!!

 

[Jeremy386]

Have you ever worked in retail? Could be any number of reasons whey they are out of stock.
1. The manufacturer had a problem in the production run.
2. The China side Distributor could be having problems.
3. US Customs might be behaving like .......s at the moment.
4. Could be as simple as they ran out due to unexpected demand. Such as people hoarding product because of a fear of a ban. If anyone shots pistols and rifles, this is why Ammo is so hard to get a hold of at the moment, people hoarding.

I'd say stock up next time, but it just feeds into problem possibility 4 and it starts over again.

-Jeremy

 

[wrecktangle]

Thanks all for your replies. And, Jeremy thanks for your answer. I've never worked retail, but I have been, in the past, in charge of maintaining inventory. Your answers make a lot of sense.

I can understand the intermittant problems with customs, they get a burr up their .... and decide just to delay everything.

It's frustrating though, when you go to a favorite seller to get some atties or batts, and while there decide to get some extra juice only to find out they're out of your favorites.

I would think though, as a seller, if you're down to a month's supply of something to go ahead and order it, instead of waiting to the last minute when you're down to a dozen or so. But maybe this isn't happening and Jeremy's reasons come into play.

Again, thanks all for your replies.

 

[beckah54]

Since we don't know when or if the ban is coming down, I would guess that suppliers don't want to be left with a ton of products they can't sell. If it's decided that juice is illegal, they would be crazy to have a huge inventory.

 

[Cloud9Smoking.com]

Since we don't know when or if the ban is coming down, I would guess that suppliers don't want to be left with a ton of products they can't sell. If it's decided that juice is illegal, they would be crazy to have a huge inventory.

That is an excellent point! We are working on the assumption that the ball will not drop. Otherwise, we would simply close our doors tomorrow but we do try to pace our ordering so as to never run out of stock. For some newer suppliers, there is simply a learning curve, especially if this is their first time being involved in a "products" business.

 

[Deschain]

Just look at the amount of new people who joint this forum every day, then multiply by a hundred or a thousand or even more...and then imagine all those new folks hitting the e-cig stores to stock up on juice and accessories.

This does seem to be a growing market. It's a damn shame that certain countries are making it really hard for folks who are investing in a new business and generating tax, employment ect.


.

 

[535cheetah]

then they would go from retailers to druglords lmao , if it becomes illegal im sure they still wont have a problem getting rid of it, ill take most of it from them lol

Since we don't know when or if the ban is coming down, I would guess that suppliers don't want to be left with a ton of products they can't sell. If it's decided that juice is illegal, they would be crazy to have a huge inventory.

 

[cyberwolf]

I've gotten two non-ecig shipments from China lately and they both took over 20 days. It's difficult to deal with that kind of supply chain on a commodity item.

 

[Kewtsquirrel]

A good chinese shipper should have you back in stock inside of a business week, I routinely order stuff on a Monday and have it show up on my doorstep Friday afternoon.

Beyond that though, it has to do more with inconsistancy of orders than anything else. I'll have weeks where I get 20-30 orders for 3-4 connectors each, and then I'll have weeks where I ship out maybe 20 connectors total. (at least in my case) Running low margins means that I can't keep a huge stock on hand without cutting into other funds or going in to debt.

With the margins on most e-cig stuff though, a solid company should have a decent stock on hand, the margins are pretty damned fat and anyone beyond the startup phase should know that not re-investing profits will chase the business elsewhere.

 

[catlvr]

then they would go from retailers to druglords lmao , if it becomes illegal im sure they still wont have a problem getting rid of it, ill take most of it from them lol

Same here! No problemo lol.