With the recent economic climate, RV dealers are paying focused attention on how they manage their inventory. Changes in the retail market, consumer buying habits and tighter financing have them weighing these and several other variables to ensure they buy and sell their inventory effectively.

In a recent article from RV Executive Today, Pete’s RV Center and several other dealers were asked what they do to ensure proper inventory management.  The following comments were excerpted from the article:

“Our dealership constantly monitors our inventory through our dealer management system, our sales, and what customers are looking at on the website,” says David McGinnis, treasurer of Pete’s RV Center in South Burlington, VT. “Inventory management is about forecasting, you can’t react. Timing is everything, because there is a selling season, and if you miss that window, you miss it. Poor inventory management can lead to serious issues in your dealership, including losing floor plan financing, which can put you out of business.”

Dave provides an account on how adhering to good inventory management practices benefited Pete’s RV:

“By monitoring our inventory turns, we made the decision to get out of the new motorized business before it had too big of an effect on our dealership,” says McGinnis. “Through our constant monitoring, we noticed that new motorhomes didn’t turn as fast as new towables a few years ago.  We continue to watch the trends in our area to see if they change, so we can adjust our inventory to fit the needs of our dealership and customers.”

While RV dealers offered different accounts on how they buy and keep inventory moving, they were all in agreement that RV inventory management is vital for the business, and ultimately their customers.  With proper inventory management, RV dealers are able to offer customers a wider selection of stock units to choose from at the best possible price.

You can read RV Inventory Management: Dealers Share Changes to This Critical Function in full at RVDA.org.