485: Addressing Excess Inventory With B-Stock Solutions

In this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, we are joined by Robert Iaria, the Vice President of Client Solutions and Logistics at B-Stock Solutions. B-Stock Solutions, renowned for its innovative approach to handling returns, excess, and unsold inventory, plays a pivotal role in the recommerce industry. Robert shares insights on tackling one of the industry’s pressing issues—managing excess inventory efficiently. This episode not only explores B-Stock’s strategic interventions but also delves into their impacts, setting the stage for a comprehensive discussion on inventory optimization.

Innovative Solutions for Excess Inventory

Robert Iaria introduces the topic: “B-Stock was a pioneer in developing a platform that brought a wide variety of buyers and interested entrepreneurs to pay market pricing for inventory.” This concept transforms how excess and returned inventory is handled and ensures market-driven pricing to tackle the returns problem. Robert shares, “In 2023, $743 billion of merchandise was returned, which is 14.5% of total retail sales.” However, traditional liquidation methods often result in financial losses for retailers. B-Stock’s platform approach harnesses a worldwide network of buyers and sellers, ensuring that unsold goods find a second home. 

Strategic Responses to Excess Inventory

“The big challenge is how do you develop systems and programs where this becomes systematic,” says Robert, highlighting the intricate problem of excess inventory management. B-Stock Solutions introduces strategies that maximize cost recovery through detailed, data-driven resale strategies. He adds, “We are able to provide a bunch of data on how different categories, different conditions, different types of products perform, in the secondary market.” Fortunately, these approaches can mitigate financial risks and bolster sustainability efforts by diverting goods from landfills to new, productive uses. When you’re looking at obsolete inventory, you basically have three options: landfill, recycling, and donation. Therefore, Robert suggests adopting all three as part of a multi-channel strategy for excess inventory. 

Excess Inventory Management

When managing excess returns, Robert emphasizes, “Design a process in a way that allows you the velocity for decision making, dispositioning of inventory, and then lastly the velocity of which you can fulfill inventory.” He outlines how B-Stock’s ongoing innovations are set to further influence the industry. The focus remains on enhancing platform capabilities to optimize inventory value recovery efficiently. 

Key Takeaways

• B-Stock Solutions leverages a platform-based approach to transform the traditional liquidation process.
• Innovative data-driven strategies are crucial for maximizing cost recovery and supporting sustainable business practices.
• The future of inventory management lies in the agility and efficiency of handling excess and returned items, with a strong emphasis on avoiding wastage.

Listen to the episode below and leave your thoughts in the comments.

Guest Information

For more information on B-Stock Solutions, click here.

To connect with Robert on LinkedIn, click here.

For more information about Inventory Management, check out the podcasts below. 

475: The Pivotal Role of Barcodes in Supply Chain Management with GS1

416: Mastering Data and Inventory with Porter Logic

468: Sustainable Retail Returns with Brian Adams of Retail Reworks