Illiquid assets are products that are formed in the company's warehouses as a result of a sharp decline in demand, strategic shortcomings or personnel errors. These stocks are “frozen” cash, so much needed in economic turnover. In addition, the maintenance of illiquid assets requires additional costs. In this case, the loss of their presentation is possible . That is why every company seeks to get rid of illiquid assets accumulated in its warehouses as soon as possible. This task is creative, and in each case it will be required to solve it individually.
How to determine illiquid assets?
It is simply impossible to give a definite answer to this question. Illiquid assets of enterprises are different. In addition, even in the same company, but in different areas, different criteria are applied to identify unused reserves.
For some products, this may be a complete lack of consumer demand, and for others, low sales compared to stocks. It is impossible to get rid of illiquid assets until there is a clear, unambiguous standard. As a rule, this is a certain period, longer than which the storage of balances in a warehouse is disadvantageous for the organization, even if the goods are sold in large quantities.
Check for availability
After analyzing the products using the accepted standard, you will need to check whether this illiquid is physically in stock. This is a very important condition, because the stale goods for a long shelf life can lose their presentation, chasm or appear in the list of re-graders.
Reasons for the appearance
So, you checked and made sure that there is really an illiquid stock in the warehouse. This was the first step to eliminate it. At the next stage, it is necessary to understand the reason for transferring products to the category of illiquid assets.
Sometimes stocks are stored in warehouses due to their incorrect placement in the stock catalog. This is possible if the product code is incorrectly assigned. In this case, to eliminate illiquid assets, it is enough to simply put such products in the line of the desired category. Then instead of illiquid organization will get a good
inventory.In some situations, the formation of illiquid assets is facilitated by a new substitute product, which drags all sales onto itself. It’s better not to allow this. First, the remnants of the old position should be sold out, and only then will the newly arrived products be offered to consumers. If such a moment was missed, then the new product should be reserved for some time, putting the old stocks on sale.
Sometimes there are situations when an illiquid asset is formed as a result of personnel error. It's just that everyone forgets about the product reserved in the warehouse.
Illiquid assets are complex equipment, which is not in high demand. In this case, it will be more profitable to sell it in parts. An illiquid position can be understaffed so that it is bought faster. Illiquid assets of spare parts may form. Often these are parts that are ordered erroneously.
Return
As a rule, companies seek to realize the illiquid that has formed in the warehouse. This is advisable only after trying to return the stock to the supplier. This rule is especially relevant for those distributors who themselves do not produce goods, and their customers are not final consumers. Their market is not as large as that of suppliers. In the event of a return, the manufacturing company can always profitably sell goods that were considered illiquid to the distributing company.
Discount
Sale of illiquid assets may be carried out using discounts. This is the most common way to get rid of unnecessary stocks. This method is popular due to its simplicity. However, it is not currently effective enough. The fact is that some companies began to use pseudo-discounts. They raise prices in prices so as not to lose anything in monetary terms. Despite this, discounts are a very real way, which is used in order to eliminate illiquid assets. This will allow the company to receive a certain amount of money for the purchase of the necessary stocks.
There is an erroneous opinion that illiquid assets should be realized with minimal profit or at least without loss. However, this is a fallacy. The mere presence of an accumulated asset is unprofitable for the enterprise. These products or raw materials require certain storage costs. Therefore, it is not necessary to set the task of generating income. An unclaimed resource should be sold at the price for which they would agree to buy it.
Types of sales of stocks
Illiquid assets of factories and enterprises can be eliminated in various ways. Among them are the following:
- a barter scheme, when one product is exchanged for another (with this option, what is considered illiquid for your company is exchanged for the desired product);
- payment of wages to employees of illiquid products;
- payment of unclaimed assets for overdue payables.
If all these methods are applied reasonably, they will allow not only to get rid of the stale goods, but also to solve some of the urgent problems of the company.
Illiquid assets of Ukraine, Russia and other post-Soviet countries can be purchased on the websites of companies. It offers used equipment, spare parts, and materials.
Organization of disposal of illiquid assets
In order for the process of selling unclaimed assets to be as successful as possible, you need to appoint one of the top managers to oversee this project. In this case, you should post information about the campaigns held by the company on your website.
Sometimes it happens that customers do not purchase a new product just because they do not know about its merits. And then this product falls into the category of illiquid assets. In such cases, additional customer information is required.
If the company has a network of branches, then you should check whether this position is in demand in any of them. If so, then the goods are simply transferred to where they are in short supply.
Attention should be paid to the seasonality of goods. Do not rush to sell illiquid assets before the beginning of the period in which there is a demand for it, because soon it will become running.
Measures to prevent illiquid assets
In the work of any enterprise, it is important to properly form stocks. This is much easier than subsequently engaged in the sale of illiquid assets.
For the correct formation of reserves, it will be necessary to establish a clear accounting. In case of failures in the transmission of information from one unit to another, the risk of the formation of illiquid assets increases significantly. Convenient reporting is required for all balances and sales of goods.
To reduce the appearance of unclaimed stocks, a reduction in purchases will also allow. It is time to determine which of the assets may become illiquid. Such an analysis is carried out regularly, and according to its results, organizational policy is adjusted.
For any enterprise, important aspects are forecasting and planning the volume of sales of goods. This will prevent their surpluses in warehouses.
It is important to determine the optimal batch of delivery. The smaller the number of stocks delivered, the lower the risk of illiquid assets. But it is worth remembering that small batches of products require serious transportation costs. This is also not beneficial for the company.
There is another parameter that affects the volume of stocks. It is the level of satisfaction with demand balances. This indicator must be calculated when conducting an analysis of stock requirements. Moreover, its values should be such that, on the one hand, prevent interruptions in the enterprise, and on the other, eliminate the likelihood of illiquid assets.