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Why an accurate frame inventory is beneficial to your bottom line, the difficulties in maintaining that inventory, and how Frames Data makes it easy.

Why is managing inventory so difficult?

In an optical practice, managing inventory can be a daunting task. It's time-consuming, tedious, and error-prone.

The process of manually entering detailed information like UPC codes, style names, color codes, and other relevant data is difficult to do correctly, and most busy practices simply can't take the time to do it completely or at all.

This can introduce errors and cause problems in the form of mistakes and delays down the line, especially at the lab, which may not even know which frame is referred to in an order without the UPC code. 

Even worse, wholesale prices change, but the practice may not even know it. The changing prices make it even more challenging to keep inventory up-to-date,  which results in even more lost or missing revenue.

What is the lost revenue caused by an out of date inventory?

Outdated pricing causes lost revenue that your practice should be making, but isn't.

This lost revenue is invisible to the practice, but it includes:

• retail pricing set too low
• insurance claims submitted with old pricing

And when this lost revenue is combined with remakes and breakage charges at the lab, it adds up to a bigger number than most practices imagine.

What are the benefits of a well-managed inventory?

Despite the difficulties, there are many benefits to having a well-managed inventory.

For starters, it ensures that you get the most from your claims and minimizes the "missing revenue" that can be lost by out-of-date pricing.

It also results in lab orders that are more accurate and less likely to require re-makes.

Your financial and sales reports will be fully populated, so they can be used to evaluate your business. This allows you to make informed decisions for the business based on real data.

And should your practice decide to use an outside service that requires an accurate inventory file, you'll be ready!

For instance, any service that uses inventory to analyze your sales efforts (like GPN's The Edge), or creates an online showroom (such as Frames Data's My Frame Gallery), will have dramatically better results with an accurate inventory file.

How does Frames Data help?

Frames Data's database of eyewear is constantly growing and updated. As of this writing, it includes over 680 different participating brands (click here to see them all).

Subscribers to Frames Data products can simply import detailed frame information into their inventory software. This eliminates the time-consuming, tedious task of data entry, and eliminates duplicates and errors that hand entry can introduce.

With accurate information from Frames Data, all of the processes downstream become more efficient:

• Managed care claims are accurate (and more profitable)
• Retail prices can be kept updated (so frame sales are more profitable)
• Remakes and lab delays are reduced
• Financial and inventory reports are fully populated and accurate, and therefore can be used to make decisions for the business

All of that adds up to a savings that will more than cover the costs of the Frames Data subscription. By using Frames Data, you can make managing your inventory a faster and easier process that minimizes your "missing revenue", while freeing up time to focus on other aspects of your practice.