Inventory Management

Jewelry artists respond to survey:
How do you assign style numbers
to your jewelry inventory?

Inventory management becomes an issue as soon as you start making a stockpile of jewelry to sell. Rae Gedlaman sent in this question:

"How do jewelry artists go about assigning style numbers of all the merchandise they make? I'm curious about the different ways people keep track of their pieces. Thank you."

So I asked my readers how they number their jewelry products, and many were kind enough to send in their own methods of inventory management:

Inventory Management Solutions

Thank you to all who participated in this survey! Our readers' inventory item numbering systems are listed below in the order in which they were sent in. Many of these contributors were kind enough to include some great additional tips on their inventory management methods:

Kathy of Keaton2Triad:

My method of inventory numbering my finished pieces is to use my three initials followed by a sequential number. The galleries here use the artist's initials in this way, so it matches their method and relabeling is avoided. So the 1429th piece I have made would be labled IKE1429.

This has an additional feature of letting me know roughly how many pieces I have made over the years.

I also scan each piece for a spreadsheet. The categories are: IKE#, retail price, jpg, description (including materials), 60% of retail (galleries here keep 40%), date/location of piece, contact info for location, date created.

I print this in landscape mode, with 5 items per page. When a gallery chooses items, they are already labled. So I write down which item numbers they have chosen, go home, make a cut/paste sheet for them of all items chosen (updating my spreadsheets at the same time), and deliver the spreadsheet printout to the gallery the next day.

This allows them to have an 'ingredients' list available, a picture (tho small), a price (in case the tag gets removed), and a place to notate the buyer.

I have started to transfer all of this to a database to ease searching, but have made too little progress on this. I'd rather be making jewelry.

Lori (no website given):

Numbering jewelry - I name them something fun, like "Flirt Alert" and then give it a number which is its retail price, such as flirtalert38.jpg.

Kari of Oh! Kari!:

Every piece of my jewelry has an index card filled out and filed. On the card, I list every single supply used in the construction of each piece with the actual cost written beside it. I also list my labor cost and overhead. I write my selling price at the top of the card along with an ID number, name of the piece and length/size.

For necklaces and chokers, my ID numbers start at "1" and just continue in numerical order. Bracelet ID numbers are b1, b2, and so on. Rings are r1, r2, and so on. Pins are p1, p2...You get the idea! I file the cards in numerical order in separate boxes for each type of jewelry.

My hang tags include the ID number,the name of the piece, a description, and price.

Joy Moody of Sign of the Crow:

I developed a simple method of assigning item numbers, which has worked well for me. I keep a running list of jewelry pieces in the order in which they are made.

The item number starts with the last 2 digits of the year the piece was made, and the remaining digits represent which piece it was in sequence. Then, I add a code letter: B for bracelet, E for earrings. Thus 0462P was the 62nd piece made in 2004 and was a pendant.

Angela Schoonen:

My method for this is quite simple. Each category has a 2-digit number: bracelets are 01, necklaces are 02, earrings are 03, etc. In each category is a 3-digit sub-number, unique to each jewelry piece.

So my first bracelet will be numbered 01-001, the second will be 01-002 etc. Necklaces will be 02-001, 02-002 etc. Very simple. Each piece is photographed and categorized on my web page where I have their inventory numbers which coincide with the label on each piece of jewelry.

Jessica Giard of Funky Junkie:

I assign inventory numbers with a combination letter/number code. The letters refer to materials used. Numbers are assigned in ascending order.

Example: ESG101 would be earrings (E) in sterling silver (S) and gemstone (G). Other designations include (C) Czech glass, (F) Furnace glass, (W) Swarovski, (Ch) Chinese, (I) India Glass.

When I'm invoicing or tracking inventory via Excel, I include a short description of the piece.

Initially, I numbered per group of jewelry. But, to simplify, I grouped all jewelry and designated each a number in ascending order altogether, rather than as individual groups.

Lisa Costa of Guilty Treasure:

I needed a simple way to keep track of my items and I also wanted to be able to figure out what they were by simply looking at the item #.

My jewelry is categorized into different collections such as "cafe," "cocktails," "decadence," and so on. The system I chose uses the first three letters of the collection name, followed by a number representing the number that piece is in the collection. I then follow that up by putting a dash and an abbreviated code showing what type of jewelry it is.

Example: the "margarita" bracelet in my "cocktails" collection is categorized as follows:

item # COC001-BR
(cocktails collection, piece #1, bracelet)

I find this system works well for me and allows for many items to be added in the future.

Kyla of Beads in a Box:

At Beads in a Box we created an inventory system that we could all understand. We start each inventory item with the year it was created. Then the item is identified by color so we can study color trends.

After the date and color come the initials of the item, followed by whether it is double, triple or quadruple strand.

We assign it a number followed by a period and the size of the item. For instance, 5PKBCD01.75 is a bracelet created in '05, pink, bracelet, cancer, double-strand and it is 7 1/2 inches long. By using these codes, all our employees can identify what kind of item we have.

Each item is photographed and identified with its inventory number in case we need to reference a piece. The photo inventory is beneficial after a large sale to show us what the popular items were.

We use initials for colors, gemstones, lampwork, polymer clay,necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and beading techniques.

Anna Lemons of Anna Lemons Jewelry:

I keep track of my inventory by assigning a 4-digit number - i.e., 1111, 1112, etc., and have a picture of the item. The next batch of items that I upload to my site would start with 2111, 2112, etc.

So I not only keep track of items, but I can tell by the number how long they have been listed!

Jo of I Dream of Beads:

I use this process: necklaces/bracelets are the 100's (Style #101, 102, 103, etc.), earrings are 200's, rings are 300's, etc. I keep a spreadsheet for each category, and fill in a brief description and price for each item.

Candy of Mugwump Designs:

I've been making and designing jewelry for over 30 years. Everything from on or off loom bead weaving, fimo, paper... I primarily work with PMC, sterling, copper, brass and whatever else I can get my hands on.

Over time I have used a couple of methods for numbering my pieces. Originally, I would number them with what the item was and MY cost of the materials - such as ER205 (Earrings, my cost of materials 2.05). That helped a lot with price points.

With the method I use today, EARSS001 (earring-sterling-01), I give a new piece the next consecutive number and keep this in a database.

Seems simple enough for me to keep track of. I keep a list of the abbreviations I've created in case I have a senior moment...lol.

I have a "categories" list: EAR - earrings, RNG - Ring, BRC - bracelet, etc. Then I have a "Type" list: SS - sterling, GF - gold-filled, FS - fine silver, AU - Gold etc.

Charlotte (no website listed):

Since all my jewelry is one-of-a-kind and I never make the same piece twice, I don't assign numbers to them. I just write a brief description, like turq/coral neck., or bluetone bracelet.

I suppose I should try to invent numbers as it would be easier to keep a long inventory but since I am a jewelry artist with extremely limited items, I don't see the need for it right now. I only sell about $200 a month so I write it down in a spiral notebook along with how many of what kind of beads, how much the beads and materials cost, what it sold for, and what my profit was - just for tax purposes.

Donna Jadis of Artisans at Mooseworks:

On Numbering jewelry pieces... it's a simple letter/number sequence:

E-earrings
N-necklace
B-bracelet

and then the next number. Initially I kept a spreadsheet of piece number, description, price. Now I use Jewelry Manager to track parts and costs, but I stuck to the same piece numbering schema.

When I had a "joint" sale with two other jewelry-making friends, I added an "A" to all my piece tags for "Artisans" in case there might be any question about distinguishing whose was whose.

Sue of S.O. Jewelry Design:

After trying several ways to inventory my jewelry, I came up with a simple but effective way. I started my necklaces with n1001, bracelets b1101 and earrings e1201. This method gives me lots of room for growth without running out of numbers.

Duchess of Duchess Designs:

I use the type of stone (if semi-precious) and a number: Pearl01. If it is not semiprecious, then I use the color and a number grn01, blu01, red01, etc.

Anne of Anne's Beady Obsession:

I have a spreadsheet set up, listing all my jewellery items.

The first column is a number,
2nd details on the item,
3rd name of the piece,
4th earrings, necklace, etc.
5th cost price
6th cost price plus a percentage for overheads,
7th sell price,
8th size / length,
9th tick space for photo taken and put on website,
10th tick space for uploaded to ebay,
11th what I sold it for (if different, due to ebay auction),
12th tick space for when paid.

Sounds like a lot, but it's not really. The numbers are just in numerical order, so whatever I make next gets the next number. If I make several versions of the same item I just put an a,b,c etc after the same number.

Chris Klein (no website given):

We code our inventory in the following manner:

We have 3 designers (now only 2) so we each have a letter of the alphabet assigned to us and then we add our cost of beads, etc. in the jewelry piece, backwards behind the letter. We also scan each piece made for a catalog that we keep for customers to browse through, if they wish to.

Lisa Braithwaite of Elle B Style:

Since each piece is one-of-a-kind, I first name it. Once the piece is named, the item number comes from two letters taken from the name, plus the date I enter the piece in my system.

For example: a piece called "White Tulip" is numbered WT010105, because I catalogued it on 1/1/05. A piece called "Swinger" is SW092904, because I catalogued it on 9/29/04. So easy!

Michelle Buettner of Azure Sea Imports:

I had wondered the same thing, so when it came time to assign numbers/codes to my designs to be added to my website, I did the "logical approach" and used letters that coordinated with the item: B-bracelets, N-necklaces, E-earrings, etc., and then assigned numbers according to when I loaded them into my inventory on the website (001, 002, 003).

I then realized I had the challenge of sorting out single strand bracelets/necklaces and double/triple, etc., so I used the simple approach of SNGB-single strand bracelet and DBSB/N - for double strand bracelets/necklaces and followed those with numbers as well - 001, 002, 003, 004, etc.

For my mother's and grandmother's bracelets I inventoried them according to the same process of letters/numbers and then for the lines I have with specific names, I used initials or abbreviations with numbers on the end as well.

Example: Mystic Nights Collection - MNCN001, MNCB001, MNCE001 is Mystic Nights Collection Necklace/Bracelet/Earrings.

I'm not certain about how any other designers inventory their designs, but this easy system has worked very well to keep my inventory straight in both my books and in my mind - which has helped keep me sane. It has also made it easier to identify them when looking through the computer for photos to use on different pages of my website and the numbers after the initials keeps things straight in my mind as to which designs came first and which are most recent.

I've even found that when I have similar bracelets, for example, it helps to sometimes put an initial to the color in the code before the number, thus distinguishing it even further. SNGBGR001 - Single Strand Bracelet Green 001.

Jasmine "Jaszy" McAllister:

For inventory, I use an 'N' for necklace, 'B' for bracelet, 'E' for earrings, etc. Then comes the date that I've made the piece. Last is the piece number it is for the day. For example, N011305-1.

Barbara Urso of Bead-Dolla Etc.:

We do the following:

1. Categorize the items according to watches, bracelets, necklaces, etc.

2. Give each category a fixed item #. For example W100 means it is a watch, B100 means it is a bracelet, and so on. These primary numbers remain constant.

3. A second number system is also present. For example W100-25 means it is a watch - style #25 answers the question "which watch?". The next watch will be W100-#26.

4. The next bit of info is size. For example 7.5" will tell you this will fit a 7.5" wrist.

5. Then we place a large enough dot sticker on the watch back to supply that info, but not large enough to spill over the watch back.

6. If you are doing a bracelet or other item that does not allow room for this, get a string tag or elephant tag.

Hope this helps all of you. We have a bead store and needed to come up with a solution to accommodate the items we make for sale on the web. We are in phases of our site but we have met this challenge - on to the next!

Ann Marie of My Heart's Desire Jewelry:

I am in a partnership with a friend. We have only been selling our jewelry at home parties for the past year, but are about to launch our website for sales very soon.

Our method for assigning inventory numbers to our jewelry is very basic. It is a code of letters and numbers. The first digit is a letter to establish who the designer of the piece was - either A for Ann Marie or M for Marie. The second digit, also a letter, establishes what type of jewelry it is; N for necklace, B for bracelet, E for earrings and so on. Then we assign a number to the piece.

We keep a running log for each item under its category. The 105th necklace that I make will have an inventory code of AN-105. If I make matching earrings for that necklace, I make sure to assign them the same number such as AE-105. If I have more than one pair of matching earrings, I then add a small case letter after the number.

For example...AE-105a and AE-105b. If I make earrings on their own - not matching any other piece, I put an X after the first two letters AEX-12.

Rosanne Palumbo of Ro's Glass World:

To assign design inventory numbers to pieces, I begin by grouping similar style layouts. I give each one a starting number of 1000, 2000 etc. As new pieces of similar style are created they are given the next number in the series, 1001, 1002 for example.

Pieces that are in limited series of the same item, with only color variation, are given the same number and a color designation. I also maintain photographic records of each design. The use of a master design inventory list makes assigning the next number fast and easy.

Gina St. Aubin:

For Jewelry Invoice Assignment I have 2 different ways, for 2 different lines. For my wholesale-only line, I use GBC for "GINA" (the name of the line), BC for Bracelet, -05 for 2005 and then -2001 for the 2nd year the item number.

For my retail line (the website) I began using BC-1001-40. This has the same sort of premise, BC= bracelet, 1001 the item number, 40= the cost of the item. Now that I have two lines, the beginning will be LBC, so that I know it's for the Lion In The Sun Designs line (retail).

Karen of Crystal Hues Jewelry:

The numbering system I use looks something like this: N01CRY-S. The breakdown is like this:

N = Necklace
B = Bracelet
E = Earrings

01 - Sequential listing of designs. 01 would be Freshwater Pearl & Crystal

CRY - The color of the piece. CRY is for Crystal, MUL would be for multiple colors, PIN is for Pink, etc.

S = Sterling Silver
G = Gold Filled

I am anxious to see the results of the survey to see how others number their pieces!

Sandy:

My items are all on handmade cards. I made a trading card and took it to the printer - it's a collage design. Then I bought those little square stickers that you can buy at Staples and stuck one on the back of each card at the bottom, and put my price. Under the price I print the inventory number, which I started at 1. (For example, #1 and so on.)

As I sell, I write the item down in a duotang book with lined paper in it, along with the number and the price.

Cheryl of Magickal Mall:

I assign my inventory numbers based on a combination of factors. The first 2 characters designate whether it is one of my hand-made pieces or something bought at wholesale to resell. The next number designates whether the item is jewelry, tools, beads or findings. The next number designates the year it was purchased or made. Then a 4 digit number identifies the piece based on the record number in my inventory program Jewelry Designer Manager.

Jennifer of Beadfully Yours:

I had to start assigning numbers when my business started growing and I put together a web page. I came up with a simple system in which the numbers represent a category, type of bead used, and a number for the style in that category.

Example: 1013 is 10-Cat's Eye Mother's Bracelet, 1- All silver, 3- the 3rd style in that category.

This works for me because I have a limited number of styles. If anyone wants to customize their order, I use the number for the most similiar style & note any changes on the order.

So far, I haven't come across any problems in using this system. As my business continues to grow, I may need to look into doing something else. So - I'm interested in what others have to say too!

Laura Marlowe of Marlowe Designs:

When deciding how to set up my inventory/stock system, I wanted to be sure that it served to somehow identify the item - not just provide an inventory number.

I design and produce custom jewelry, using beads and gemstones. I listed the basic colors of glass beads and each of the gemstones I use. Each of these was assigned a code letter or letters.

My inventory numbers have 7-8 characters. For example:

20AIP04

The first 2 characters are the design number which is assigned every time I design a new piece (I started with "01"). This one was the 20th.

The last 2 characters indicate how many of that design I've produced. For instance, I've produced 4 copies of this particular design so the last 2 characters are "04".

"AIP" in the center indicates that I used Amethyst(A), iridescent glass beads (I), and purple glass beads (P).

It may look like a long number, but it's very useful to me. It's not just an insignifcant number - I can roughly identify what the piece looked like when I see the stock/inventory number.

I keep a running log as I design a new piece and put it in the boxes I package my jewelry in. I also use the same number on my invoices and labels so I can always know exactly which piece is being referred to.

Amy Daves of Mystic Moon Creations:

The way I assign inventory numbers to my jewelry is as easy as it is helpful for me to keep track of my work.

First, I use the first letter of what type of jewelry it is, such as "B" for bracelet or "N" for necklace. After the letter, I have three numbers which start with 001 and go up as I create more jewelry. This way, I can remember, in order, which pieces I created. I then put a dash and the month and year the item was handcrafted. So the final inventory number would look like this: B004-0105.

This really helps me to remember exactly when I handcrafted the piece.

Bonnie of Earthly Passions:

I number each piece I make in numerical order in an inventory spreadsheet that includes a full description of the piece and asking price. I also scan the piece and file it according to the inventory number. When I sell it, I put the inventory number on the sales invoice for my records.

Susan of Aspiring Arts:

How I assign inventory control numbers: Based on the type of jewelry it is, I start that way - NECK for necklace, EAR for earrings, BRACE for bracelet, etc. Then I add a few initials for the primary stone (ONYX, LAMP for lampwork, etc.).

Then I add initials for the type of metal: SS, GF, FS, etc. If there is more than one piece with that set of initials, I add a number on the end. This enables me to find the jewelry I'm looking for in a long list of jewelry pieces.

It's worked pretty well so far!

Betty Holland of Sophisticated Stones:

On my website, I give names to each of my pieces. My website program is set up so that the pieces are in alphabetical order. Because this sometimes causes problems, I am thinking of assigning numbers to the beginning of the names. For example:

001-Anastasia
020-Applause
040-Autumn Leaves

This gives enough numbers between names to add anything that I want to the front page that doesn't have to begin with an "A" or "B", etc.

Anyway, I find naming my pieces is the only way I can keep up with them. However, coming up with different names for so many pieces can be a task. The thesaurus comes in handy.

Elizebeth Ponce of Elizebeth Kay & Company:

What I do is to take the EC from Elizebeth Kay & Company. Then I give myself enough number space to last for a year. 0000. The jewelry manager program I use assigns each piece a number.

So, I incorporate that number into the item number and then at the end of the item number I assign a letter so that I will know right away what type of product it is. E-Earrings, N-Necklace, B-Bracelet, and so on.

So my final item number looks like this EC0011E. This is my name the number the number of the piece and the letter of what type piece it is. It has been really easy for me to keep up with this system.

Amaya:

For assigning inventory numbers, my format is XXX-XX. The first digit signifies what type of jewelry it is. Rings are 1, Earrings are 2, Necklaces are 3, Bracelets are 4 and everything else is 5.

The next two digits are the style number, and are assigned serially once a piece is completed.

The final two digits after the hyphen correspond to a color chart and allow me to know what color a piece is without having it physically. For example, 204-09 are "Earrings, Style: Stardust, Color: Jet".

Autumn of Autumn Designs:

I sell through home parties, shows, and I recently set up a website. I really would like to do more business through my website, since I have a two-year-old and I'd like to work more from home.

I have struggled with what is "the right way" to assign item numbers to my jewelry for a long time. I have a friend who breaks up her jewelry according to what type it is. For example, if it's earrings, the item # will be E123, a bracelet would be B239, etc. That way she knows what she sold at a glance.

My more simplistic way does not break it up like that. I have a notebook where I record the item number, starting at 1, and write a detailed description of the piece - carat weight, type of stone, etc. I also write the cost of the piece. Sometimes I even break it down - cost of stone and metal, and cost of labor. Then I write the retail price I am charging for the piece.

I don't like using really large tags on my jewelry, so I have a very brief description on the tag, the item number and the price. Then if a customer asks more information about a piece, I can look it up in the notebook. I can also look it up if a customer asks for a discount and see how much room I have.

I really should have all the information in my computer also, but I so far have not taken the time to do it. I hate to spend a lot of time on the paperwork part of the business - I'd rather be making more jewelry! I'm sure you can relate to that. So, my "simple system" seems to work for me for now.

Jenni Turman of Chic Silver Boutique:

One easy way to assign a number to your jewelry is to do it in this format:

CNMC - which stands for

Category of the piece - (pendant, ring, etc.)
Number of the piece - (ring #1, ring #2, etc.)
Material of the piece - (Onyx, Amethyst, etc.)
Color of the piece, if applicable (Pink, etc.)

Let's use an example. Say that you have a ring that is set with pink cubic zirconia. Its corresponding item # would be R1CZPK, for Ring 1 (or whichever # you are on at the time), Cubic Zirconia, Pink. This way, it is also easy for you to find which ring it is when the order comes in. By the item number, you will know that you are looking for a pink cubic zirconia ring!

Lori Lewis of Affirmative Accessories:

Regarding the assignment of item inventory numbers, I use the following model, which I learned at a jewelry business planning seminar I took at the San Gabriel Bead Company in Arcadia, CA:

05-001-122448

• "05" represents the year
  
• "001" represents the sequence in which pieces are made - so this piece was my first in 2005
  
• first two digits represent wholesale pricing
  
• second two (or three) digits represent direct pricing (for home parties & trunk shows)
  
• last two (or three) digits represent retail pricing (for consignment).

Jennifer Summar, formerly of Summartime Designs:

I began thinking that I would give each piece a unique letter first, to identify the type of piece it is. For example, "n" for necklaces, "b" for bracelets, etc.

Then I figured a 3-digit number after the letter would allow me to expand all my necklaces (for example) to 999. I thought that by the time I got to 1,000 necklaces, I could start over, or simply keep the number going n1000, n1001, and so on. My jewelry business software doesn't set a limit to the number of digits allowed.

Also, if I make a set, such as a necklace with a matching bracelet and pair of earrings, I would number the necklace "n100", the bracelet, "b100", and the earrings, "e100".

I'm sure there's a better method, but I studied other jewelers' websites before I started numbering, and I noticed that that was one of the most common ways they were doing it.

Carla Gardner of Wildflower Jewelry Designs:

I number all my designs consecutively, beginning with an initial for the type (i.e., E=earring, B=bracelet......E0001, B0001).