3 Ways to Improve Stock Control in Business
When you run a business, you need to do a lot of things, and you need to do those many things very well. If you don’t, you’ll miss out on the success that you want, and your business might even get a bad reputation. That’s why it’s important to know precisely what it is you should be doing and how to do it before you even start.
Something that’s crucial in business but can easily be ignored or forgotten is stock control. No matter how big your company is or what it does, if you have stock, you’ll need to know how to manage it well so that you have the right products when you need them and you can minimise waste (and save money) as much as possible. With that in mind, read on to find out some of the ways you can improve stock control in business.
Use Software
One of the best things you can do when it comes to inventory management and stock control is to invest in the right software. In the modern age, there are programs that can do almost anything and stock control is definitely included in that, so look around for a program that will do everything you want and need it to and install it as soon as possible.
Ideally, you’ll want a program that doesn’t just tell you how much stock you have left but that sends out alerts when you’re getting low so you can order more, and it should also give you good data so you can make decisions about what’s selling well and what you should put on sale and not buy again, for example. Getting the right stock management software can make all the difference and ensure your business is a lot more efficient.
Have a Good Warehouse
Although software is a crucial part of good stock control, there’s nothing better than having a well-run, organised warehouse to store your stock in, and without this, no matter how great the software you’re using is, stock control is still going to be difficult.
Make sure your warehouse has properly labelled areas so that you can find everything you need immediately, and always keep it clean and tidy – this isn’t just for health and safety reasons, but it also means you can make your way around the place with ease; a pallet wrapper can help with this, as you’ll be able to keep everything together in one place. When you do that, things won’t get lost or broken and people won’t trip or fall, so it’s definitely something to bear in mind.
Do Physical Audits
Again, having software to help you with your inventory control is essential, but you should always get into the habit of doing physical audits and counting up your stock yourself. You can be sure that the software’s numbers are correct, and you’ll be able to keep tabs on any other issues, like damage or even theft.
You can then update your stock records if they’re any different to the program – this way, you’re not going to disappoint any customers if they order something you say is in stock when it’s not. Although they might only have to wait a few days for their item, when people are used to getting things quickly, this wait can be too long and cause you problems and complaints.
