What is stocktake?
Stocktake (or stock counting) is the process of inspecting and recording the current quantity of products.
Stocktake is considered an important part of inventory management, and also affects buying, production, and sales decisions. Like any other aspect of inventory, the method of stocktaking can differ greatly depending on particular issues incurring among businesses.
Benefits of stocktake
- Gain a clearer picture of your stock status
Retailers are suggested to compare figures from particular stock takes to the reported stock level in order to timely identify problems such as out-of-stock, overstocking or deadstock and fix them properly. Besides, stocktaking also enables retailers to track for other stock issues namely damaged or missing stock and more.
- Make buying decisions
By conducting stocktake, retailers can obtain detailed information about the financial condition of their businesses. As a result, they can better create pricing strategies in order to make the most of their profit.
- Improve cash flow
Stocktake supports retailers to assure that they obtain a right amount of products in the right places at the right time. Predictive analysis based on stocktake allows retailers to tie up cash and minimize stockholding at all times. As a result, retailers can reduce potential losses.
The stocktake process
- Select the ideal time period
Since this is a time consuming process, retailers should consider selecting the right time to and schedule to check your stock for days.
- Prepare stock sheet
A stocktaking process requires printable stock sheets. Retailers are suggested to adopt software solutions to create stock sheets with just a few manipulations.
- Carefully organize stocks
It is necessary that retailers categorize their stock properly in order to better keep track of stock, especially inventory that has been sold but yet be delivered.
- Properly allocate staff
Retailers should assign a different staff member to particular stock categories. Notice that it would be better to have more people check large groups.
- Verify stock.
After finishing to count stock, retailers need to verify their stocktaking process in order to timely identify discrepancies and fix them.
- Adjust stock information.
Retailers should update their stock records with the result of the most recent stock taking and finish the process.
