The Definition and Benefits of Stock Taking

Have you ever imagined how supermarket or store owners manage their items in the store? It is definitely impossible for the store or supermarket employees to check every item one by one when running stock taking. There is one main reason because a store or even a supermarket has thousands of inventory.

The inventory taking is terribly time-consuming if it is still done manually. That’s why a lot of retail businesses are starting to use inventory systems hoping that stock-taking can run faster and easier.

Then what exactly is the definition of stock-taking? Let’s read the explanation below.

Definition of stock-taking

According to Wikipedia, stock-taking is a process of checking an item’s quantity and condition in a storage or warehouse. This activity is generally highly time-consuming if it is still done manually.

To do so requires employees with a high level of accuracy. This requirement is important because if there is a miscalculation of the number of items, not only the company is harmed, but the one who checks the inventory will also be held responsible.

To simplify the process and minimize the error possibilities, you can use barcode technology. Not only makes the inventory checking process more effective and efficient barcodes are also useful to reduce the possibility of errors.

Also read : How Warehouse Management will Improve Your Business?

The importance of stock checking

No matter what kind of business is, it is an important activity that must be done from time to time. This activity is to avoid theft possibility or embezzlement done by your staff.

In the retail business, stock taking is important to control the amount of inventory in your warehouse. This is important if you want to avoid empty stock ever happening in your store. In addition, stock checking is needed to find out the item condition and monitor the expiration date.

In several companies, stock-taking is done to recognize the company’s development. The increasing number of items in the warehouse, accompanied by the rapid ins and outs of goods in the warehouse is a sign that the company is developing nicely.

When should stock-taking be done

There is no standard about the best time to do stock-taking. Once a month, every three months, or up to six months depending on the policies of each company.

On average, more companies do it every three or four months. The reason is that the implementation process does take a lot of time to do.

How to do stock taking

Before running a stock-taking, it’s a good thing to pay attention to things you must prepare, such as the following:

• Do it on holidays: it’s a good idea to run it on holidays. With no items traffic from and to the warehouse, items calculations will be easier.
• Don’t do it by yourself: if your company has more than one warehouse in several places, don’t tackle this activity alone. Find people who can help you share the workload and make your job completed faster.
• Complete the required documents: inventory checking should come with documents. Therefore, make sure the required documents are available before doing your work.

After completing the required preparations, the next is implementation. There are a number of things that you must pay attention to during implementation and afterward. Some of them are:

• Do it carefully and meticulously: this work requires staff with attention to detail. Without it, miscalculations will happen frequently and will definitely harm you in the end.
• Make a report: After inventory checking is complete, the company needs to make a report. Directors could find out what had happened inside the warehouse in the previous period through the report.

To do those activities easily, you can utilize an ERP software. This software can help you to calculate and monitor stocks availability automatically.

Also read : How Retailers Can Optimize Warehouse Management & Improve Fulfillment

Conclusion

It is a fact that stock-taking takes a lot of time. And if something goes wrong in the process, this activity often results in some problems. That is why a lot of companies no longer do manual inventory checking and start using software instead.

One of the software that we recommend is the inventory system from HashMicro. With features such as barcode scanners, the stock-taking process will run more easily and efficiently.