Undertaking a stocktake can seem like an arduous task, but it should be a top priority for all product-based businesses. A stocktake will help track and manage your inventory levels for reasons such as:
Accurate inventory levels
Stocktaking will help your businesses determine the actual stock levels, essential for accurate financial reporting and decision-making. Accuracy of inventory can prevent over/understocking, which in turn can lead to lost sales, increased costs, and reduced profits.
Identifying stock discrepancies
A stocktake will help identify discrepancies between actual inventory levels and what is recorded in your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. An ERP system will control your stock numbers, due to discrepancies from theft, errors in receiving or shipping, or misplacing items in your warehouse. Identifying and resolving these discrepancies can improve your inventory accuracy and prevent future discrepancies.
Identify stock that is not selling
You probably have a good idea of what your top-selling items are, but what about those forgotten, slow-moving stock items? These products can tie up valuable resources and lead to increased storage costs. By identifying slow-moving inventory, your business can take steps to reduce excess stock and optimise inventory levels.
Determining obsolete inventory
A stocktake can help you identify obsolete inventory in your warehouse, to free up valuable space and resources. Depending on your inventory, identifying obsolete stock gives you an opportunity to sell it at a discount, repurpose it or if necessary, dispose of it.
Compliance with regulations
If your industry is in the field of healthcare or food and beverages, there are strict regulations for observing inventory management. A stocktake can help your business ensure compliance with regulations to avoid any penalties.
A stocktake is an important process for any product-based business to maintain accurate inventory levels, identify and resolve discrepancies, optimise inventory levels and comply with regulations.
For more than 30 years Acacia has provided process management solutions, delivering ERP systems to a variety of businesses, with a strong understanding of the many facets of the stocktake process. Our focus is to optimise and improve the operations of your business. If you are interested in finding out how Acacia can help your business, please contact us to find out more.
