Stock Control System

Knowledge is power. The more you can know about every stage of your business’s processes, the better you can co-ordinate and control what is happening. Make sure your stock system allows for complete end-to-end visibility at every stage of your processes.

From purchase right the way through to final dispatch, you need a stock system that can keep up to date with your business’s operations in real-time. This means that every decision you make will be informed by the most up-to-date vision of what is happening. Exactly the kind of feature that is essential for a competitive edge in the current landscape.

Your stock system needs to be able to process information coming in from every platform you operate on. Your Etsy page. Your Amazon storefront. Your eBay shop. Your own independent online presence. Whatever way you present your products as available to the outside world, the software that your stock system uses needs to be able to process this.

Without the ability to operate across different platforms, you may end up with contradictory information in different fields, resulting in a confusing and unprofessional outlook. If one sales avenue declares an item as out of stock, while another declares complete availability, you could end up with a situation where you have customers unable to purchase items sat waiting in your warehouse. Be sure your stock system can handle multiple platforms at once.

Strict industry standards are serious business across a wide range of sectors. Make sure your stock system has the complete capacity to keep up to date with every last regulatory requirement and legal stipulation. Things like batch identifiers, expiry dates, serial number registries, stock discrepancy flagging, shelf life lengths, and full variant logging.

Your stock system must be ready to record everything, and fully able to provide total tracking. From pharmaceuticals to food and protective apparatus to professional apparel, industry-grade health and safety regulations require strict monitoring of every last item. You need to be sure you have selected a stock system that is up to the task.

Alerts and warnings from your stock system can convey vital information. Is a specific supplier being too slow with a vital component? Is one warehouse running low on an item that is in high demand? Is a particular product selling out faster this year than last year? This type of information can be essential, but not every business will need exactly the same details in identical styles. After all, no two businesses are the same, and no one stock system will fix every companies’ issues.

You must ensure your stock system has integrated alerts that can be adjusted. Your business must be both aware of and prepared for, every important eventuality. Too few alerts, and you could be caught unprepared. Too many, and you will be unable to separate the signal from the noise. Make sure your stock system has the kind of adjustable alerts you need to keep your business on its toes.

The best stock systems can speak the same language as your despatch division. You can have all the advantages of end-to-end visibility, multi-platform integration, fully adjustable alerts, and industry-standard compliance, but if you can’t get your product out of the warehouse quickly, it won’t matter.

You need a stock system that can connect effectively with your despatch and courier systems. This removes tiresome and time-consuming rekeying as an issue, making everything much faster. With the right despatch connections, your stock system can ensure every last item gets into your client’s hands in the shortest possible time.

Stock management is the collective term for the systems, processes, and procedures that let your business stay informed and active regarding your stock. This includes both the stock you have physical access to, how many individual items you have, which specific variants are available, where on your premises they are being kept, as well as stock that is on order, the dates it is due to come in, and the spaces in your facilities set aside for their arrival. Stock management is the systems you have in place to both keep all that information organised, and the processes to take action when that information tells you something important about your overall stock situation.

Stock management is improved with more information, more automation, and more speed. More information means additional details about every stage of your stock’s journey. From your supplier’s premises, to their courier, to your warehouse, your racking, your pickers, and finally your customer’s doorstep. It also means more information about the stock itself, such as serial numbers to expiry dates, variant colours, and more. More automation means more alerts. Tailored messages that are triggered to send to you in specific circumstances that you need to be aware of. More speed means that all these things can happen faster. All this information and automation needs to be delivered in an easy-to-understand and easy-to-control fashion. This allows your business to act faster, respond quicker, and take advantage of new situations ahead of the competition.

High-quality stock management is vital for any business. At the most basic level, it can be the difference between retaining a satisfied customer/client or losing one who becomes disillusioned when a promised item turns out to be delayed or unavailable. The better your stock management, the less likely the latter scenario becomes. The more advanced reasoning is that good stock management gives you the information you need to understand your business’s current situation. This empowers better decisions, faster responses to change, and more advantageous manoeuvring. If you can manage your stock well, you can satisfy your customers faster, stay abreast of market shifts, and respond with more agility. Good stock management makes you more able to do more business.