At a time when the price of everything is rising fast – from energy to a packet of biscuits – now is the time that small businesses really need to be focussed on the bottom line.
It’s so easy to wrongly assume that cutting stocktaking costs will save money during tough times. In reality, stocktaking is one of the surefire ways to help a business increase margins and revenue when carried out effectively. Let us explain how….
Minimising stock loss
‘Stock loss’ applies to any part of your sales process where stock can go astray. There are plenty of opportunities throughout the journey where it can happen – basic human error, miscounting, process failure, distribution or supply issues, shoplifting or staff theft. No matter where your stock is lost from, the moment it’s gone, you’re losing money. Stocktaking can help to identify where your stocktaking is failing, allowing you to eliminate problems and get the most revenue possible from every item sold.
Understanding stock levels
As a retailer, if you don’t have it then you can’t sell it. Conversely, if you’ve got too much of it then your capital is going to be tied up in unwanted (and depreciating) stock, restricting your cashflow and tightening those margins even further.
Stocktaking should maximise every sales opportunity – allowing you to have the most popular items at that time in stock whilst ensuring that not all of your money is tied up in items stuck at the back of cupboards or in expensive warehousing. It’s a fine balance, turn to the experts for help.
Making those decisions earlier
At the heart of every successful retail business is knowing and understanding what your customer wants and when. Stocktaking can give you accurate information for decision making, taking the subjective opinion (and emotion) out of things. With lead times on procurement delivery as lengthy as they have ever been, now is the time to have reliable data at your fingertips.
In short, effective stocktaking really is the backbone of your management process and key in getting to grips with your profit margins during difficult times.
Stocktaking can:
- Help reduce stock loss and increase margin
- Make sure you’ve got popular items in stock when you need them
- Ensure your working capital isn’t tied up in unwanted and depreciating stock
- Allow you to make accurate decisions on purchases earlier
One thing they all have in common is making you more profitable.
For more information on how our experienced stocktaking team can help your business, please give us a call on +44 (0)1637 874609 and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
