As a retailer, one of the biggest challenges to running your business profitably is to maintain an accurate inventory. One of the biggest factor which influences the accuracy of your inventory is accurate inventory counts. In this article we explore the secrets to accurate inventory counts.
The first secret to making inventory counts accurate is to use a high-quality Point of Sale software solution. If your inventory management software doesn't work properly and it can't keep track of your inventory in between inventory counts, your staff will get frustrated. There is nothing more frustrating than having "the computer" telling you that you should have 10 quantity of an item, whereas physically you only have 8 and then later on finding that it was "the computer" that made the mistake.
If "the computer" can't keep track of inventory properly, your staff will not be motivated to count inventory accurately either. A high-quality point of sale system is a must in this regard. If your point of sale software can't keep track of your inventory properly through everyday business processes such as sales, returns, layaways, multi-location transfer, special orders etc, then find one that does. Your staff should have the confidence that "the computer" is hardly ever wrong.
Secondly, proper training during inventory count is important. Spot checking people's work is imperative. If you have a whole team doing inventory count, but one person is constantly making mistakes, it will frustrate the other team members who are trying hard to match things up. Don't let one bad apple spoil the whole process for you. Inventory count is a tedious enough process for your staff already. Don't make it worse by allowing lazy employees to ruin the accuracy of your entire inventory. Assign specific sections to people and confront those who aren't counting accurately immediately to find out why they are finding it challenging. There may be a reason that isn't their fault.
Thirdly, invest in technology. A bar coding system can significantly improve the accuracy of your inventory and inventory counts. By labeling every piece of inventory with a simple barcode label which can be printed from a high-quality point of sale software attached to a barcode printer, you can keep track of your inventory easily.
At the checkout counter, your staff can then use barcode scanners to scan inventory upon checkout. This will ensure that the proper item was sold to the customer, in contrast to having your clerks trying to remember the "code" for the item being sold. Don't rely on the memory of your clerks. They are human and they will make mistakes. A barcode system virtually eliminates that.
During inventory count, you can also implement portable inventory barcode scanners to track your inventory. Instead of once again having to remember "codes", or trying to identify exactly what the employee is counting, you employees can simply scan the barcode of the item being counted into the portable scanner and enter the quantity that they see.
These simple but effective tricks are a great way to improve your inventory count accuracy.
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