Stock control

Stock or inventory control refers to activities such as replenishment planning, organization, material flow control, and handling.

It also includes the optimization of all these processes.

Stock control has an impact on the entire business, whether in terms of operations, productivity, accounting or sales strategy.

It’s often confused with inventory management. Yet these are two very different concepts.

Inventory management is very different from one company to another. In fact, some companies only need very simple controls. In dropshipping, for example, as the seller's stock is non-existent, control is reduced to a minimum.

On the other hand, other companies work with numerous product references, which they store before reselling. In this case, control is much more important.

Stock control offers several benefits. Having a well-established system in place for stock control enables you to do the following:

• manage product supply more effectively, to avoid overstocking or, conversely, stock-outs when a customer wants to place an order;
• reduce potential losses;
• increase customer satisfaction;
• improve productivity for better store management;
• improve purchasing management;
• obtain a more accurate view of available products, and constantly monitor stock levels.

Stock control involves not only physical management, but also administrative and financial management. It involves correlating computerized inventory data with a physical inventory taken by hand.

In fact, even if stocktaking is a daunting task, involving counting products one by one, it’s an indispensable procedure that businesses must perform at least once a year, usually at the end of the accounting year.

Software is available to help with stock control. Likewise, perfectly ordered stock is always easier to control.

For this, don't hesitate to use precise labeling. Take the time to keep your spreadsheet or inventory management software as up to date as possible.

This will enable you to better control your inventory, both physically and in terms of accounting, and thus to better anticipate the costs inherent in the immobilization of merchandise.