If you own a retail business, one of the best ways to ensure that your stock control and inventory processes are functioning efficiently is by investing in stock control software. Eurostop is one of the top stock control software providers and we’ve offered some insight for you below.
What Exactly is Stock Control Software?
Stock control software is designed to do a range of things, such as reduce vendor and administrative errors which can lead to stock shrinkage, as well as help you manage the supply chain process, keep track of products and stock, allocate to and replenish your stores, and reduce overall cost.
10 Reasons to Implement Stock Control Software
- Easy Inventory Tracking: By having a robust system for processing inventory, you can automate processes and reduce errors. A connected system can also streamline processes, speeding up processing of your inventory, so that it is available for quicker selling, making the most of your stock. A good system will let you record stock in different states e.g. free stock, in transit, quality control, which means that you can easily track your entire inventory accurately, even as it moves across multiple locations.
- Better Organisation Organising stock in your warehouse can be a challenge. You need a system that can, for example, set bin locations and record exactly where your stock is, for restocking and stocktakes. When you know exactly where your stock is, you can also replenish stores and fulfil online orders as quickly and efficiently as possible, which is critical in an ‘always on’era.
- Reduces Downtime: With a reliable system, you can let the software do a lot of the work for you, and if you do need assistance a good vendor will have support packages to assist
- Control of Sales Processing: By setting up products, prices, promotions and markdowns in your central system, you can control and regulate selling. If you have a connected POS estate, sales can be process quickly and correctly at Point of Sale, avoiding manual errors as store staff process sales. Barcoded systems ensure that every item can be identified accurately, avoiding staff having to process sales against a generic SKU code, which leads to stock inaccuracies.
- Improved Accuracy: Stock data should be real-time, so automated systems are essential for maintaining accurate data. They reduce manual errors, and there is no delay in waiting for paperwork to be processed which can lead to further temporary inaccuracies and subsequent challenges. They can also allow you to report and analyse past sales performance, which enables you to forecast with better accuracy for re-ordering.
- Avoid Overstocking: Stock inventory software lets you review your inventory to see what’s selling best and avoid being left with surplus stock at the end of a season. Overstocking results in money that could be used elsewhere being tied up in redundant stock, with the added challenging of having to find space for the stock surplus.
- Identify Shrinkage: Your stock control software should allow you to perform annual as well as perpetual stock takes. If there is shrinkage (a discrepancy between physical stock and recorded stock counts), you should be able to record this and report. By analysing these findings, it allows retailers to keep on top of sources of shrinkage and remedy the situation as quickly as possible, before costs escalate.
- Grow Your Business: See what works and track your progress, finding areas where you can grow your business by analyzing different data and trends. This is only possible if you have accurate stock data and sales figures. It’s much easier to monitor performance against targets if you have the correct data.
- Improved Sales: Replenish your warehouse and allocate to your stores according to demand to maximize sales. A retailer may want to allocate to different stores depending for example on footfall, or demographic. Maintaining optimal levels of stock and ordering the correct stock to meet market trends allows a retail business to maximize sales. With stock control software, your customers will always have what they want available in the store, this improves your customer relationships and sales services.
- Secure systems: In addition, a stock control system can help control against unauthorized use. User logins and role based permissions ensure that only properly trained and authorised retail staff can perform certain actions. In addition, if you are holding customer data then security features that facilitate your role as a data controller (GDPR 2018) are also vital.
Contact Eurostop for stock control software and inventory solutions today!
If you want to get a handle on your processes and ensure the very best in-store or online experience for all of your customers, the team of experts from Eurostop would love to hear from you. You can contact us online today for a FREE DEMO or call +44 (0) 20 8991 2700.
In addition to our inventory control solutions, we also specialise in retail POS systems, mobile POS solutions, tenant management systems, and much more, so get in touch today!
Editor at Eurostop Ltd
Eurostop Ltd provides omnichannel retail software and services to international retailers in the fashion, footwear and retail industries.
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