It’s often said that inventory management is the holy grail of a successful retail business in Kenya, and anywhere else for that matter. The repercussions of poor stock management in Kenya include poor customer experiences, low sales and locked capital. Needless to say, it’s evident that poor stock control inadvertently leads to collapsing of a business.
If you fail to manage your inventory properly, you’ll likely see problems in other aspects of your business, particularly finance and customer experience. This will inevitably lead to the collapse of your business.
In order to ensure your business succeeds, our team at PawaPOS has put together a list of 3 common mistakes that retailers make regarding stock management in Kenya. To stand out and be a success, check out the list to evaluate if you’re making these mistakes (and if yes, then move quickly to rectify before the ship sinks!)
Managing your inventory manually (Without an Inventory System)
No matter the size of your business, you can’t keep accurate track of your stocks using just a pen and paper. Without a doubt, manual stock management will lead to the inevitable human error, time wasting and stock discrepancies.
The right thing to do is to digitize your inventory processes, particularly when it comes to data entry and reporting. Rather than handwriting your product information and quantities, get yourself an inventory or stock management system that lets you enter your products electronically or scan items into the system.
With a robust inventory (POS) management system in Kenya, you can also adjust levels automatically when you process sales or returns, which means you won’t have to manually update your records.
An added benefit of a POS System with stock management in Kenya is that you can comprehensive reports in realtime – which will give you insights on your stock. For example, the reports can enable you to quickly know items that may almost be running out of stock, fast moving items and much more. Such reports from a POS system will help you to not only make the right decisions in regards to stock control but also be able to it in good time.
Lack of regular physical inventory count
The key to successfully addressing issues like shrinkage and inventory discrepancies is to catch them early. You won’t be able to do that if you don’t count your inventory frequently. Remember, having a solid stock take process in retail is essential.
Think about it: if you only conduct stock counts once a year, then your inventory report will have a year’s worth of discrepancies, and it will be difficult for you to pinpoint root causes of your inventory issues.
That’s why a lot of experts recommend cycle counting — the process of partially counting merchandise on a continuous basis. This method entails counting just certain portions of inventory on a daily or weekly basis, so you won’t have to do a full inventory count anymore. This is one of the best hacks for proper stock management in Kenya
Disorganized Stock Room and Arrangement
A disorganized stock room is a sure recipe for poor stock management in Kenya. When you have all your products all over the place, it’s impossible to accurately know what you have in stock (leave alone where to find it.). Suffice to say, disorganized stock will inevitably lead to store efficiency and cause catastrophic stock issues.
Once of the strategies of having an organized stock room is arranging similar items together. For example, in the case of a minimart, stationery can be put together. In some cases, fast moving items can be placed in the most easily accessible location so that it’s easy to get them. Whichever method you choose to arrange your stock room. the key thing is to make products as easy to locate as possible.
It’s also important to label your stock storage areas. The labels should be consistent and simple but with enough details so that there’s no confusion. Shelves should be labeled in a clear and visible manner.