Stock control Software - What is it? and why do you need it?

Managing stock effectively is important for any business, because without enough stock, production and sales will grind to a halt. Stock control involves careful planning to ensure that the business has sufficient stock of the right quality available at the right time.

Stock can mean different things and depends on the industry the firm operates in. It includes:

• Raw materials and components from suppliers
• Work in progress or part finished goods made within the business
• Finished goods ready to dispatch to customers
• Consumables and materials used by service businesses

In order to meet customer orders, a product has to be available from stock!

If a business does not have the necessary stock to meet orders, this can lead to a loss of sales and a damaged business reputation. This is sometimes called a ‘stock-out’.

It is important therefore that a business either holds sufficient stocks to meet actual and anticipated orders, or can get stocks quickly enough to meet those orders. For a high street retailer, in practice this means having the right amount of the right products on the shelves.

However, poor stock control can lead to problems associated with overstocking as well. There are many costs of holding stock, so a business does not wish to hold too much stock either.

If a business holds too much buffer stock (stock held in reserve) or overestimates the level of demand for its products, then it will overstock. This increase costs for businesses as holding stocks are an expense for firms for several reasons.

The costs of holding stock include:

• The opportunity cost of working capital tied up in stock that could have been used for another purpose
• Storage costs – the rent, heating, lighting and security costs of a warehouse or additional factory or office space
• Bank interest , if the stock is financed by an overdraft or a loan
• Risk of damage to stock by fire, flood, theft etc; most businesses would insure against this, so there is the cost of insurance
• Stock may become obsolete if buyer tastes change in favour of new or better products
• Stock may perish or deteriorate – especially with food products

This is where Blue-Logic can help!

With the extensive range of features in our stock control, warehouse management and order processing software system you can set minimum order levels so you will never overstock or run out of essential goods from suppliers. This in turn will ensure that your customers are satisfied and potential customers then have plenty of goods in your portfolio to choose from! This will ensure good stock management. By ensuring careful planning and good decisions regarding stock quality and accessibility, you will be safeguarding your business future

Stock management - Why do we really need it?

Good stock management will lower costs, improve efficiency and ensure production can meet fluctuations in customer demand. It will give you a competitive advantage as more efficient production can feed through to lower prices and also customers should always be satisfied as products will be available on demand.

Many accounts packages also boast that they have "Stock Control Software" features, but they lack in many areas in comparison to Blue-Logic. They just don’t have the flexibility and control that an efficient stock control software system should have, as they were not designed to deal with the complexities of stock management that Blue-Logic does.