Year-end stocktaking empowers businesses by providing data for estimating and forecasting their market value and demand graph for future business purposes and financial accounting. Once the holiday season and Christmas are over, a stocktake is done manually to count and check records of all products or inventory or raw materials of the business to counter check accuracy of data.

With integrated inventory management, the stocktaking process can be expedited as information from multi-channel inventory is easily accessible without the involvement of human resources. Multiple sales points such as eCommerce sites, retailers, offline stores, or wholesalers can collaborate, and information can be shared with all stakeholders and analytically evaluated for various reasons ranging from decision-making to tax purposes, or manufacturing.

Inventory Optimization and Year-end Stocktaking

Before peak demand seasons such as holidays, and festivals; retailers prefer being prepared for an unprecedented escalation in demand. In the hope of taking advantage of the situation, retailers stock products at multiple purchasing points such as marketplaces, eCommerce sites, offline stores, and warehouses closer to locations from where high-volume demand is expected to come. Inventory optimization prepares businesses for upcoming increases in demand by bringing down logistics costs, reducing transportation time during the winter season, saving from embarrassing situations of going stockouts, helps in building consumer trust and goodwill, thus this preparedness scales up business to the next level.

Speed and accuracy in order fulfillment are not the only advantages of inventory management software, the integrated system aligns inbound information from multiple channels of inventories for further processing at the end of the season. Some of the benefits of a cloud-based inventory system in dealing with year-end stocktaking are—

• Instant Sharing of Information Across Businesses — Year-end stocktaking is of great prominence for all the stakeholders and an integrated system can share information with different departments through a single window.
• Unimpeachable Source of Information — An automated inventory management system avoids any errors in the accounts and records, as there is less involvement of human resources. AI-powered tools and Machine Learning provide analytical data for swifter as well as smart decision-making.
• Avoids Duplication or Missing out Products in Transit — The Digitalized system uses scanners and barcodes, and it is updated regularly. When there is no manual work, there is no duplication as every single SKU is tracked, traced, and recorded till the order is complete through a single code by all the stakeholders as shipping, warehouses, stores, and others.
• Better management of staff — Cloud-based inventory guides management in the distribution of staff as per requirement. Stocktaking becomes swifter if the staff is focused, has a supervisor to oversee the work, knows how to count stock, and automates the process to avoid any human errors which are possible when there is information to process and share in real-time.
• Validation of Data — An integrated inventory management does not work as a singular system, multiple departments are working together and are in sync with each other. Warehouse organization ensures inventory data is accurate from the point it has started to the point when stocktaking is being done. The count of numbers is the same as it was at the beginning of the financial year or the start of the season of peak demands. This validates data and ensures accuracy.

Tips and Best Practices for Year-end Stocktaking and Inventory Reconciliation

As the year comes to a close, Economic Order Quantity or EOQ becomes a necessity as it defines a business’ optimal order quantity. It states what is the best way to meet the demand without shooting up the cost for meeting demands, inventory management, ordering, and receiving while remaining constant all through the process. For taking business to the next level, let’s check out tips and best practices for inventory reconciliation that would aid year-end stocktaking and achieving EOQ.

• Warehouse Organization: Proper layout of the warehouse helps in understanding space in a warehouse and how inventory is stocked.
• Purpose of Inventory Management: Once the business knows the purpose of inventory reconciliation and management, it can identify loopholes and discrepancies.
• Detailed Count of Inventory: This includes information such as the location of the inventory, date as well as time of the count, person in charge, and items needed to be counted. Tallying becomes easy during stocktake at the year-end.
• Accuracy of the Count: Inventory count accuracy is important to understand the demand, track theft if any, and ensure stock is properly managed.
• Corrective Measures: Recording discrepancies during inventory reconciliation empowers management to take corrective measures when there is time.
• Install Inventory Management Software: A digitalized system makes inventory reconciliation easy and faster as there is code given to each SKU of a product, which makes counting error-free and much more manageable.