As many businesses head back to work over the coming weeks with lockdown measures continually being eased, it’s fair to say that many managers will have a real headache when it comes to assessing the stock they left behind. There are a whole host of considerations that warehouse managers will need to have, from whether products are still fit for purpose following the pandemic, to if they will be able to sell the products if they may have been in contact with coronavirus.
Here, we take a closer look at just how important stock management is following the coronavirus pandemic, highlighting some of the key reasons the technology has been so vital for many businesses.
How Stock Management Has Helped Business Return To Work
Stock management has played a vital role in helping businesses from a variety of sectors operate normally throughout the years, and it has had a pivotal role in helping warehouse managers ease back into working life over the past few weeks. In the aftermath of the global coronavirus pandemic, there is likely a large amount of stock that has been left for over two months, so it can be difficult to know exactly what your business’ true stock levels are.
Stock control systems are obviously the answer to issues such as these, as they are capable of keeping a closer eye on your levels of stock. This is essential following a considerable amount of time out of the business, especially when your company has large amounts of different items in your warehouse.
Stock management systems are capable of storing a huge amount of information on each products individual barcodes (the total that can be stored does depend on the type of barcode though), so you will have little issue finding out just how much stock you have in place as soon as your premises reopens.
Here are just some of the ways that stock management has helped businesses across the UK find their feet significantly quicker:
Stock Management Gives An Overview of Your Total Inventory
Whilst this is a pretty obvious statement, it’s absolutely essential that after a long time out of the warehouse, you are able to quickly and accurately measure stock levels. Stock management systems give you immediate access to your overall inventory, allowing you to identify any problem areas of stock quickly.
Stock Management Gives You Access To Valuable Product Insights
With your products being left for well over 2 months in a warehouse, it’s fair to say that some of your inventory may not be fit to be sold to the public now. Utilising your stock management system, you can easily find products that may now be out of date, or not fit for purpose, allowing you to remove these products from your inventory. This is essential for all businesses, as any company could end up in hot water if they do happen to end up selling any out of date products to consumers. One of your main priorities when back in work should be to find and remove all out of date products from your inventory, this will be made considerably easier with an effective stock management system in place!
You can also easily find any products that may be seasonal and no longer worthwhile at the present time, which gives you the ability to move these products whilst making space for other stock that you can immediately sell.
During this stage, remember to keep a tally of the total amount of cash your wasted inventory is costing your business, as this will need to be factored into overall business strategy moving forward.
Stock Management Moving Forward
Now that we have established some of the main reasons that businesses who have kept a regular and accurate check on stock are continuing to thrive, we take a look at how stock management will be handled moving forward.
Once you have weeded out all of the out of date and seasonal stock, it’s essential that you perform a thorough audit of all of your current stock, being sure to identify if there are any glaring omissions, or any opportunities to stock up on a product that is likely to sell well in the coming months.
During this stage, we would also recommend using your stock management system to get an accurate total of money you have tied up in your inventory. This will give you a great starting point for getting back to normal business operations and gives you an overview of your current position as a business.
If you feel that now is the right time to invest in a barcoding system to keep a track of your stock following the pandemic, then be sure to get in touch with the expert team here at GSM Barcoding. With over 40 years’ experience in the industry, you can rest assured that our stock management systems will give you everything you need to successfully manage all of your stock.
If you would like any more information on how we can help you, why not get in touch? Contact us by calling either our northern or southern office depending on where you are based, or you can simply email us on sales@barcoding.co.uk and we’ll be more than happy to assist.
