Stock control

Stock control

Stock control is defined as: "The activity of checking a shop’s stock.

Many shops now use stock control systems. The term "stock control system" can be used to include various aspects of controlling the amount of stock on the shelves and in the stockroom and how reordering happens.

Main features of the stock control is:

1. Ensuring that products are on the shelf in shops in just the right quantity.
2. Recognising when a customer has bought a product.
3. Automatically signalling when more products need to be put on the shelf from the stockroom.
4. Automatically reordering stock at the appropriate time from the main warehouse.
5. Automatically producing management information reports that could be used both by local managers and at Head office

There are different types of the stock and the most famous of it is:

1-Raw materisals

2-Work in semi finished goods.

3-Finished goods

4-Consumables

5-Pants and machinery  spare parts

The different between the EPOS and POS:

Point of sale (POS) or checkout is the place where a retail transaction is completed. It is the point at which a customer makes a payment to a merchant in exchange for goods or services. At the point of sale the merchant would use any of a range of possible methods to calculate the amount owing - such as a manual system, weighing machines, scanners or an electronic cash register. The merchant will usually provide hardware and options for use by the customer to make payment.The merchant will also normally issue a receipt for the transaction.

Electronic point of sale System(EPOS) are the computerised systems that are used by retailers: modern tills and associated systems. Their basic functions include scanning bar codes or radio frequency ID (RFID) tags to identify products, scanning credit cards, and cash handling.

EPOS systems do not only handle transactions. They can also connect to networks making information on sales instantly available. This is useful for providing management with information for decision making, and for improving logistics andstock control.

Stock control improves because with exact sales data a retailer knows exactly how much of any given item is available at any given locations as well as how fsat items are selling at each location. This means less working capital is required, while at the same time the chances of running out of any item can be reduced.

Large retailers tend to have very sophisticated logistics systems and the data from EPOS systems is a vital to these

EPOS enables efficient computer stock control and reordering as well as giving a wealth of information about turnover, profitability on different lines, stock ratios, and other important financial indicators. 

Advantages and disadvantages

Stock control systems ensure that just the right amount of stock are on the shelves. If there is too much stock, it ties up a company's money, money that might be better spent on reducing theiroverdraft, on advertising the business or on paying for better facilities for customers, for example. Too much stock means that some perishable products might not sell and would have to be thrown away and this would reduce a company's profit. If there were not enough products on the shelf, they might run out. If this happens, they would lose business and again, profits would not be as good as they ought to be.

Stock control systems save a lot of staff time. Savings may be possible by reducing the number of staff needed in the business thereby improving profits. A stock control system will not remove the necessity for checking what is on the shelves regularly - things get stolen and these won't be recorded.

Stock control systems also mean that a business may have to close down while the system is changed from a manual one. They may also involve a considerable investment in equipment and support. Stock control systems require training and some staff might find them difficult to use. They can also break down so a procedure needs to be in place so the business can continue to trade. This could involve further costs as well, perhaps requiring the purchase of backup equipment or a support agreement. Usually, the benefits of a stock control system outweigh the disadvantages.

Just in time

Just in time (JIT) is a production strategy that strives to improve a business return on investment by reducing in-process inventory and associated carrying costs. To meet JIT objectives, the process relies on signals or Kanban (看板 Kanban) between different points in the process, which tell production when to make the next part. Kanban are usually 'tickets' but can be simple visual signals, such as the presence or absence of a part on a shelf.

Quick notice which requires personnel to order new stock once existing stock is depleting is critical to the inventory reduction at the center of the JIT policy, which saves warehouse space and costs. However, JIT relies on other elements in the inventory chain as well. For instance, its effective application cannot be independent of other key components of a lean manufacturing system or it can "end up with the opposite of the desired result." In recent years manufacturers have continued to try to hone forecasting methods such as applying a trailing 13-week average as a better predictor for JIT planning; however, some research demonstrates that basing JIT on the presumption of stability is inherently flawed.