How utilising a barcode stock taking solution can speed up the painful stock taking process and reduce how often you need to perform them.
Have you just experienced yet another long, painful stocktake, or are you dreading the next one?
We know that the end of Financial Year causes stress. There are so many tasks that need to be completed and stocktake is often one that no one looks forward to.
We know how it usually goes, does this sound familiar to you?
Day 1 – Order processing on hold as the stock take begins. The whole business downs tools and picks up a Clipboard! Printed sheets and biros at the ready. Your team are paired up. Everyone from the MD to the office Apprentice are roped in to take part. One person counts manually, the other person double checks and writes down the count.
Day 2 – The stock take rolls on. More counting, lots of grumbling. Everyone’s email inboxes are filling up, and everyone is feeling the pressure to get this finished today! Customers are chasing for delivery of their orders. Your team are already losing interest and you worry that the stock is not being counted accurately. Everyone stays till 7pm to try and get this done. Pizza is ordered…
Day 3 Despite best efforts you didn’t get finished last night. Everyone is tired and fed up now, but with one final push you count all the zones by the end of the day. Customers are now desperately chasing their orders, which of course haven’t even been entered on the system yet. The office is in chaos.
Day 4 – Mistakes are made, frustration levels are high. Manual transfer of data like this is full of possibilities for human error. The count quantities are entered and there are massive stock discrepancies which must be investigated.
Day 5 – You spend the day trying to get to the bottom of your stock discrepancies, fighting fires to despatch customer orders and booking a holiday to recover from all the stress!
We promise, it doesn’t have to be this way!
By utilising barcodes to identify your stock, and stock locations you create a smart, simple, and accurate way to perform your Stocktake. Your end of year process will be a fast and seamless activity.
How does this barcode stock taking process sound?
Day 1 – Your warehouse team take their Mobile handheld devices and you send them to a zone or location to count what they find there. They simply scan the barcodes of everything they find. Zap, zap zap, and move on! Not a clipboard, or biro in sight and this is not a two-person job!
Day 2 – You complete the count. The data is sync ’ed in real time to your back-office system. You check your figures here and address any major discrepancies. No manual data entry! Once confirmed you accept your stock figures on the computer. Everything is updated immediately (as if by magic!)
Day 3 – You’re back to processing your customer orders 2 days sooner than by the old process. Business as usual!
Your future: Your next stock take will be even simpler, and you can reduce the frequency of our stock takes, because by using barcodes for goods in and goods out transactions you’re naturally stock taking every day and ensuring your stock remains accurate at all times!
Accurate stock figures lead to an ability to process and manage more transactions every day allowing your business to grow without increasing headcount.
Being able to rely on accurate stock figures naturally results in increased customer satisfaction as your business can fulfil customer orders more quickly, anticipate future stock requirements and speed up all your customer communications.
Your team are not constantly using up valuable time physically checking stock levels. They can trust the data on their computer and are therefore, happy, contented and naturally able to perform their role well.
ConnX Stock is a modular Stock Control solution which is directly integrated with Sage 50. ConnX Stock adds barcode stock management to Sage 50 without any changes to your existing Sage processes. It integrated seamlessly and is simple to use, powerful and has a straightforward implementation process.
ConnX Stock’s modular format allows you to build a better business through bite sized modules which can be added at any time. The core package includes Goods In / Out processes, Stock Taking and Returns as standard. Additional modules include:
- Manufacturing
- Courier
- Trade Counter / Counter Sales
- GS128 barcode app to utilise application identifiers for one scan collection of multiple pieces of data.
- Back Orders Management
- Forecasting
- Product Control (Batch Control, Serial number recording, Date Control and First in First Out)
- Remote Order Creation Module (Raise Sales orders on the go from your mobile / handheld device)
- Integration to Work in Progress tracking for job routing.
If you are frustrated with your current Stock management, learn more about ConnX Stock and how we can help your business streamline and speed up processes. We love helping businesses to become more efficient, more accurate, and more profitable.
Make stocktake pain a thing of the past!
Visit: Sage Stock Control Software – Sage 50 Barcode add on (connx.co.uk) for more information. Or call us on 0845 649 2950 for a no obligation demo.