Inventory Control Market Trends
Category Intelligence on Inventory Control covers the following
- Information relating to market, supply, cost, and pricing analysis
- Hard to find data on cost and TCO models, supplier details, and performance benchmarks
- Macroeconomic and regional trends impacting cost, supply, and other market dynamics
- Category-specific negotiation and sourcing advice
Industry Outlook & Drivers
Global Market Outlook on Inventory Control
Inventory management is predominantly executed through a technology platform with data inputs from various sources including store counting. In addition to stock replenishment, objectives such as loss prevention, increased visibility and monitoring real-time sales trend have become vital for apparel retailers.
Inventory Management System: Item Level
Store Returns/ Transfers
- Data pertaining to products returned. Returned goods could also be defective, hence they are sorted accordingly
Loss Prevention Analytics
- In addition to stock replenishment at stores, inventory management proves to be a vital visibility tool aiding in prevention of losses
POS Data (Perpetual Count)
- Perpetual inventory data is generated through data from POS systems
- The inventory ledger is updated after every transaction at the store
Warehouse Stock Levels
- Warehouse stock levels are updated based on the goods arriving from suppliers and manufacturing plants
- It is generally coordinated with data from 3PL or the retailer, who manages the warehouse
Store Inventory Counting
- At store level, items are either counted by a full-service inventory count service provider or by the retailer themselves
- Cycle counting and annual counting are different methods involved in inventory counting
Inventory Counting: Techniques
Best-in-class retailers prefer to adopt perpetual counting in addition to cycle counting to gain better visibility on supply chain, which facilitates less shrinkage losses and out-of-stock time. Perpetual inventory technique also helps in building analytics to perform
demand–supply models, which majorly supports assortment decisions.
Periodic Counting
Cycle Counting
Method
- Physical count of inventory conducted as quarterly, half yearly, and annually across stores in cycles
Tools
- Store & Warehouse: Handheld barcode/ RFID scanners
Benifits
- No need of store closure
- Reduced errors
- Ongoing inventory shrinkage performance
Snapshot Counting
Method
- Inventory count taken at all the stores simultaneously during the end of financial year, usually Jan/Apr-Jun
Tools
- Store & Warehouse: Handheld barcode/ RFID scanners
Benifits
- Greater attention across the management
- Requires operational shutdown
Perpetual Counting
POS Counting
Method
- Physical count is determined continuously at the store, based on sales data and warehouse data
- Count data is linked to the ERP system for assortment decisions
Tools
- Store: POS System - Barcode/RFID enabled
- Warehouse: WMS
Benifits
- No shutdown required
- Prevent shrinkage Losses
- Increased supply chain visibility
- Quicker product demand–supply forecast
