For a trader or distributor, stock is cash sitting on a shelf. Too much and money is stuck; too little and you lose the sale. These seven habits keep both under control - with or without software, although software makes them far easier.
1. Receive goods against a purchase order
Record every delivery as a goods receipt linked to its purchase order. Short supplies, wrong items and price differences show up immediately - not at the month-end reconciliation.
2. One item, one code
"Blue pen", "Pen blue" and "Pen (B)" are three items in a spreadsheet and one item on your shelf. Keep a single product master with a unique code, unit and HSN code, and stop creating new names on the fly.
3. Set reorder levels for fast movers
For your top-selling items, set a minimum stock level based on average daily sales and supplier lead time. A low-stock alert then tells you to reorder before the shelf is empty.
4. Track stock per warehouse
If you have a godown and a shop, or several branches, keep stock separately for each and record transfers between them. It ends the "the system says we have it, but where?" problem.
5. Let sales reduce stock automatically
When invoices and delivery challans reduce stock on their own, the numbers stay right without anyone updating a sheet at night.
6. Count regularly - a little at a time
Instead of one painful annual count, count a few product groups every week. Record the differences as stock adjustments with a reason, and investigate the ones that keep repeating.
7. Review slow and dead stock every month
List items with no sale in 60 or 90 days. Discount them, bundle them or return them to the supplier - and stop reordering them.
The goal is simple: the stock in the system should match the stock on the shelf, every day.
Putting it together
GoDigitally One connects purchase orders, goods receipts, warehouses, invoices and accounts, so these habits happen as part of daily work. See the Trading ERP plan or ask for a demo.