Page 105 - DMGT553_RETAIL_STORE_MANAGEMENT

Retail Store Management

Notes Theft by Staff

Theft by employees can sometimes be a problem. To prevent this:
Train staff about your security systems and your disciplinary policies and procedures.
Training about the cost of stock theft will help, as many people aren’t aware of the
implications for company turnover and job security.
Set up procedures to prevent theft. Staff with financial responsibilities should not be in
charge of stock records.

Restrict access to warehouses, stockrooms and stationery cupboards.
Regularly change staff controlling stock to avoid collusion or bad practice.

6.3.4 Control the Quality of Your Stock

Quality control is a vital aspect of stock control – especially as it may affect the safety of customers
or the quality of the finished product.
Efficient stock control should incorporate stock tracking and batch tracking. This means being
able to trace a particular item backwards or forwards from source to finished product, and
identifying the other items in the batch.
Goods should be checked systematically for quality, faults identified and the affected batch
weeded out. This will allow you to raise any problems with your supplier and at the same time
demonstrate the safety and quality of your product.
With a good computerised stock control system, this kind of tracking is relatively straightforward.
Manual stock control methods can also use codes to systematise tracking and make it easier to
trace particular batches.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) can be used to store information about a product or
component’s manufacturing date, to ensure that it is sold or processed in time. The system can
also be used to trace faulty products quickly and efficiently. See the page in this guide on using
RFID for inventory control, stock security and quality management.

Stock Control Administration
There are many administrative tasks associated with stock control. Depending on the size and
complexity of your business, they may be done as part of an administrator’s duties, or by a
dedicated stock controller.

For security reasons, its good practice to have different staff responsible for finance and stock.
Typical paperwork to be processed includes:
delivery and supplier notes for incoming goods
purchase orders, receipts and credit notes
returns notes
requisitions and issue notes for outgoing goods
Stock can tie up a large slice of your business capital, so accurate information about stock levels
and values is essential for your company’s accounting.
Figures should be checked systematically, either through a regular audit of stock –
stocktaking or an ongoing program of checking stock – rolling inventory.
If the figures don’t add up, you need to investigate as there could be stock security problems or
a failure in the system.

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