In many companies, the same problem crops up time and again after a stock-take: a massive search begins because a so-called stock-take discrepancy has arisen. Are the shortages really that high? Is it shrinkage? Was the count incorrect? Was not everything recorded? These are legitimate questions, because ultimately it’s about money – a lot of money.

A major retailer in northern Germany has been exploring these questions together with us.

What are stock-taking discrepancies?

Inventory discrepancies are differences between a company’s expected stock levels and its actual physical stock. They arise when the quantity of goods a company believes it has in stock does not match the actual number.

There are various reasons why stock-taking discrepancies may occur. For example, theft, incorrect entries, errors during stock-taking, or losses due to breakage or spoilage can result in the actual stock level being lower than the expected level. Conversely, factors such as incorrect calculations, duplicate entries or misinterpretations of data can also result in the actual stock level being higher than the expected level.

Stock-taking discrepancies are a key issue for businesses, as they can have a direct impact on profitability. Significant stock discrepancies can lead to lost revenue, increased costs and a poor reputation amongst customers. Companies therefore seek to minimise stock discrepancies by implementing stock control procedures, such as regular stock-takes, monitoring of stock movements and staff training.

Reasons for stock-taking discrepancies:

A stock-taking discrepancy occurs when the actual stock counted during the stock-taking differs from the target stock calculated by the accounts department. There are several reasons for stock-taking discrepancies, such as:

• Errors during stock-taking
• Failure to record goods received or dispatched
• Incorrect matching of products and prices
• Damage to or spoilage of the goods
• Loss due to theft

But how can one easily find out what is causing the current stock discrepancy?

A solution that doesn't take much effort

The retailer mentioned above uses the software we have developed Opti.List. As a first step, product data was exported from the inventory management system via the integrated Excel export function. Once the data had been imported into Opti.List, the analyses could begin. The InfoZoom analysis software supplied with Opti.List is ideally suited to quickly identifying large-scale shifts, reallocations, incorrectly posted goods receipts and shrinkage/theft. By calculating totals, it is possible to analyse the data, for example, by

• Supplier,
• Product category,
• Season
• or other criteria

to sort through. The initial questions answer themselves almost entirely: an item was recorded twice and posted differently, this item was not transferred correctly, etc. The stated objective has been achieved. The findings from the analysis now form the basis for measures to minimise stock-taking discrepancies in future.

CTA Box Opti List

The customer’s conclusion:

„We found the needle in a haystack with very little effort. It saved us a lot of valuable time and spared us a lot of stress. It’s a piece of software I’m happy to recommend.“

How can this time-consuming search be avoided?

Why not choose Opti.List? You’ll receive a vendor-independent, cross-sector archiving component to complement any business software. The software ensures the required audit-proof long-term availability of data subject to archiving. Furthermore, it enables full-text searches within the stored data. This makes it quick and easy to identify and resolve the causes of stock-taking discrepancies.

Further information on Opti.List:

Opti.List ensures that data is archived in compliance with the law. It is stored in a structured manner so that any authorised employee can locate and analyse the data. Furthermore, Z3 data carriers are encrypted using secureZ3. secureZ3 provides encryption and compression of GDPdU data using a up-to-date and, above all, secure encryption algorithm. The method complies with the description standard, can be imported directly into IDEA and is accepted by tax auditors.