How do grocery stores keep track of inventory?

Put yourself in this situation. You just need two basic ingredients to make  a dish and yet one is out of stock. 

You go out of the store frustrated and even angry.

We encounter episodes like this and we wonder, how is this not preventable?

What makes a grocery store or a supermarket succeed and stay out of needless trouble in operations?

It is time, effort, and most importantly, inventory management.

These are the key factors that help run the grocery stores without any trouble and avoid getting frustrated and annoyed customers.  

Ideally, the inventory of these grocery stores should be well organized so it can entice its customers to continue patronizing them because of the ease and effortless location of items on the racks, plus the complete availability of almost everything the household needs. 

This is one great consideration that any customer looks for in a grocery store.

For fulfilling all the needs and making sure that everything is available for customers to purchase, management has to keep track of the store’s inventory.

So, how can a grocery store efficiently keep track of its staggering amount of inventory and hurdle this challenge?

The answer:  a POS and inventory management software. 

In the past, there was no retail POS to keep things efficient.

Grocery store staff in charge of inventory encountered a lot of challenges.

Most of the inventory was done through too much pencil-pushing and it involved a lot of guesswork, resulting in human error.

However, these days, digital technology has introduced POS and inventory management software which is an essential tool to manage inventory. 

How is Management of Inventory Levels Done?

With the never-ending counting and recording, how can a POS and inventory management software manage inventory levels?

First, these products, commonly known in the industry as stock-keeping units,  or SKUs are recorded and captured by the software system when they are brought from the warehouse into the store.

They already have a record in the system. 

Second, the power of bar codes is observed.

Barcoding is an integral part of the POS and inventory software systems, and it is such a common sight to the customers who never realize its importance.

And yet, they are crucial in inventory management.

These barcodes are stamped on most products, except for those that are locally supplied and are not regular supplies. 

The bar codes make it more convenient for the retail POS to keep track of these products.

BIR-accredited easyPOS is your all-in-one solution to manage your sales, inventory, and customer data in real time!

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BIR-accredited easyPOS is your all-in-one solution to manage your sales, inventory, and customer data in real time!

Click to Learn More.

So, they’re all captured as inflows.

Next, when the products are bought and paid for, the quantity of said products is deducted from the records.

The inventory level is now reduced according to the number of products sold.

As soon as the payment is received, the inventory lessens.  

Together with the collection of the payment, the cash register which is integrated with the POS and inventory software system helps to monitor the number of stocks.

In addition, the POS and inventory management software system can also generate a list for replenishment of stocks.

This preempts and prods the requisition team to order the products from their respective suppliers to guarantee a constant supply in the store.

At the end of the day, the net difference of the stocks should balance the closing inventory.

This now becomes the start and becomes the beginning inventory.

Successfully managing supermarket and grocery inventories is a combined effort of employees’ hard work and commitment plus the technology to make their work quicker, more convenient, and more productive.

Going through the whole inventory management and tracking process, this is a summed-up list of steps that are generally done :

• Ordering of Products

• Receiving the products, checking the quantity, and scanning of barcodes

• Accurate recording 

• Tracking sold products and updating the POS and inventory management software

• Removing damaged, surplus, pilferage and expired products

• Using the POS and inventory management software to replenish products

There are times when the store does a physical count of their inventory.

Most of the time, they do the count and then check the inventory records provided by the POS and inventory management software. 

The two kinds of information are now compared and balancing is crucial. 

Why take time out to monitor inventory?

It all boils down to sales and profitability.

Because as an owner of a grocery store, you really won’t have any idea how much profit or perhaps loss you have made unless you are able to follow through your inventory and see it balance off with what the monitor of your retained POS says you have. 

If you are looking for the most suitable BIR-accredited retail POS to manage your grocery inventory, check out: https://human-incubator.com/easy-pos/.

BIR-accredited easyPOS is your all-in-one solution to manage your sales, inventory, and customer data in real time!

Click to Learn More.

BIR-accredited easyPOS is your all-in-one solution to manage your sales, inventory, and customer data in real time!

Click to Learn More.