Receiving new shares in a retail store should be a disciplined process if the business does not lose money from lost, damaged or stolen goods.
Too often, retailers rely on opening hours, retail stores, to the detriment of back hours, back office functions that can make or break a retail business.
Many retailers do not even have a reception area in which goods entering the business are placed and processed. This is a huge mistake.
Recently, I was involved in a retail business where more than two thousand dollars of shares were sold when we reorganized the back room. This stock, which is believed to have been lost, was found hidden in the wall cavity at the table.
The cost of this business was not only the cost of the stock, which was not available at purchase, but also the opportunity cost. It was a new line that the head office ordered. Inventory losses have been closed. This could have been done because of the poor internal process at the store level.
Here are some simple rules for organizing a reception area in a retail store, which should help avoid losing stocks, mistakes and thefts:
- Require all merchandise entering the store to be signed.
- Put the goods inside the rules and responsibilities. Post them in a public place in your business, but far from customers. Train all new employees in this process.
- This process should explain the steps involved in obtaining new supplies from its arrival in the business of the workshop and how long it will take.
- Set aside the area, no matter how small it is, where all the goods are placed when they enter the business. Include in this area for each stage of the internal process: receiving, checking, pricing, storing and damaged goods.
- Establish a rule that the product can not leave the area without the permission of the manager.
- Follow clockwise, as this often works best. Goods arrive and are placed to the left of the back room or storage location and move directly to the next section, and so on. If the business itself, of course.
- Management must review the inventory receipt process to ensure that the processes are followed and the corresponding checks and balances are in place.
- Try and ask your suppliers to provide you with an invoice in electronic form before the goods arrive. This will save time and documents. It will also provide an external data feed and eliminate the possibility of employee fraud if they receive less shares in the business than you actually receive.
After you have created your internal process and area, unite all employees and explain new processes to them. Put your business rules and explain why you are going through this process.
Get the goods in the right direction, and you can expect to shrink, speed up the time it takes to get stock in the shop, reduce errors and make better business decisions.
