Stock taking
Spotting and stopping stock variances
Using stock taking soſt ware to mitigate inventory discrepancies.
Stock variances after a stock take: What is the cause?
Stock variances refer to the diff erence between the actual stock of goods captured during the inventory and the stock recorded in the accounts or inventory management system. These diff erences can have various causes and are a serious problem for any business. Inventory discrepancies are often caused by errors during stock taking, such as inaccurate counting, incorrect entries or the omission of articles. Incorrect bookings or transmission errors when entering stock data into the system can also lead to discrepancies.
Another problem is the theft or misappropriation of goods, which is diffi cult to trace in many cases, especially with larger inventories. Damage or expiration dates can also lead to discrepancies if products are not properly sorted out or not correctly recorded in the inventory records.
18 | electrical wholesalerAugust 2025
In addition, organisational problems such as unclear work processes, lack of staff training or frequent changes in the warehouse structure can also lead to a higher error rate. Especially in hectic phases such as the annual stock take, these factors can signifi cantly aff ect the accuracy of stocktaking. In many cases, inventory discrepancies are only detected late, which can lead to fi nancial losses and organisational diffi culties. They therefore require careful analysis and preventative measures to identify the causes and minimise future diff erences.
Business consequences
Even small inventory discrepancies can have far-reaching consequences that not only aff ect a company’s fi nancial results, but also cause legal and organisational problems. First of all, inventory discrepancies can lead to underestimated or overestimated stocks, which in turn has a negative
impact on liquidity and the fl ow of goods. Incorrect stock taking can lead to not enough goods being available for customers or, in the worst case, expired or obsolete products being kept in the system.
Internally, every inventory diff erence means additional work: additional resources are required to identify, analyse and resolve diff erences. This leads to a loss of time and higher operating costs, which can have a negative impact on profi tability in the long term. Particularly in companies where numerous inventory movements take place every day, these diff erences can quickly add up and have a signifi cant impact on operational effi ciency.
Analyse and avoid
A sustainable and long-term reduction of inventory discrepancies to a minimum requires a structured organisation as well as precise processes for counting and managing inventory
ewnews.co.uk
IMAGE CREDIT: Cosys Ident GmbH
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