My Journey with Stocktaking
When I first joined Metro, the task of conducting the annual inventory was assigned to me. Over the years, I stayed involved, first as Head of Store Operations in the country (Central Inventory Leader) and later at the global level, where I helped develop SOPs and a new mobile app for inventory management.
On one hand, I appreciated the structured preparation and procedures of the stocktaking activity. On the other hand, I, like many retail professionals, was familiar with the deep frustrations that come with this process.
A Scandal in the Store
Once, shortly before the stocktaking process began, the company’s CEO visited one of the stores. He was shocked to find several aisles with completely empty shelves. Instead of walking around the store, he could walk through the gaps. He took a photo and shared it with the entire organization, highlighting the severity of the issue.
Did this scandal change anything? A rhetorical question. The painful memory faded as the new year began, and the same approach was used again: to minimize counting effort, department managers reduced stock levels a week before inventory. The same scenario played out year after year.
Challenging the Status Quo in Stocktaking
When I moved into the office, I decided to challenge this practice. The sales situation was tough, and we couldn’t afford to lose one week of sales before and after stocktaking.
I teamed up with the audit department, built a store-check schedule, and developed new reports to monitor stock levels. Despite our efforts, stock levels continued to decline each year. A direct approach had little impact.
Over time, we improved the process by splitting the count into multiple nights (food and non-food) and later into three nights. This, combined with IT tools and process refinements, reduced manpower needs and minimized sales disruption.
The Case for Modernizing Inventory Practices
The practice of wall-to-wall inventory stocktaking originated in the 20th century as good retail practice. However, modern inventory control tools powered by AI analytics have rendered this annual exercise an outdated formality, driven more by accounting and audit requirements than operational value.
I firmly believe that a smarter approach—using AI models for routine inventory management—can revolutionize the process.
The Future of Inventory Management
In conclusion, I highly recommend exploring Akuret Solutions, an innovative tool designed to streamline routine inventory management and improve accuracy. It offers features that could have greatly enhanced our processes and eliminated many challenges we faced.
For more information, visit the Akuret Solutions website and check out the profiles of Jesper and Daniel.
