How to digitalise stocks in small and local business?

Digitalising your stocks is essential for your small business. Not only because it allows you to have greater control over them, but also because it helps you to better deal with possible unforeseen events that may arise. Setbacks of all shapes and sizes, from the stock-outs that increased during the pandemic, assembly line stoppages in the automotive industry due to chip shortages, to more exceptional ones such as the jamming of the container ship in the Suez Canal. These situations have a major impact on businesses, leading to reduced revenues and sometimes even losses.

For this reason, it is important for your business to have a system that provides you with real-time knowledge about warehouse material consumption, goods reception, and stock location. The analysis of this data will allow you to estimate, predict and forecast possible stock-outs. Moreover, if you cross-check this information with your customers' consumption estimations, you will be able to anticipate their needs and have your products in place.

Let's learn about the advantages of digitalising the stock of your business.

• Increases the level of service, i.e., the percentage of products delivered regarding the total amount ordered. This improvement is achieved thanks to innovative technologies such as machine learning, whose algorithms make it possible to optimise large amounts of data for the benefit of companies. It allows, for example, to analyse demand behaviour and therefore be better prepared to satisfy your customer.

• Improve logistics control. You can locate your stock not only in the warehouse, but also in each shipment through signal-emitting labels or sensors on the products, and route tracking software. You will be able to ensure delivery deadlines because you control the product, even if it is no longer in your warehouse.

• Reduce errors. The tool or program that analyses your stock gives you knowledge of your products. In addition, you can link it with other programmes, such as ERP, to know everything that is happening in your business. Having all the data integrated in one programme gives you a global view of the situation, reducing mistakes that may arise due to human failure or lack of information.

Stock’s digitalisation provides you with multiple benefits that help you to boost your business.

Steps to digitise your stock in an optimal way.

If you have considered digitalisation of stock on your roadmap, these tips on how to approach the process may be of interest to you.

1. Analyse the situation of your business.

Before you start any change, you need to realise where you are to be able to make decisions based on your current situation. In order to optimally digitise your stock, you need to know:

• The products of your business. You must know the turnover rate of each one of them, if they are seasonal products, which ones start to be more demanded by your customers, those that are sold more in promotional campaigns... etc. Organise your product portfolio by having a complete overview of everything that is sold, how much is being sold and, sometimes, why is it being sold.

• E-commerce. In case you have an online shop, you should also analyse all the offered products in your e-commerce, as all orders are connected to the same stock.

• Your business needs. Stock’s digitalisation should be a boost for your commerce. For this reason, you need to analyse which areas produce the most errors: warehouse management, purchasing procedures, the logistics process... Find out which areas are weaknesses in your business so that you can address them using digital tools.

• Resources. Analyse your company's assets to determine the level of investment you can afford. This variable will guide your entire inventory digitalisation plan. If you have few resources, the key is to prioritise and adopt the solutions that bring the most benefit for a defined cost. Introduce improvements progressively so that your trade continues to grow.

2. Set your digital objectives.

Once the complete situation of your stock is defined, you can set your objectives for its digitalisation. Define the digitalisation degree you want to achieve, the areas you will cover and the time frame in which you want to achieve it. You can set short-term objectives that lead to a long-term goal. These objectives must be aligned with your business objectives and will be the main indicator of whether you are achieving what you have proposed. That is why we recommend that the objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bounded.

3. Decide on the approach to digitalisation.

To achieve these objectives, you need to decide on the stock digitalisation approach: whether you want to carry out a fully or partially. This decision must be made according to the business needs and your resources, choosing what is most beneficial for the company.

4. Explore the options available on the market.

It is time to investigate which software or digital tools are best suited to your stock needs. There are a wide variety of companies that provide inventory digitalisation and warehouse management software. We recommend you analyse what is included in each programme, using reliable sources to find information.

If you want to have a closer look at some of these tools, in the post How improve stock control in the digital era  we show you several of them. Also, many of them offer a free trial, so before making any payment you will be able to know if it is appropriate for your business.

5. Involve all employees.

In order to ensure the success of the digitalisation of your stock, you need to involve all your employees in the plan and communicate decisions and changes to them constantly. Identify whether they need training to use these tools and provide them with all the necessary resources.

6. Evaluate the results.

Establish controls to analyse the effectiveness of the programme and whether the results allow you to achieve the digitalisation objectives you set out in the beginning. This will allow you to make adjustments on time and avoid any major complications.

The digitalisation of your stock will help you to boost your local business, promoting its growth through the automation of different areas and saving costs. Digitalise your stock and enjoy all the benefits it brings to your business.