How to Help Prevent Inventory Loss
Inventory loss can lead to huge financial losses for businesses if it’s not managed. Fortunately, there are many effective ways to prevent inventory shrinkage. Doing this can save your business thousands of dollars, if not more, so the time and money investment are well worth it. Let’s look at some of the top ways to reduce inventory loss.
Enhance Office Security
Generally, businesses have plenty of flexibility and options when it comes to enhancing office security. The simplest way to create a secure office environment is to keep your valuable inventory under lock and key. In addition, it’s important to have a designated person in charge of protecting and monitoring your inventory. Other ways to boost office security include restricting access to areas where inventory is stored, installing a CCTV system, and keeping the premises secure with an alarm. These actions are particularly effective at preventing internal and external theft. According to the SHRM, employee theft and shoplifting represent 38% of inventory shrink, so enhancing office security can make a big difference.
Use Inventory Software
Today, many businesses can take advantage of the advancements in technology to automate their operations, including inventory management. By implementing suitable inventory software, you can streamline your tasks, and this enables you to effectively track your inventory. That way, it’s easier to spot any discrepancies and launch investigations that allow you to correct the issue. Unfortunately, most businesses that rely on manual inventory management methods fail to react swiftly if there are any losses. Usually, by the time they notice something is wrong, they would have already incurred significant losses.
Establish Effective Policies and Strategies
Do you have a specific policy regarding inventory management in your workplace? If not, this is something that needs to be improved. That said, it’s not enough to have policies in place. These policies must be communicated clearly to the rest of the organization. That’s because reducing inventory loss should be a team effort with all eyes on the ground. Furthermore, any policies and strategies related to inventory management should be monitored and continuously improved to ensure they are effective. Establishing a culture where everyone is proactive about eliminating inventory loss can save businesses a lot of money.
Managing and protecting your inventory is something every business should focus on to ensure profitable business operations. If you’re looking to tighten your office security and eliminate vulnerabilities that result in inventory loss, don’t hesitate to contact us today.