Computers - October 1983

For most business concerns, whether manufacturing or addministrative, the task of stockktaking is a laborious and timeeconsuming chore. Related tasks such as stock distribuution and ordering are equally toilsome and cause financial losses where not carried out accurately and efficiently. Enter the computerised Stock Control Package.

The Stock Control Package is essentially a group of commputer programmes for stock recording and control, and allthough many variants of the package are available on the market, they share an extennsive commonality. The packkage will perform the calculaations associated with manual stock control, but with an accuracy, speed and range beyond normal human capaabilities.

Having installed the packkage, the first step in setting up the system to suit user requirements is creating a file for each item type in the stock inventory. To commplete each file, a bank of item descriptions including the stock number, amount of units in stock, cost and sales price, V AT rate, and location of stock item, will be input. Then the present stock levels and other appropriate data are keyed into the descripption boxes. Thereafter, stock movements are input and new levels immediately computed.

Providing the up-to-date account of the- stock situation is the stock recording funcction of the package which facilitates existing file data to change as movements take place. Besides giving clear descriptions of the events affecting the stock situation, this information is also useful in the preparation of invoices and other financial docuuments. Items can be listed by value as well as by amount.

The stock analysis function allows the user to look at stock information in greater detail for more complex jobs such as stocktaking. In this instance, the package will produce accurate lists of recorded stock balances which can be quickly checked with actual balances. Frequent use of this function tends to prooduce more satisfactory results in so much as there tends to be less discrepancies between the two balances.

Another feature of the stock analysis function is its ability to evaluate the relaationship between any stock item, or group of items, to overall profit. Armed with this information, the user can devise a strategy based on those items which are fasttmoving and profitable, and discard those items which don't contribute enough to justify their presence in the stock inventory.

Perhaps the aspect of stock control which causes the most anxiety to commpanies is stock issue. It has become a fact of accounting practice that provision must be made for "Goods Gone Astray", and further losses are made through mistakes in delivering and distributing goods. The Stock Control Package will reduce these problems in two ways.

Firstly, the allocation of items will be accurately checked as it happens, lessenning the possibility of items being misappropriated. And secondly, the package will sort out the items to be allocated in order of a priorrity stipulated by the user. For example, a mail order company may wish to distriibute goods in the order in which they are requested, that is, first come first served.

The stock ordering capaability ensures against stocks falling below pre-ordained minimum levels. When a requisition is placed for stock, it is automatically checked against existing resources. If the remaining stock balance is less than the specified miniimum level, an order will be automatically placed for reeplenishments. This function is particularly useful where fasttmoving, non-durable goods are concerned, maintaining a near-optimum amount of stock at any given time.

A package facility which operates in tandem with the ordering programme is the forecasting programme. This provides further information for use in deciding when and how much stock should be ordered. Taking account of such factors as seasonal trends and recent stock trends, it offers a prediction of stock movements over a set period.

Naturally, such capabilities as the Stock Control Package offers demands an amount of back up on the part of the user. The purchase costs of the package, and perhaps a computer on which to run it, will add to the cost of stock control. A degree of commputer knowledge is asked of the user, who must also be more alert than usual so as not to input erroneous inforrmation to the system.

There is an enormous potential for saving due to the forecasting capabilities of the package. With accurate ordering levels, the user can invest elsewhere money which was previously tied up purrchasing stock which then reemained unmoved or unused for a considerable time. Greater control and flexibility for management is generated by the provision of instant information regarding often crucial stock items, and the ability to immediately implement changes in policy regarding any of the items.

Personnel involved in stock control are also freed of some of the more mundane duties, such as crosscing stock movements. The saved time and effort can be redirected towards trying to reduce costs elsewhere in the company, for example in purchasing costs. Another type of cross-referencing is also eliminated from human effort, that between different departments within the one company or organisation.

The considerable time and money-saving possibilities of Stock Control Packages deemand the attention of any business concerned about the accuracy and efficiency of its methods of stock control. Details of such packages, for use on micro, mini, and mainframe systems, are availlable from most large commputer dealers. •