Stockouts: Bad News for Manufacturers, Assemblers, and Warehouse Operators
(Here’s How to Avoid Them)
A recent article in ‘The Balance’, an expert source on Supply Chain Management, explains the dismal effects of stockouts to any organisation.
“One of the worst things that can happen to a business is a stock out,” the article states. It goes on to illustrate the drastic negative results.
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Changing Production Schedules: when stockouts occur, manufacturers and assemblers may have to change production schedules which could result in increased costs as machines and related resources are realigned to meet new schedules.
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Customer dissatisfaction: because stockouts can result in late orders, customer goodwill can be compromised. Customers waiting for late or back ordered items may no longer be loyal customers.
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Erosion of competitive advantage: late items due to stockouts may have another effect – a dissatisfied customer has the time, and the inclination, to turn to competitive offerings. A stockout can help your competitors because it interrupts any Service Level Agreement you may have with the customer.
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High Costs: in total, stockouts can cost quite a bit of money and profit. Disruption to manufacturing, assembly, or fulfilment processes, together with lost customers, equals a price your company simply cannot afford to pay.
Lost Stock? The Cause of Many Unnecessary Stockouts
Occasionally – very occasionally – stockouts are unavoidable. One or more of your suppliers may have run out of stock or otherwise let you down. Or perhaps your business has had strong sales on a particular line which was unplanned for and you have run out of relevant components.
Often, however, lost stock is completely avoidable. If you run a manual stock keeping system, it may indicate that you have 5 particular components left in the warehouse. However, when your crew tries to find them they came up empty-handed.
Lost stock is frustrating – and infuriating. You know those components are in the warehouse. But where?
The Answer? Warehouse Management and Barcoding Systems
If you’re tired of lost stock, replacing a manual stock recording system with a comprehensive warehouse management system is a good step forward. A good system will track and trace every item throughout its lifetime of ownership. Used together with robust Barcoding technology and centralised data capabilities, the system will tell you:
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When a particular component is received by your business
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Exactly where that component is stored in your warehouse: which bay, which rack, which slot
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The total number of similar components stored in your facility and when they were received
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The assignment of a particular component to particular manufacturing, assembly, or customer orders
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The exact time that component was picked to fulfil a particular order
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Real time component quantity balance (taking into account when components were used)
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Full histories
With a good warehouse management system, including state-of-the-art barcode systems and centralised data storage methods, you’ll benefit from a simple objective:
You’ll never lose stock again and avoid unnecessary stockouts once and for all.
Sage Barcode from DB Computer Solutions
Sage Barcode from DB Computer Solutions takes the headache out of stock control for Irish manufacturers, assemblers, and anyone with the need to accurately track and trace stock. This robust system integrates tightly with Sage Accounting software including Sage 50, 50c, 200 and 200c.
If you need to quickly create barcodes, and track and trace stock so you never lose it again, contact DB Computer Solutions for more information.
Tel: 061 480 980 Email: info@dbcomp.ie