Business System Consultation Center - Our Business System ColumnVol.89 2019.04.01 Takahashi Minoru

Inventory is a management weapon

Thank you for your interest and continued support.
This is Takahashi from the Marketing Plan Research Laboratory.


In recent years, at convenience stores and other places,
I feel like I’ve suddenly started encountering situations where
I feel like I’ve been encountering this situation much more frequently lately.


While this may seem like a trivial topic to discuss,
Since this incident definitely involves IT—that is, the system—
I’m sharing this as a column.


Convenience store POS (cash register) systems track
records “what products were sold, when, to whom (by age and gender), and in what quantities,”
along with factors such as the weather around the store.
One of the goals is to “balance preventing both excess inventory and stockouts.”
Since perishable goods must be thrown away immediately if they go unsold, ordering too much is not good,
but running out of stock—which drives customers away (preventing them from going to another store)—is even worse.
By analyzing this vast amount of POS data and other information,
we determine the optimal number of items to stock on the shelves each day.


This perspective is also crucial in industries that sell non-perishable goods.
A plentiful inventory facilitates smooth operations,
and can even serve as a secret strategy to outmaneuver competitors and raise prices—a business secret that brings endless laughter—but
but understanding what constitutes an “appropriate” inventory level as of today,
to prevent theft from warehouses and ensure accurate stock allocation (preventing situations where “I thought we had stock, but it’s out of stock”),
it would be wise to consider implementing a digital inventory and sales management system if you don’t already have one.


That's all, Thank you for reading.

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