Proposal: Point of Sale for the Brighter Side

15 November 2004

Proposal: Point of Sale for The Brighter Side

Most small businesses underestimate the importance of managing their inventory. They do not realize that many headaches and fire drills are caused by the lack of control and knowledge of their inventory. Whether it is a lack of knowledge of the quantity or specs of a certain product, businesses too frequently use outdated inventory systems. Insufficient systems do not allow them to get the most out of their inventory, because when used properly, inventory management systems allow businesses to make a concise, real time analysis of products and markets that help them make better business decisions. Inventory management systems also allow businesses to better serve their customers since they keep a detailed and accurate record of purchase histories and trends so they can reorder products more efficiently.

With a controlled inventory, management will be notified when products need to be rendered, are selling quickly or are disappearing due to theft. In essence, the business becomes organized and by controlling inventory, profits can increase. Inventory management allows businesses to make smart and informed decisions about promotions and specials since they are better able to monitor rate of turn for their merchandise. In addition, they let management know when a product is no longer profitable.

Products are the heart and soul of a business. Even with the best customer service, they will not be profitable without a commodity to sell. It is the purpose between the business and its customer. It was interesting to hear from Kelly O'Donnell, an owner for The Brighter Side, tell that her company does not use any inventory control whatsoever. The Brighter Side spends thousands of dollars on merchandise but does not systematically control how the products are doing or how much is left. During our interview I said to her, "Do you send your daughter to school to learn and not see how her grades are?" Most parents want to know if their kids are doing well, and if they are not, they want to know what areas they need to improve upon. The same should go for inventory. It is vital to see how products are doing. It is also important to know which products are selling and which are falling behind, to determine why and how to improve upon it. A business cannot control thousands of products without a means for the storing the amount of information produced by the art of selling. While it is possible to know what products are selling the fastest without any system in place it is not the most efficient since it requires more time and focus than when automated. Meanwhile, business continues, products continue rotating and inventories can unknowingly dwindle. Thus, control is lost as days go by.

An important point to bring up is that many businesses wait until they have lost control to finally implement an Inventory Control System. Implementing an Inventory Control System at that point in time will definitely help, but it is important to consider that it will cost a lot more to implement a system afterwards than doing it from the beginning. How much would it cost to close the business to take inventory? How much would it cost to retrain employees to use a new procedure for selling? And, what about the headaches associated with implementing anything that is new to something that has already been in progress? Change is rarely easy.

The importance of Point of Sale (POS) systems is often underestimated. Some businesses feel that it is overkill, but this simple tool can mean the difference