Record stock at the level you sell it
If you sell size L in navy, then size L in navy is the unit that needs a quantity. Style-level totals are useful for valuation and useless for promising delivery, because they average a sold-out colour with one that is not moving.
- One row per size and colour combination
- Lot or batch reference where shades differ between runs
- Location or godown where stock is held in more than one place
Separate available, reserved and incoming
Most stock arguments are really definition arguments. Confirmed orders should move pieces into reserved, dispatch should remove them, and goods expected from production or job work should sit in incoming until they are actually received. Three columns end the argument.
Update at the event, not at the end of the day
Every entry that waits is an entry someone has to reconstruct. Recording movement at the moment of receipt, confirmation and dispatch is what makes the figure trustworthy at 4pm, which is when a buyer usually asks.
Takeaway
Track by size, colour and lot, split available from reserved and incoming, and record movement at the event.
Topics in this article
- garment inventory
- stock management
- SKU
- availability