Inventory management in retail. Inventory and flow management

The process of selling goods involves a constant inventory of trade enterprises. It is the competent formation of the optimal size of stocks of goods that makes it possible for a trade enterprise to ensure the stability of the range of goods offered to customers, adhere to a certain pricing policy, and increase and improve the level of satisfaction of consumer demand. Of course, that all this requires the maintenance of a verified level and the optimal breadth of positions in the assortment of available commodity stocks at each trading enterprise.

Inventory, which are formed at trading enterprises, according to their purpose are divided into:

current storage;
seasonal storage;
their early delivery.

It should be noted that the bulk of all stocks of a trade enterprise are stocks of the first position, that is, current storage, and this is quite natural. They are necessary to establish the process of uninterrupted sale of goods in a given period of time. They should be constantly replenished, avoiding "failures" - the absence of certain goods on sale.

As for the inventory of the second position (seasonal storage) and the third (early delivery), the order of their formation is determined, first of all, for those goods that have a significant gap in time from their production (manufacturing, cultivation, etc.) before their consumption. In addition, they are formed taking into account the peculiarities of the climatic, geographical and specific location of trade enterprises, as well as those trade enterprises that are located in places where it is impossible to provide regular delivery of necessary goods.

Commodity stocks at trade enterprises

The processes of production, circulation and consumption in society occur continuously. But these processes do not coincide either in space or in time. Therefore, to ensure their continuity, inventory is needed.

Commodity stocks - this is a part of commodity supply, which is a set of commodity mass in the process of its movement from the sphere of production to the consumer.

Inventory classification

The classification of inventory is based on the following features:

location(in wholesale or retail trade; in industry; in transit);
terms(at the beginning and at the end of the period);
units(absolute - in value and physical terms, relative - in days of turnover);
appointment, including:
- current storage - to meet the daily needs of trade,
- seasonal purpose - to ensure uninterrupted trading during periods of seasonal changes in supply or demand,
- early delivery - to ensure uninterrupted trade in remote areas during the period between the delivery of goods,
- target commodity stocks - for the implementation of certain targeted activities.

Of great importance in recent times is the location of commodity stocks. At the moment, most of the inventory is concentrated in retail, which cannot be considered a positive factor.

Commodity stocks should be gradually redistributed between the links of trade in such a way that a large share belonged wholesale trade the following reasons.

The main purpose of the formation of inventories in wholesale trade is to serve consumers (including retailers), and in retailers they are necessary to form a wide and stable assortment to meet consumer demand.

The size of commodity stocks is largely determined by the volume and structure of the turnover of a trade organization or enterprise. Therefore one of important tasks of trade organizations or enterprises - maintaining the optimal proportion between the value of turnover and the size of commodity stocks.

To maintain inventory at an optimal level, a well-established inventory management system is required.

Inventory management means the establishment and maintenance of their size and structure, which would meet the tasks set for the trading enterprise. Inventory management involves:

them rationing - those. development and establishment of their required sizes for each type of commodity stocks;
them operational accounting and control is conducted on the basis of existing forms of accounting and reporting (account cards, statistical reports), which reflect the balance of goods at the beginning of the month, as well as data on receipt and sale;
them regulation- maintaining them at a certain level, maneuvering them.

At insufficient size stocks, there are difficulties with the commodity supply of the turnover of an organization or enterprise, with the stability of the assortment; excess inventory cause additional losses, an increase in the need for loans and an increase in the cost of paying interest on them, an increase in the cost of storing stocks, which together worsens the overall financial condition of trade enterprises.

Consequently, the issue of quantitative measurement of the value of commodity stocks and the determination of the correspondence of this value to the needs of trade is very relevant.

Goals and algorithm for building inventory management system

The inventory management system is based on their minimization, acceleration of turnover and well-established accounting and control over their formation and use.

Excessive investment in inventory leads to a decrease in the working capital of a trade organization, to an increase in the need for loans to pay wages to sales workers, pay suppliers for delivered goods, and incur current expenses. The "mortification" of financial resources invested in commodity stocks reduces the possibility of growth in the profitability of organizations at the expense of financial resources in other, more profitable areas of trading activity. In addition, the presence of excess (in terms of the possibility of their sale) trading stocks requires large expenses for their sale at reduced prices, the rent of additional storage facilities, and their maintenance for paying taxes.

Insufficient investment in inventory also has a number of negative consequences. In this case, the necessary goods may not be available in trade, which leads to the loss of potential buyers, a decrease in the volume of trade due to their shortage, an increase in costs per 1 ruble of trade, since the organization's sales workers have to pay unearned wages pay for the maintenance of non-working equipment.

Both situations are undesirable. And so it is important to bring inventory in line with the needs for them and create a working system for managing them in practice.

In a certain sense, inventory management is an attempt to strike a balance between two opposing requirements: the requirements of financiers, who seek to minimize the cost of storing goods, and the requirements of marketers, who seek to optimize customer service by maintaining a constant level of stocks of goods across the entire range of sales assortment.

The goal of inventory management is to reduce the cost of moving inventory through an organization while maintaining a high level of trade quality while maximizing the return on inventory investment.

Creation of inventory management system allows to solve the following tasks: uninterrupted supply, minimum investment money, minimal risk, ensuring the simplicity of the ordering procedure for replenishment of stocks, the stability of the commodity process.

In a structured form, the inventory management system is as follows:

An effective inventory management system allows you to make an economically sound decision on the number of goods that you need to have at each point in the trade and technological process and which product lines from the previously drawn up plan need to be stocked and how to replenish the stock.

The organization of inventory management in trade is carried out in the following sequence:

calculation of the organization's need for commodity resources;
determination of stock standards;
developing a replenishment policy;
organization of control over the stock level;
assessment of the effectiveness of the inventory management system.

Schematically, the stages of building and implementing an inventory management system are shown in the figure:

The most important strategic and tactical goals the formation of commodity stocks is to ensure a stable product range sufficient to achieve high growth rates of retail turnover, the rhythm of the trade and technical process, the smooth operation of a trade organization, the accumulation of seasonal stocks and stocks for special purposes, the accumulation (if economically justified) of additional stocks for their subsequent resale other trade organizations in order to obtain additional profit.

The formation of an information base for the creation of a inventory management system includes: information characterizing the inventory. The speed of sale of goods, the degree of compliance of commodity stocks with consumer demand, market conditions, its segments, the structure of consumer demand, the possibility of effective purchase of goods, trends in prices (retail, sale, wholesale), planned indicators of the activity of a trade organization (volume and structure of trade, material technical base, balance of payments plan, financial resources by sources of their formation)

Identification of trends and patterns in the formation and use of inventory: availability of inventory, commodity turnover, determination of the reasons for the acceleration and deceleration of indicators of the efficiency of inventory management.

Economic substantiation of the standard of commodity stocks sufficient for the development of trade at the lowest cost for their formation and maintenance.

The development of a budget plan for the purchase of goods allows you to determine, based on data on trends in the sale of goods in physical units, changes in the turnover of stocks, on the state of the material goods, the procurement system, the choice of an effective supplier, the frequency of delivery, the number of ordered goods, methods and routes for the delivery of goods, the amount of cash funds allocated monthly for the purchase of goods of this category.

The costs of transportation, storage and handling and inventory management must be carefully assessed according to the category of product and the specifics of its sales organization.

Retailer experience suggests that groceries need to be delivered daily, clothes twice a week, fresh food one to several days, shoes a week to a month, other items as they are sold, consumer goods continuous supply. , seasonal unfashionable - delivery by the season, seasonal everyday - in accordance with inter-seasonal sales patterns: high fashion products - timely delivery, allowing you to immediately respond to sales trends.

In countries where they are predominantly trading formats forming transnational corporations in the retail network, the frequency of delivery of goods to stores for individual product groups is:

non-food products - 40% - once a week;
food - during the week, including vegetables and fruits - 48% of the supply is imported 5 times a week;
dairy products, respectively, 34% - 6 times a week;
meat and sausages - 40% - 3 times a week;
groceries - 41% - 2 times, bread - 67% - 6 times.

Examination of the budget plan for compliance with the strategic goals of the organization and the possibility of its implementation. If the budget procurement plan is economically justified, it is recommended to complete the planning with the development of an action plan for its implementation with the appointment of those responsible and the determination of the amount of financial incentives.

Monitoring the state of inventories and the progress of the implementation of the budget plan, their formation and use: developing a schedule for the delivery of goods, determining the optimal size of a consignment of goods, determining the causes of excess stocks, justifying measures to prevent the occurrence of excess and slow-moving inventories and their implementation policy.

The effectiveness of the formed inventory management system depends on the thoroughness of the study of the state of the problem of the formation, placement and use of inventory, the validity of all its elements and the effectiveness of managerial decisions on their movement in all channels of movement of goods in the organization.

All elements of the system are interconnected. To make an informed management decision, none of the above elements can be neglected.

Analysis of goods turnover

Both actual and planned inventory are shown both in absolute amounts, i.e. in rubles, and in relative terms, i.e. in stock days.

In the process of analysis, the actual availability of stocks of goods should be compared with the standard stocks, both in absolute amounts and in stock days. As a result of this, excess inventories or the amount of non-fullness of the standard are determined, an assessment of the state of commodity stocks is given, and the reasons for deviations of actual stocks of goods from established standards are also established.

Main reasons for the formation of excess stocks of goods may be the following: non-fulfillment of trade turnover plans, delivery of goods to a trade organization in quantities exceeding demand for them, violation of the terms of delivery of goods, incompleteness of delivered goods, violation of normal conditions for storing goods, leading to a deterioration in their quality, etc.

We will present the initial data for the analysis of commodity stocks in the following table: (in thousand rubles)

According to this table, we will conclude that the actual inventory is in line with the standard. It must be taken into account that the planned value of commodity stocks in the amount of 3420.0 thousand rubles. was established in accordance with the planned daily sale of goods in the amount of 33.3 thousand rubles. However, the actual daily sale of goods was 34.7 thousand rubles. It follows from this that in order to maintain the increased volume of sales of goods, it is necessary to have a larger amount of commodity stocks than was envisaged by the plan. As a result, the stock of goods at the end of the year must be compared with the actual one-day sale of goods, multiplied by the planned value of stocks in days.

Therefore, in the analyzed trade organization, taking into account the increased turnover, there is an excess inventory in the amount of:

4125 - (34.7 * 103) = 551 thousand rubles.

Now let's look at relative indicators - stocks in days (remains in days of stock). There are two main factors that affect the amount of inventory in days:

change in the volume of trade;
change in the absolute value of commodity stocks.

The first factor has an inverse effect on the amount of stock in days

From the last table it follows that the value of commodity stocks, expressed in days, increased by 14 days. Let us determine the influence of these factors on this deviation.

Due to the increase in the amount of retail turnover, the relative value of current storage inventories decreases by the amount: 3420 / 34.7 - 3420 / 33.3 = -4.4 days.

Due to the increase in the absolute amount of commodity stocks of current storage, the relative value of these stocks increased by 4060/12480 - 3420/12480 = +18.4 days.

The total influence of the two factors (balance of factors) is: - 4.4 days + 18.4 days = +14 days.

So, the stocks of goods, expressed in days, increased solely due to the growth of the absolute amount of stocks. At the same time, the increase in retail turnover reduced the relative value of inventories.

Then it is necessary to establish the influence of individual factors on the value of the average annual stocks of goods. These factors are:

Change in the volume of trade. This factor has a direct impact on the average annual inventory
Change in the structure of trade. If the share of goods with a slow turnover in the total amount of turnover increases, then the stocks of goods will increase, and vice versa, with an increase in the share of goods with a faster turnover, the inventories will decrease.
Goods turnover(merchandise turnover). This indicator approximately characterizes the average time (average number of days) after which cash, aimed at the formation of commodity stocks, are returned back to the trading organization in the form of proceeds from the sale of goods.

We have the following values of the goods turnover indicator:

according to the plan: 3200 x 360 / 1200 = 96 days.
actually: 4092 x 360 / 12480 = 118 days.

Consequently, in the analyzed trade organization there was a slowdown in the turnover of goods compared to the plan for 118 - 96 = 22 days. When analyzing, it is necessary to establish what causes the slowdown in the turnover of goods. Such reasons are the accumulation of excess inventory (as in the example under consideration), as well as a decrease in the amount of turnover (in the analyzed trade organization, this phenomenon did not take place)

First, you should consider the turnover for all goods in general, and then - for individual types and groups of goods.

Let us determine by the method of chain substitutions the influence of the above three factors on the value of the average annual stocks of goods. Initial data:

1. Average annual inventory:

according to the plan: 3200 thousand rubles.
actual: 4092 thousand rubles.

2. Retail turnover:

according to the plan: 12,000 thousand rubles.
actually: 12480 thousand rubles.

3. The plan for retail turnover was fulfilled by 104%. turnover is:

according to the plan: 96 days;
actually 118 days.

Calculation. Table

Thus, the average annual stock of goods increased in comparison with the plan by the amount: 4092 - 3200 = + 892 thousand rubles. This happened due to the influence of the following factors:

increase in the volume of trade: 3328 - 3200 = + 128 thousand rubles.
changes in the structure of trade in the direction of increasing the share of goods with a faster turnover in it: 3280 - 3328 \u003d - 48 thousand rubles.
slowdown in the turnover of goods: 4092 - 3280 = +812 thousand rubles.

The total influence of all factors (balance of factors) is: + 128-48 + 812 = +892 thousand rubles.

Consequently, the average annual stock of goods increased due to an increase in turnover, as well as due to a slowdown in the turnover of goods. At the same time, the change in the structure of trade in the direction of increasing the share of goods with a faster turnover in it reduced the value of the average annual stock of goods.

Analysis of the supply of goods by individual suppliers, by types of goods, their quantity, the timing of their receipt can be carried out as of any date or for any period of time (5, 10 days, etc.).

If for certain suppliers there are repeated facts of violations of the terms of delivery, then the analysis should use information about the claims made against these suppliers and about the measures of economic impact (sanctions) applied to them for violation of the terms of contracts for the supply of goods. When analyzing, it is necessary to assess the possibility of refusing to conclude further contracts for the supply of goods with suppliers who have previously committed repeated violations of the terms of the concluded contracts.

Turnover rate

Very often you can hear the question: "What are the turnover rates and how to determine them?".

Companies always use the concept of "turnover rate", and each company has its own. Turnover rate is the number of days or turnovers in which, in the opinion of management, the stock of goods must be sold in order for the trade to be considered successful.

Each industry and each region has its own standards, each supplier, each type or category of goods has its own standards. Much depends on logistics, purchase volumes and delivery times, supplier reliability, market growth and demand for goods. If all suppliers are local and the turnover is high, then the coefficients can reach 30-40 turnovers per year. If supplies are intermittent, the supplier is unreliable, demand fluctuates, then for a similar product in a distant region of Russia, the turnover will be 10-12 turnovers per year. This is fine.

Turnover rates will be higher for small enterprises working for the end consumer, and much lower for enterprises that produce products of group A (means of production). The reason is the length of the production cycle.

There is a danger of rough adherence to standards. For example, you do not fit into the turnover ratio and start to reduce the safety stock. As a result, there are gaps in the warehouse, there is a shortage of goods and unsatisfied demand. You start to reduce the size of the order - the costs of ordering, transporting and processing goods increase. Turnover increases, but availability problems remain.

The norm is general indicator. You should react and take action as soon as some negative trend is detected: for example, inventory growth outpaces sales growth, while inventory turnover has decreased along with sales growth. Then you need to evaluate all the goods within the category (perhaps some individual items are purchased in excess) and take weighted solutions:

look for new suppliers capable of providing shorter delivery times;
stimulate product sales;
give him a priority seat in the hall;
train sellers to advise buyers on this product;
replace the product with a more famous brand, etc.

Example

A stationery and toy shop in Sakhalin has an average turnover of 90 days. This is good. For such a store in Moscow, this figure seems unacceptable. The fact is that goods are delivered to Sakhalin for a very long time, and the company is forced to have significant stocks to maintain turnover. That's the price of a business. On the other hand, the trade margin in Sakhalin, where there are practically no competitors, is at least 150%, which seems like an unrealizable dream for Moscow.

The higher the turnover, the less goods are in stock, the faster they turn into money. If the turnover is too high (for example, approaching 1-2 days), this indicates that the store is operating with little or no safety stock, the delivery of goods should be carried out daily. At the slightest failure in supply or an increase in demand for goods, we risk being left without goods. A shortage is dangerous for a retailer not only because of lost profits, but also because the existing demand for the product will be met by a competitor.

Keep in mind that daily deliveries are logistical problems. Acceptance, calculation, posting of goods are fraught with the possibility of errors and losses. The more often these operations are carried out, the more errors.

In the case of perishable goods (bread, milk), this situation cannot be avoided. For other goods, it is more reasonable not to bring the turnover to one or two days, but to work out for yourself the optimal period that minimizes risks and losses. This will be the turnover rate for a particular product.

The norm for one product will not be the norm for another! Do not try to find a single standard for batteries and plasma TVs. These products have nothing in common. If you compare goods by turnover, then this can be done only among goods of the same category. No need to compare bread with cookies, beer with vodka. You can compare cookies from different factories.

Analysis of the results of the turnover measurement

When comparing goods, you can build a matrix "Turnover - Margin". Such a matrix will allow you to understand which products for the same period bring more profit, which ones less.

Example

The table below shows data for one category of goods. Find out which products in the category are most interesting to us.

It follows from the data in the table that product No. 5, although it has an average trade margin, has the best turnover. It brings the largest profit per month per unit of production. Product #1 has a high margin, but shows the worst turnover. Therefore, monthly profit per unit of output is minimal.

What can be done? It is necessary to find out what caused such poor turnover - excess inventory or poor sales? If the problem is sales, you need to stimulate turnover. If the problem is overstock, don't ship in huge quantities.

We have to put up with the fact that for some goods we have poor turnover. This is not a purchaser or sales error, but conditions that cannot be adjusted. Usually this situation is related to the terms of delivery. For example, a supplier goes on vacation or closes a plant for maintenance for two months. To provide the company with reserves, you have to buy a two- or three-month supply. Another example: the delivery of goods takes so long (for example, from China) that in order to ensure uninterrupted supply, it is necessary to purchase goods in large quantities. You need to understand that this is the price of a business. In this case, try to compensate for your inventory maintenance costs with loans from suppliers.

Inventory level and exit

Consider indicators that have little to do with turnover, but are used in practice.

Product inventory level(Do tz). This indicator characterizes the provision of the store with stocks for a certain date. It shows how many days of trading (with the current turnover) there will be enough stock that is in the store.

Y tz \u003d Inventory at the end of the analyzed period × Number of days / Turnover for the period.

Example

July 15, 243 pieces left in stock. powder "Baby". For two weeks of July (from the 1st to the 15th) sales amounted to 430 units.

Let's determine the level of stocks of this powder:

U ts \u003d 243 pcs. × 15 days / 430 pcs. = 8.4 days

Stocks of powder "Baby", which are in the warehouse of the store, will last for 8.4 days. So, after 8 days it is necessary to replenish the stock.

evacuation. This indicator should not be confused with turnover. The turnover rate shows how many revolutions the product makes during the period, the turnover rate shows how many days something will leave the warehouse. If in the calculation we do not operate with an average stock, but calculate the turnover of one batch, then we are talking about withdrawal.

Example

On March 1, a batch of 1000 pencils arrived at the warehouse. On March 31st there are no pencils left in the warehouse (0). Sales amounted to 1000 pcs.

The stock of pencils turned around once a month, like the turnover is 1. However, you need to understand that in this case we are talking about one batch and the time of its implementation. One party in a month does not turn around, it leaves.

Batch accounting is not needed to calculate inventory turnover.

In some works, evacuation refers to the return per square meter of retail space. This is also an important indicator, which is calculated using the following formula:

Exit = Turnover per month / Occupied area on the trading floor.

Example

We use the data in the table and compare the indicators within the “washing powder” category.

As can be seen from the data in the table, Max has the best sales from 1 m 2, despite poor turnover (27 days). It can be concluded that too large a batch of goods was purchased. By reducing the stock, we will even out the turnover.

The "Baby" powder has a good turnover, and sales from 1 m 2 are the worst. This means that the shelf space is used inefficiently or the goods are located in the “cold” zone of the trading floor. It is necessary to raise sales in general or reduce the occupied area.

Powder "Ariel" with not very good turnover shows acceptable leaving. Here you can also talk about a decrease in stock.

The level of stocks and turnover (return per square meter) must be considered, but they have little to do with turnover itself.

Supply of retail trade enterprises

Merchandise supply of a retail trade network is a system of measures, which is a complex set of commercial and technological operations to bring goods to retailers.

Thanks to a rationally organized supply of goods in retail trade enterprises, the completeness and stability of the assortment of goods, the necessary level of commodity stocks, satisfaction of the demand of the population, as well as high financial and economic performance of trade organizations and enterprises are ensured.

The rational organization of supply of goods implies a clear relationship between technological processes in wholesale and retail trade. It provides for the development of schemes for the movement of goods, a high level of organization of work at wholesale depots, the availability of effective Vehicle and containers. Goods should arrive at stores as prepared as possible for sale.

An important condition for the rational organization of goods supply is the maximum efficiency in fulfilling the requirements of stores in terms of the range of supplies, the quantity and timing of delivery. When operating with a minimum inventory, retailers must be guaranteed timely and full range of satisfaction of submitted applications and the return to the base of goods that are not in demand.

When organizing the supply of goods to retailers, it is necessary to take into account the main requirements:

sources and forms of supply used should be determined taking into account the range and volume of goods produced, as well as the territorial remoteness of producers from the supplied trade enterprises;
the delivery of goods should be carried out in accordance with the demand of the population and the mandatory assortment list established for the store;
the number of imported goods should be determined by the type of enterprise, its capacity, which is characterized by the volume of trade and the size of retail space. Of particular importance is the equipping of trade enterprises with appropriate trade and technical equipment;
the size of the batch delivered at a time should be calculated taking into account the available commodity stocks, the volume of the average daily sales and the established frequency of delivery;
a well-designed commodity supply system should ensure minimal costs for the delivery and storage of goods.

The supply of retail trade enterprises should be based on certain principles.

Principles of commodity supply of a retail trade network

Planned means that the process of supplying stores should be systematic. The delivery of goods to stores and other points of sale should be carried out on the basis of planned schedules, taking into account their assortment process.

Rhythm implies the delivery of goods at relatively regular intervals. The rhythmic delivery of goods to stores contributes to the acceleration of the turnover of goods, eliminates the formation of excess inventory. It creates optimal conditions for the work of warehouses, wholesale depots and transport companies. Warehouse (premises) areas are rationally used.

Efficiency provides that the rhythm of the importation of goods should increase or decrease depending on changes in demand for them, seasonal and other fluctuations. Wholesale depots should take into account these changes and make adjustments based on information from retailers on the progress of the sale of goods and the state of commodity stocks.

Profitability means the minimum costs of working time, material and money for the entire process of delivering goods to retail stores. trading network. This is achieved by the efficient use of vehicles, the mechanization of loading and unloading operations, the establishment of a rational link in the movement of goods, the clear execution of documents for the release, acceptance of goods. The supply of goods to the retail trade network should be carried out on the basis of rational schemes for the delivery of goods. They are developed taking into account the cargo turnover, the optimal link, the frequency of delivery and the size of the consignments. The rational form of commodity supply is determined as a result of the development of schemes for the delivery of goods to trade enterprises. For each product group, they reflect the sources and volumes of importation of goods, ways and methods of delivery to the retail network. When developing schemes for the importation of goods, the following principles are taken into account:

achieving a minimum number of warehouse links in the way of movement of goods, reducing transshipment and loading and unloading operations;
planning the supply of food and non-food products of a simple assortment, as well as large-sized and cargo-intensive ones, to the warehouses of organizations by main means of transport;
concentration of wholesale trade in goods of a complex assortment at large wholesale enterprises;
compliance with the assortment policy when delivering goods to certain types of stores;
expansion of the centralized delivery of goods using packaging equipment;
introduction of progressive methods of importation of goods by organizing the work of auto warehouses, mobile rooms for product samples, traveling merchandisers and small-scale mail order trade.

Centralization involves the supply of goods to retail trade enterprises by the forces and means of supplier enterprises. At the same time, store employees, although they are responsible for the commercial side of the supply of goods, are not distracted from their direct work on customer service.

Manufacturability means that the supply of goods should be based on the use of progressive technological solutions at all its stages. An important role here is played by modular taro-transport systems, which are the basis for the industrialization of the supply of goods to the retail trade network.

Forms of supply

Goods in the retail trade network come from manufacturing enterprises-suppliers, from the warehouses of wholesale organizations and their own warehouses of trade organizations. Goods begin their journey into the sphere of circulation from manufacturing enterprises, which are the initial link in the movement of goods. Intermediate links are warehouses of wholesale and retail organizations.

Wholesale bases play the main role in supplying the retail trade network. They account for 80% of the total receipt of goods in the retail chain. Perishable products of local factories, combines and workshops are imported directly from manufacturing enterprises to the retail network.

Bread and bakery products, milk and dairy products, soft drinks, beer, sausages produced in places of consumption, it is not advisable to bring them to warehouses before delivery to the retail network. Bypassing warehouses, goods of a simple assortment (vegetables, fruits, salt, sugar, cereals, laundry soap, juices, etc.) can also come from both local manufacturing enterprises and wholesale enterprises. Goods of a complex assortment (confectionery, canned food, pasta, etc.) are imported, as a rule, from warehouses of wholesale bases.

Depending on the sources of receipt of goods and on the order of importation of goods, both transit and warehouse forms of supply of goods are used.

The delivery of goods to stores directly from manufacturing enterprises, as well as output bases at manufacturing enterprises, bypassing the intermediate warehouses of wholesale and retail organizations, is called transit.

Under the warehouse form of supply understand the receipt of goods in stores from the warehouses of wholesale and retail organizations. The warehouse form of supply is used for goods of a complex assortment that require preliminary sorting (clothing and knitwear, footwear, cultural and household goods, electrical household goods, etc.). A significant part of the goods is imported from wholesale enterprises to the retail trade network.

The transit form of commodity supply has certain advantages: the circulation of goods is accelerated, distribution costs are reduced, and commodity losses are reduced. But the transit form of commodity supply is of limited use due to the fragmentation and dispersal of the retail trade network. It is mainly used for goods of a simple assortment (bread and bakery products, milk and dairy products, etc.).

Delivery of goods to retail outlets

The basis for the delivery of goods to retail trade enterprises is an application.

For the rational organization of the supply of goods to the retail trade network, it is necessary to strictly follow the procedure for submitting applications and justifying the volume and assortment for the importation of goods in them. Applications are made in the prescribed form. They indicate the name of the goods, type, grade and other assortment features of the goods. First, write down the goods contained in the assortment list, but not on sale; then - goods requiring replenishment, and then - goods that are not included in the assortment list of the store, but for which orders from customers have been accepted. The application should reflect goods of the same name with different prices so that the store offers both relatively inexpensive goods that are in steady demand of buyers, and goods of increased demand with a higher price level.

The application may also indicate the standard of commodity stocks and their availability in the store, the actual turnover on the day of its preparation, the monthly turnover plan and a list of over-imported and stale goods, indicating their quantity. If the actual inventory is significantly higher than the standard, then the retailer may be denied applications until the inventory is brought into line with the standard. The application is drawn up in two copies, signed by the director, certified by a seal and transferred to the supplier for execution.

When drawing up an order, it is important to correctly determine the quantity of the ordered goods. It is established taking into account the one-day retail turnover, available balances of goods and non-reducible commodity stocks, the frequency of importation of goods and the timing of sales, the seasonality of demand for individual goods and other factors. When determining the quantity of ordered goods, the store manager knows the market conditions for individual goods. The economic justification for determining the need for goods and the frequency of their delivery is achieved by calculating the frequency of delivery and the optimal size of consignments. The frequency of delivery (and the optimal size) for perishable goods is determined based on the one-day turnover and the period of sale of the goods, determined in accordance with the conditions of its storage. For goods with a long sales period, the frequency of delivery of goods is determined as twice the difference between the average and minimum stock of goods in days:

And \u003d 2 (Zs - Zn),

where I - delivery interval in days; Зс and Зн - average and minimum stock of goods in days.

For example, if the average stock of goods in days of vegetable oil is 20 days, and the irreducible stock is 15, then the interval of its delivery will be 10 days, and the frequency of delivery will be 3 times a month. If the monthly turnover for this group of goods is 900 rubles, then the amount is 300 rubles. (900:3).

This calculation method applies to goods of a simple assortment, when the full number of varieties is received in each lot. In each imported batch of goods of a complex assortment, only a part of the varieties provided for by the assortment list arrives. The delivery interval in this case is determined taking into account the complexity factor (k), which is calculated by the ratio of the average number of varieties of goods arriving in one batch to the total number of varieties indicated in the assortment list. For example, the grocery store received 40 varieties of confectionery products for five deliveries (8 varieties in one batch), and according to the assortment list, 24 varieties should be on sale.

The complexity factor will be 0.33 (8:24), and the formula for determining the delivery interval takes the following form:

I \u003d 2 x (Zs - Zn) x 0.33.

The performed calculations on the frequency of importation of certain groups of goods are grouped by sources of receipt and a rational frequency of importation is established according to the total volume of deliveries of goods, taking into account the maximum use of the carrying capacity of vehicles and the developed routes for the delivery of goods.

When drawing up applications, it is very important to correctly determine the size of the ordered consignment of goods.

The size of the next shipment of goods is determined based on the average daily sale of goods, the interval of delivery, practical and standard stocks according to the formula:

Pz \u003d Td x I + Zn \u003d Zf,

where Pz - the size of the next batch of delivery of goods, days: Zn and Zf - stocks of goods according to the standard and actual, thousand rubles.

On the basis of an application received from a retailer, the wholesale warehouse sales manager draws up an order (selection list) in triplicate. One is sent to the machine counting office for issuing a consignment note, the other is sent to the warehouse for picking goods, and the third is filed together with the application in the folder of this enterprise.

The bill of lading, printed in four copies, arrives at the warehouse. According to its data, the selected goods are reconciled, which are then packed in reusable containers, sealed and handed over to the forwarding warehouse along with the bill of lading. This transfer is made in a special journal. At the forwarding warehouse, the received cargo items are placed along the routes of transportation and, depending on the volume of goods, at the end of the working day, motor transport of the appropriate carrying capacity is ordered.

The transfer of goods and accompanying documents to the forwarding driver for delivery to the retail network is recorded in the journal. The manager or his substitute person accepts goods in the store. Goods received in good packaging and with unbroken seals are accepted according to the number of places. If a malfunction is detected, the availability of goods is checked against the consignment note and, if there is a discrepancy, an act is drawn up in four copies. Acceptance of goods in the store is made out by the signature of the manager in all copies of the bill of lading and is certified by the stamp of the store. One copy remains in the store, while others are given to the driver.

On the way back, the car is loaded with empty containers, on which an invoice is issued. If there is no container, then a mark is made in the waybill. Returning from the flight, the driver-forwarder hands over the packaging and transfers the bill of lading to the head of the forwarding warehouse.

Organization and technology of delivery of goods to the retail network

The rational organization of the supply of goods to the retail network involves the choice of the most effective methods for the delivery of goods. Currently, the following methods of supplying stores are used:

decentralized delivery;
centralized delivery of goods.

Decentralized delivery of goods (self-delivery) provides for the implementation of forwarding operations by the forces and means of retail enterprises. It causes the dispersal of transport among enterprises and its inefficient use, as well as the need for employees of retail enterprises to turn to hired transport services.

Decentralized delivery of goods is not subject to planning and rational organization of operations related to the selection of goods, paperwork, loading and unloading. Therefore, the vehicles used in this method of supply of goods have lower technical and economic indicators of their operation compared to the centralized delivery of goods. In addition, decentralized importation of goods distracts retailers from fulfilling their duties of customer service. In stores with one seller, it leads to the closure of the enterprise for the time needed to travel for goods. This negatively affects the quality of customer service and reduces the volume of retail turnover.

The centralized delivery of goods is carried out by the forces and means of suppliers or transport enterprises to stores within the time frame stipulated by the schedule. At the same time, all forwarding operations are carried out centrally, without the participation of representatives of the retail network.

Centralized delivery of goods is used both in transit and in warehouse forms of supply of goods to the retail network.

The advantages of centralized delivery of goods in comparison with decentralized are manifested in the following:

systematically analyzes the procedure for the delivery of goods to the retail network in accordance with the approved technological maps, schedules, routes;
suppliers or transport companies are responsible for delivering goods to stores;
retail employees are exempted from searching for transport, traveling with a supplier and forwarding goods, and all working time is dedicated to fulfilling its direct duties of customer service and store improvement;
the importation of goods is analyzed more rhythmically, which contributes to the acceleration of commodity circulation, the normalization of commodity stocks, and the provision of a wide and stable range of goods in the retail network;
the need for storage space decreases (distribution warehouses are liquidated) and there are reserves for increasing the retail space of stores by reducing storerooms;
integrated mechanization of loading and unloading operations is being introduced, the transportation of goods in containers and container equipment is being developed, vehicle downtime is being reduced, vehicles are being used more efficiently;
document flow and settlements between suppliers and buyers are accelerated and simplified.

Despite the noted advantages, centralized delivery is slowly being introduced into the practice of trade organizations. Its development is hindered by insufficient provision of storage facilities, handling equipment, reusable packaging and vehicles.

There are three parties involved in organizing centralized delivery: suppliers, retailers and transport companies. The supplier concludes an agreement with a transport company, and with the buyer - an agreement for the timely delivery of goods. The following relationships are formed between the participants:

the store sends the supplier an order for the necessary goods;
the supplier sends an application to the transport company for the transportation of goods;
motor transport enterprise allocates vehicles for the transport of goods;
the supplier loads them with goods, transfers the accompanying documents, according to which the goods are delivered to the stores;
organizations and enterprises make settlements with suppliers;
the supplier settles with the motor transport company for the delivery of goods to stores;
when introducing centralized delivery, it is necessary to carry out preparatory organizational and technical measures;
to concentrate vehicles at the locations of wholesale trade bases;
calculate the freight turnover for the delivery of goods to stores;
determine the rational size of deliveries and the frequency of importation of goods;
develop routes and schedules for the delivery of goods to stores;
calculate the required amount of inventory packaging;
prepare retail enterprises to accept goods in reusable containers;
determine the types of vehicles and calculate their need;
establish the procedure for processing documents and the liability of the parties for the centralized delivery of goods;
to instruct employees of the wholesale base, heads of trade departments, heads of stores;
the initial information for the development of these activities is the location of the retail network, the types and volumes of turnover of enterprises, their mode of operation, the distance from stores to sources of goods, the state of transport routes, assortment lists of stores, available means of communication, etc.

All these data must be critically evaluated and corrected. The development of measures for the introduction of centralized delivery begins with the determination of the turnover of serviced stores. It is calculated as the ratio of the average monthly turnover to the average cost of 1 ton of goods sold and multiplied by a coefficient that takes into account the weight of the container.

Then the frequency of delivery, the sizes of lots, ordered goods are calculated, and routes are developed. To draw up routes, it is necessary to prepare a large-scale map of the area of operation of the wholesale base with the population of the location of retail enterprises, distances between settlements and roads connecting them.

Routes are developed depending on the carrying capacity of the vehicle separately for the delivery of food and non-food products. First, routes are determined for stores, the volume of delivery of which is equal to or a multiple of the carrying capacity of the car, taking into account the specific weight of the cargo. Goods are delivered to these stores by one or more fully loaded vehicles. Such routes are called linear.

Shops, the size of the delivery of goods to which is less than the carrying capacity of the car, are combined into ring routes. The route includes two or more retail nearby enterprises with a supply volume that ensures a full car load. The execution time of each route is calculated by the formula:

where T is the time spent by the car on the route, h; D - route length, km; C is the average technical speed of the vehicle, km/h; Tpr - time for loading and unloading, h; T3 - time for each arrival at the intermediate point (approximately 9 minutes); Kz - number (number) of races.

Knowing the time of the route is necessary for planning the work of transport, so that each car is used intensively, making several trips during the working day. It is advisable to carry out routes with short distances in the first half of the day, and then long-distance routes, since before lunch the expedition of the wholesale base works to send goods to the retail network, and in the afternoon - to receive goods from the warehouses of the wholesale base for shipment the next day.

Routes for the delivery of goods, if necessary, are specified and changed. Simultaneously with the development of routes, they draw up schedules for the centralized delivery of goods. They are developed on the basis of the calculated frequency and established delivery routes, as well as the volume of imported goods by day of the week, taking into account the mode of operation of retail enterprises.

When developing routes and schedules for centralized delivery, it is important to provide for a uniform load in the work of warehouses and transport on the days of the week, that is, approximately the same traffic volumes and minimal deviations in the need for road transport. The introduction of centralized delivery of goods to the retail network requires strict adherence to the approved schedules. To organize a centralized delivery of goods to a retail distribution network, suppliers must have the required amount of reusable packaging, which is calculated according to the formula:

where P - the required number of reusable inventory containers; O - volume of cargo transportation, t; Tob - time of turnover of a container unit, days; D - the number of days, the operation of the container in the planned period, taking into account the time the container was under repair; G - carrying capacity of a container unit, T; K is the coefficient of utilization of the carrying capacity of a container unit, i.e.

Control over the movement of inventory containers and its accounting is carried out by the storekeeper of the expedition, who in a special journal indicates the date of release of the container to a specific buyer, the inventory number of the container and the date of return to the expedition.

The progressive methods of supplying goods to the subscription network include small-scale mail order trade. It is carried out by the databases of the main wholesale and postal service according to the catalogs sent to organizations and applications received from them. Parcel sets include: haberdashery, knitwear, watches, radio components, etc. Parcels are sent from wholesale parcel depots to enterprises. The receipt by stores of a small batch of goods in a sorted form contributes to the expansion and renewal of the existing range of goods.

Management of the trade and technological process of supply

The rational delivery of goods to the retail network requires a clear interconnected work of the wholesale base, vehicles and retail enterprises.

Control over the rhythm of receipt of goods in the retail network is assigned to the information and dispatch services of wholesale bases, which are the link between suppliers and retailers. One of the main functions of the information and dispatching service is the solution of a complex of issues of the rhythmic supply of goods to the retail network. She daily studies the state of trade in retail enterprises, the progress of the implementation of the turnover plan, changes in the demand for goods, the provision of goods in accordance with the assortment lists, the state of commodity stocks, the state of road conditions. The service accepts applications from stores for the delivery of goods, offers goods available in stock to replenish the range, assists retailers in moving goods between them and in the export of containers, informs retailers about goods received at warehouses, monitors the implementation of schedules for picking goods, submitting applications, operation of car depots and car dealerships.

The information and dispatch service works in close contact with the transport company, informing the dispatcher of the fleet about the work of the allocated transport, the current situation in the area of \u200b\u200bthe wholesale base or district. Its employees calculate the need for vehicles and submit an application for the required number of vehicles the next day, make adjustments to transportation routes and control the correctness of filling out transport documents.

The creation of information and dispatching services has a positive effect on the result of the work of trade organizations.

The release of merchandisers from the operational functions of importing goods allows you to focus on the study of demand, economically sound preparation of applications and orders for the supply of goods, control over trade in certain groups of goods, and the impact on suppliers of all contractual obligations.

The rational organization of the technological process for sending goods to stores and the performance of loading and unloading operations determines the creation of forwarding warehouses at wholesale bases that carry out centralized delivery.

The creation of forwarding warehouses at wholesale depots helps to accelerate the turnover of goods, reduce costs, increase the level of centralized delivery, reduce transportation costs, and reduce the need for cars by increasing the efficiency of their use. The presence of a forwarding warehouse allows to increase the average daily time for the delivery of goods to the retail network by increasing the shift work and organizing the dispatch of goods to stores on Saturdays, when warehouse workers have a rest.

The introduction of progressive technology for the supply of goods to the retail network is preceded by a large organizational and technical work to prepare suppliers, vehicles and stores for transportation in container-equipment, equipping and providing them with the necessary handling equipment and container-equipment.

The effectiveness of the introduction of progressive methods of supply of goods can be established by determining the savings by reducing the cost of transporting goods and reducing the volume of freight turnover as a result of the elimination of excessive transportation of goods along the way. Calculations must be performed both for individual links in the process of commodity circulation, and in aggregate. Only summing up the results for all links will allow us to fully evaluate the effect of the introduction of a progressive system of goods distribution.

Efficient in-store logistics

If customers see empty shelves in front of them, and at the same time mountains of unopened boxes pile up in the warehouse, if visitors complain about the lack of service personnel - all these problems are usually due to the low efficiency of the processes in the store. In such cases, the main means of improving efficiency can be the application of the so-called "lean retail approach". Like Lean manufacturing in the automotive industry, Lean Retailing allows you to implement simple and cost-effective processes that ensure that exactly the products that customers need are delivered, without any wastage of resources during delivery. After all, retailers only make money when customers get the goods they need.

But how do you know what customers really want? To correctly identify potential for improvement, one should not rely solely on the personal experience of going shopping with the family on the weekend. Retailers get more reliable information by interviewing shoppers, analyzing their complaints, and testing the quality of service using the Mystery Shopper method. For example, one of the retail chains that participated in our study decided to find out why some customers leave the store without buying anything. It turned out that a quarter of visitors leave the store empty-handed, although initially they were determined to purchase this or that product. At the same time, more than half of these people leave without a purchase due to the fact that there were no service personnel nearby or there was no necessary product on the shelf, that is, for reasons directly related to the low efficiency of processes in the store.

One of the leading companies, applying the principles of lean retailing in its activities, organized in-store processes so that employees could devote three-quarters of their time to serving customers and making purchases. In other companies, due to the complex system of in-store logistics and the need to perform administrative functions, employees spend less than 50% of their working time on customer service, although the number of employees in such stores is comparable to that of leading companies.

The process of replenishing stocks on the shelves is one of the main elements of in-store logistics. Customers are only interested in whether there are products on the shelves or not. From their point of view, the lengthy procedure for pre-sorting and transporting goods is nothing more than a waste of time, since this process leads to an increase in costs without increasing customer value. However, employees often spend a lot of time rummaging through boxes looking for the right product, or constantly running between the receiving area, the sales floor and the warehouse. As a result, employees simply have no time to help customers, and shelves remain empty for a long time. Leading retailers have already recognized this problem, and in order to solve it, they have simplified and accelerated the process of replenishing stocks of goods on the shelves. As a result, in such companies, the layout of goods on the shelves during store hours is no longer carried out - after all, this process distracts a significant number of employees just when their help is most needed by customers. Instead, the work is organized in such a way that by the time the store opens, the goods are already on the shelves. And one of the leading hypermarkets has also managed to reduce the average distance that a worker has to walk to lay out goods from 20 to 2 meters. This was achieved thanks to the introduction of clear standards governing the process of replenishing stocks on shelves. In addition, bulky and heavy wheeled containers have been replaced with small portable plastic crates, and employees have begun pre-sorting items according to the location of the shelves. As a result, pickup time has been reduced by about 70%, freeing up time to improve the customer experience.

But just optimizing in-store processes is not enough to fully satisfy customer needs. It is also necessary to distribute staff in such a way that store employees are in the exact place and at the time where and when their help is needed by visitors. In this regard, a very instructive example of a negative experience can be given: in one of the Scandinavian retail companies, there were usually either too many or too few employees from the service staff in the workplace. In addition, even during the busiest hours of the day, employees had to do non-customer service work (like stockpiling items), and many employees were tied to a specific location, such as being at a cash register. As a result, almost no employee could quickly respond to the situation and switch to another task, such as advising visitors. Given these challenges, successful retailers carefully plan their staffing requirements not only for customer service, but for all in-store processes, and adjust employee responsibilities based on customer demand. In this regard, the application of clear rules can be very useful, for example, “during the opening hours of the store, every employee must help customers”. It is also advisable to use a number of simple tools, such as attendance charts, which visually display the density of the flow of visitors during the day.

Availability of an efficient logistics system

In the past, the division of labor between manufacturers and retailers was clear and precise: the transport of goods was the responsibility of the manufacturer, and the retailer was responsible for selling them. Today, trade organizations are increasingly taking on logistics functions and independently form the supply system for their stores. The most effective in this regard is a combination of three methods of work: direct deliveries, deliveries through distribution warehouses and cross-docking platforms.

Retailers are increasingly seeking to self-deliver goods to stores directly from manufacturing plants, from ports of entry or from warehouses where goods come from several sources.

In 2001, Tesco took the first steps to source from the factory with a pilot project in the frozen food segment, and Tesco is now actively pursuing this strategy in other product categories. The results achieved so far have been very promising. This effect is due not only to a stronger negotiating position of retailers and reduced transport costs. Among other things, such deliveries help eliminate unnecessary storage requirements, while better coordinating the flow of goods increases the efficiency of processes in the organization of warehouses and transfer points, as well as during the delivery of goods to stores.

Despite this, in Russia, in order to ensure the availability of goods on the shelf, due to the unsatisfactory level of reliability of individual manufacturers, companies have to increase the level of centralization of logistics (delivery of goods from suppliers to central regional warehouses and from there distribution to stores). This raises costs but guarantees availability. Often in this context we are asked the question: what should be the target level of centralization? There is no single indicator, and its definition requires careful analysis of product flows, supplier structure and location of points of sale. As a result of the analysis, you can determine the balance between costs and shelf availability that is acceptable for your network.

As the experience of leading companies shows, the cross-docking system already mentioned above is another tool to improve the efficiency of supply chains. As part of the through movement of goods, deliveries to stores are carried out through distribution centers without organizing storage. The need for storage is eliminated by precisely coordinating the flow of goods and matching the timing of the arrival of goods from the manufacturer to the transshipment point with the timing of their dispatch to stores. The advantage for retailers is that such a system eliminates storage costs and minimizes the movement of goods. However, to organize cross-docking, manufacturers and retailers must have developed logistical skills and be willing to cooperate with each other. According to the industry's own publications, merchants from all segments are actively investing in the development of cross-docking. To determine whether cross-docking is appropriate in any given case, you need to have a clear understanding of the manufacturer's logistical skills and know exactly how often restocking is needed. In addition, the cross-docking system should be compared with other supply chain systems as part of a comprehensive analysis of handling costs.

Effective cooperation with suppliers

In the past, relationships between manufacturers and retailers were often very difficult, but in recent years they have improved significantly - apparently, the "ice age" in the field of commercial relations between these market participants has ended. According to our research, today there are almost no retail companies left in the industry that categorically refuse to cooperate with manufacturers. The use of electronic data interchange (EDI) systems has become widespread, and almost all retailers are already interacting with suppliers or taking steps to develop interaction along various parts of the supply chain. In doing so, they primarily proceed from the fact that cooperation with manufacturers allows to achieve such results in the field of increasing efficiency, which are almost impossible to achieve alone.

However, according to senior executives of some retail companies, in reality, success in this area is much more modest than expected. The large-scale implementation of "standard" complex joint projects, as a rule, ends up with these projects hanging up at the planning stage. In addition, according to these leaders, retailers should not place too high hopes on cooperation with manufacturers. The corresponding scale of the potential increase in income is especially often overestimated, so one should not strive to formalize all aspects of interaction without exception. Often, collaboration becomes an end in itself, which distracts retailers from solving internal problems related to supply chain management. Active collaboration can indeed improve the efficiency of processes within supply chains, but it is by no means a panacea that can overcome all difficulties in this area.

The conclusions of our study confirm the opinion of these leaders. In particular, the leading companies believe that manufacturers and trade organizations may have common interests in the field of operating activities, but the expediency of long-term strategic joint projects seems to the leaders to be very doubtful. In this regard, they try to limit cooperation to those aspects that directly relate to the creation of value, and make careful calculations before investing in the development of interaction, as well as regularly monitor the results achieved.

One of the areas in which leading companies interact very closely with manufacturers is the exchange of data. Through electronic data interchange (EDI) systems, leaders place orders with 63% of their suppliers, while lagging companies have this figure of only 35%. Nearly two-thirds of the leading companies regularly exchange critical data with manufacturers (such as the availability of goods on the shelves), while only a third of those companies lag behind. During this time, their original model of collaboration has evolved into an active performance management mechanism that communicates performance scorecards and is regularly discussed at performance evaluation meetings. These measures resulted in a 1.1% increase in on-shelf inventory and a 3.0% increase in revenue. Another area where active cooperation is bearing fruit is the use of shelf-ready packaging. A number of leading UK retailers, including Tesco, are already working with suppliers to repackage products to ensure products reach stores and shelves with minimal effort. Examples of such packaging are boxes which, once the lid is removed, can be immediately placed on the shelves and which also convey brand and product information.

On the other hand, leading companies believe that cooperation on long-term projects that require more resources, but do not guarantee a tangible increase in efficiency, is not so expedient. Successful retailers are particularly skeptical of complex collaborative projects such as the Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) system. With this system, manufacturers and retailers collaborate on sales planning in a nine-step process. Then, based on the received forecasts, actions in the field of production, delivery, formation of commodity stocks and marketing are coordinated. Many retailers deliberately limited the implementation of this system to a pilot program. Most of the sales representatives we interviewed do not object to joint planning with suppliers, but the concept of CPFR seems to them too formalized. They prefer to use simple and effective collaborative planning approaches instead of implementing complex and high-cost projects.

Among other things, the leaders differ from the laggards in that they regularly quantify the performance of suppliers. Leaders closely monitor the performance of the manufacturers they work with, taking into account factors such as reliability of supply, quality of goods, completeness of shipments, availability of necessary labels, as well as the timeliness and accuracy of information transfer through electronic data interchange systems. The obtained information about the effectiveness is used in negotiations with manufacturers. Some leading companies go even further: in particular, 40% of them resort to financial sanctions to improve efficiency, while among the laggards this figure is only 5%. Such a noticeable difference clearly indicates the expediency of the rational use of financial sanctions - provided that the accrual mechanisms are transparent and the amount of fines is really comparable to the additional costs that the retail company is forced to bear due to the inefficient work of the supplier.

Replenishment of inventory based on needs

Properly planned and organized restocking is also essential to meet customer needs and to keep inventory and logistics costs competitive. On the one hand, retailers that order goods to warehouses and stores in large quantities in order to obtain appropriate discounts are forced to incur higher inventory costs. In addition, a high level of physical availability of goods is of little use to companies if, in practice, this results in shelves full of stale products that can only be sold at a discount. On the other hand, those companies that order too few goods run the risk of disappointing and scaring off customers - this is exactly what happened with Sergey's store, when a special promotional offer lasted only two days. Again, it is a question of finding the optimal balance between the level of expenditure and the quality of service.

Some leading companies are already forming inventories based on real needs. In the planning process, they actively use available data, in particular daily sales figures. In addition, when managing supply chains, they draw a clear line between ordinary goods and products involved in sales promotions. For example, demand for regular price coffee is relatively stable and predictable. For these regular items, the leading companies use an automatic restocking mechanism, i.e. orders are placed through the IT system in the amount determined by the difference between the amount of goods available and a pre-set stock target. Using this method avoids the growing imbalance between inventory and sales that occurs when store employees misjudge fluctuations in demand. In leading companies, the system of automatic replenishment of stocks is used very widely - it accounts for more than 80% of all orders placed. For lagging companies, this figure is only about 50%.

Promotional products require a special approach in terms of supply chain management. No one can say for sure in advance how customers will react to a particular promotion, but the number of ordered goods should correspond as closely as possible to real demand in order to eliminate the shortage of goods, on the one hand, and their excess, on the other hand. At the same time, it is also necessary to set the optimal price, determine adequate volumes of distribution of goods in stores and coordinate distribution in such a way that products reach the store on time. In contrast to the situation with goods of regular demand, long-term forecasting is necessary to solve these problems. Successful retailers strive to make sound demand forecasts on a regular basis. Order volume is based on data from similar promotions, as well as demographic and purchasing behavior information. You can check the correctness of the plans regarding the quantity and price of the ordered goods as part of the trial sales.

Integrated approach to organizational structure

Maximum results in supply chain management can only be achieved if all the upper echelons of the corporate organizational structure are functioning effectively. Unfortunately, too often understanding who is in charge of supply chain management in a retail company takes a long time to study its organization chart. Often, this function is assigned to the purchasing department or distributed among several departments that are responsible, for example, for purchasing, sales and product category management. In many cases, supply chain management is perceived as a mere ancillary and rarely comes to the attention of senior executives. Even if the company has a logistics department, its role is often limited to ensuring that the goods supplied are stored in a central warehouse and then shipped to stores.

In the past few years, the top companies in our survey have already begun to consolidate different parts of their supply chains into a single area of responsibility in order to better control the flow of product and information between the manufacturer and stores. This approach is also reflected in the corporate organizational structure: In these companies, supply chain management is handled by a separate organizational unit located at the same hierarchical level as the purchasing and sales departments.

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Automatic replenishment of stocks. The goods are always in the right quantity and place. Saving your budget. Control the absence of excess goods Auto-order goods from suppliers in one click

Inventory management is an important trade marketing tool. How can customer inventory management drive sales? Experience shows that it is naive to expect that the merchandiser himself will correctly and on time order the necessary delivery. After all, a large supermarket can offer up to 15,000 different items, each merchandiser is responsible for thousands of SKUs. In Russia, in addition to a large amount of information, buyers of retail outlets face another problem - a shortage of money to pay suppliers. Every day they are forced to solve a difficult question: who to pay, and who to put on the waiting list. Naturally, delivery is not possible with an overdue loan. Of course, financial issues are the responsibility of sales managers. However, the sales manager or merchandiser, who facilitates the work of the buyer in ordering products, also contributes to solving financial issues.

In this case, the word "facilitating" is the key. This is not about going to the merchandiser and continuously begging “Aunty, order another box”, thereby complicating, rather than facilitating, the work of the buyer. We are talking about a competent science-based calculation of the stock of your products for a given retail outlet.
Why doesn't "more is better" work for retail stock? You will find a detailed answer to this question in the next section on the turnover ratio. In a nutshell: the money frozen in the product is dead money that does not bring profit to either the supplier or the retail outlet. And at the store, the excess stock of products not only reduces financial performance, but also takes up a scarce trading and / or storage space.

On the other hand, underordering of products leads to out-of-stocks (out-of-stock - temporary absence of some commodity items). The harm that out-of-stocks cause is another topic in the next section.

Having dealt with the turnover ratio, we can calculate the size of the optimal stocks. But this is only half the way. After all, stocks (commodity stock) are not homogeneous, they are divided into several subgroups. And each of their types should also be optimal.

Inventory turnover

Any commercial structure (both the supplier and the retailer) strives to obtain the maximum possible profit. The profit of a retailer depends on two factors:

trade markup and
turnover of goods.

Trade margin is the responsibility of the retailer. With the growth of competition between retail chains, as the shortage of stores in Russia is saturated, retail trade margins will inevitably decrease. In any case, the manufacturer or supplier in most cases cannot influence this component of the retail outlet's profit.

But the supplier's employees can increase the turnover of their products not only through competent display that increases sales, but also by managing the client's stocks.

One of the most important KPIs of a retailer is such a concept as the turnover ratio. It is calculated very easily: it is equal to the number of turnovers of inventory per year. For example, if stocks turn over once every two weeks, then the coefficient is 24, if once every two months - 6.

Let's compare the two products shown in the table:

Although A's markup is twice that of B's, the annual profit from selling both is the same. The reason for this is twice the turnover of product B.

Therefore, retailers go out of their way to minimize inventory, make minimal purchases, to avoid possible stock stagnation and a working capital freeze. When a store operates with 15,000 SKUs, the turnover rate takes precedence! But by doing so, they can have the opposite effect. Cutting drains can lead to out-of- drains. It has been scientifically proven that out-of-stocks are one of the primary reasons for losing market share, falling sales and, as a result, product turnover.

At the same time, the most popular positions are most often the first to “wash out” from the shelves, which “kills” sales of the company’s best products. After all, the buyer, if he is not helped with the preparation of the order, can take the path of least resistance and order “just a box”, without bothering to look at the sales dynamics of each SKU of this supplier. As a result, product B from the table above will be sold in three days, and product A in a week. Therefore, three days before the next delivery of the most popular item in the store will not be.

Who will suffer from this? both supplier and retailer. The supplier's losses are obvious. But what are the retailer's losses? Customers do not like to go to stores where their favorite product is constantly out of stock. The retailer will not only lose revenue from missing SKUs, but also store traffic in the long run.

Therefore, the role of representatives of the supplier or manufacturer in inventory management is so important, that is, the search for the "golden mean" - the optimal inventory and order size for each retail outlet! The sales manager or merchandiser must remove the leftovers and show the merchandiser his calculations for each SKU, convincingly prove the necessity of the order he proposed. In this case, he acts in the interests of not only his company, but also in the interests of the retailer.

Inventory types

Stocks (the stock of goods at the point of sale) can be divided into fixed and variable. Permanent stock is a constant display of products in permanent points of sale and stock in the warehouse for the entire period until the next delivery, calculated based on average sales. The permanent stock must necessarily include an insurance stock at the time of delivery.

Variable or additional stock is needed in case of seasonal fluctuations in sales or promotions.

The total stock of the supplier's goods at the retail outlet is the sum of the following stocks:

warehouse stock for the entire period until the next delivery (for example, equal to weekly sales if the goods are delivered to the outlet once a week);
insurance stock equal to at least 10% of the above volume;
the volume of goods required for a full display on the trading floor (if it is not available or has suffered from out-of-stocks);
variable stock in case of high season or promotion, calculated specifically for each delivery.

The Store Card must contain the following table for each month, filled in by a sales representative or merchandiser on the day the products are delivered to the store:

Also in the Store card should be:

a section indicating planned promotions (for calculating variable stock and ordering products in a timely manner) and
a table of the Seasonal Sales Rate by month, which looks like this:

Product	Jan	Feb	mar	Apr	May	june	july	aug	sep	oct	but I	dec
BUT	100%	130%	150%	170%	140%	130%	120%	100%	130%	150%	150%	150%
B	100%	130%	150%	150%	120%	200%	200%	200%	200%	150%	150%	100%
AT	100%	110%	90%	80%	50%	50%	50%	30%	60%	90%	110%	150%

In the case of delivery of goods more than once a week, in addition to the Seasonal coefficient, the Weekend coefficient is also calculated. After all, sales from Friday evening to Sunday evening are much higher than on weekdays.

The order is calculated for each SKU according to the following scheme:

Do you think this is an overly complex inventory management formula? It is easier to take the average sales for the delivery period and order the corresponding quantity. But! Where do out-of-stocks or overstocking come from? Their reason lies precisely in such a simplified approach. On the one hand, excess balances of one of the SKUs are not adjusted and accumulate from delivery to delivery. On the other hand, every time before delivery, the most popular item is missing on the shelf for a couple of days because the stock required for display in the hall was not taken into account. The table above is a checklist for adjusting an order based on average sales to avoid skewed inventory management.

According to the retailer's merchandising rules, there should be no empty spaces on the shelves, even if the supplier swears that he will deliver the missing goods within 24 hours. If in a supermarket during the day in all departments there are only 12 empty faces, such a store, according to standard calculations, loses about 1000 rubles per day (the average price of goods is 80rX12=960r)! A small retail chain of 20 stores is already losing 20,000 rubles a day! Therefore, store management severely punishes their employees for empty faces. The missing product is replaced by anything - the product of the same supplier, its competitor. Doesn't matter. The main thing is to close the hole.

Experience shows that a commodity specialist, having double-checked the calculations of the supplier's representative a couple of times and made sure that they are correct, begins to trust these figures and delegates inventory management to him. Thus, the supplier's representative has the opportunity to control deliveries to this retail outlet and manage stocks in this store. It does not matter whether the goods are ordered directly from the supplier or at the centralized warehouse of the distribution network.

Here is what is written about it in the Merchandising Standards of the British company Continental Beverages: “The stock and order system (described above - I.T.) allows you to take the initiative during each visit to control the order. Your inventory level records on the customer card will help you calculate the order. Thus, you can guarantee the uninterrupted availability of your product at the point of sale. The client card is compiled for this purpose.

The same merchandising standard, in order to convince the buyer to use the services of a supplier representative when ordering products, suggests explaining to the merchandiser the following benefits of free inventory management assistance:

The buyer has more time for other things.
Out-of-stocks are minimized, thereby reducing losses in store profits.
The risk of overstocking with individual items is minimized, since the sales representative, when calculating the order, looks at the sales history of each SKU, and not individual items, as a buyer usually does.

Concept, essence and types of commodity stocks. Characteristics of inventory management systems. Software for managing stocks of goods in a trading company. The main ways to improve the system for managing products and their stocks.

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Types of inventory

Depending on what role and what functions stocks perform, they are divided into three groups:

Current stocks. They ensure the continuity of the trading process and the uninterrupted operation of the store between deliveries.
For example, in some store, supplies of dairy, meat, bread and confectionery products are carried out once a week on Wednesdays.
Accordingly, there should be enough of these product groups in warehouses and on the shelves in the store - bread, milk, meat and "confectionery" - so that there is no shortage within a week from one delivery to another.
At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that there are no unjustified surpluses with each subsequent delivery of goods.

Insurance or guarantee stocks. These are the stocks that should ensure the continuity of the store in case of unforeseen circumstances.
This may be a sharp increase in demand, including a temporary one, or a supply failure, for example, due to worsening weather conditions, if the store is located in a remote area, or due to other force majeure circumstances.
When calculating and forming insurance stocks, it is necessary to take into account the expiration dates of goods, especially for food products.

seasonal stocks. They are formed under the influence of the seasonality factor. This applies, for example, to agricultural products or shops selling clothes and shoes. It is obvious that in the summer season it makes no sense to buy and replenish stocks of winter clothes, but it is necessary to prevent a shortage or shortage of actual summer clothes and shoes.

Automation of warehouse accounting using the Business.Ru program will help you control the movement of goods in real time, manage their balances and stocks, minimize routine work with papers, and significantly reduce the number of errors made during typical warehouse accounting operations.

Reserve formation factors

The inventory formation process depends on the following factors:

1. Volume of daily sales of goods. Stocks in warehouses or store shelves and the volume of daily sales are directly dependent on each other. Daily sales volume or store traffic is the main factor influencing the inventory management system.

Obviously, if the store is not a checkpoint, then it is possible to purchase, of course, in compliance with the expiration dates, goods for some more or less long period (a week, a month), so that these goods are stored in a warehouse. Thus, you can save money by reducing logistics costs (delivery).

If, on the contrary, the store is located in a passing place, then the issue of the formation of supplies must be taken with the utmost seriousness.

This is especially true for food and other everyday goods: it is quite possible that you will need to organize a daily supply or even several times a day. Therefore, in such stores, the inventory management system should work clearly, without failures.

Commodity stocks: definition and types

2. Delivery speed. This factor is more relevant for retail trade when the store is not located in big cities - in villages, rural areas or in geographically difficult places.

3. Availability of storage facilities and necessary equipment in particular refrigeration. The warehouse space factor is most relevant for retail when it comes to organizing the work of stores in cities, especially large ones.

The point is that, among other things, the efficiency of the retail business is influenced by the level of rent for the space used for the operation of the store.

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At the same time, it is necessary that the area of warehouse space provides the ability to store the volume of stocks for the smooth operation of the store.

4. Product properties. Here we mean their physico-chemical properties. First of all, of course, expiration dates. The inventory management system should be built in such a way that perishable goods do not stay on the warehouse shelves, but their shortage is also unacceptable, especially for everyday food products - bread, milk and others.

When developing their own system for effective inventory management, an entrepreneur must consider all these factors together.

Inventory management

Effective inventory management solves two important retail challenges:

Firstly, it is the provision of consumer demand, that is, the provision of buyers with those goods and products that they want to buy. Simply put, this means preventing a shortage of a certain product, product group and empty shelves;
Secondly, it is the effective management of working capital, that is, the store's money. The fact is that goods are purchased with money, respectively, goods need to be purchased just enough to ensure uninterrupted operation in a certain period of time.

If you buy more goods than you need, this means withdrawing money from circulation that could be directed to other, more effective or more necessary purposes.

Simply put, the solution of the second task means preventing excess stocks of goods and product groups in store warehouses and on shelves.

The Business.Ru warehouse automation program will help prevent excess goods in the warehouse. Manage the assortment, track the sales of specific products and, based on the received data, place orders with suppliers.

Inventory management system

The inventory management system includes the following elements or successive stages:

Rationing of commodity stocks. This is when the store determines how many of which goods, product groups and in what volumes and quantities should be in warehouses and on shelves. The main indicator in rationing is the flow of buyers;
Operational accounting and control of goods and stocks. It is necessary to constantly monitor the state of stocks in order to quickly respond to their changes;
Regulation of commodity stocks. This means maintaining inventory at the level established by the regulations. Actually, this is the purchase of goods when it is necessary to replenish the stock to the established standards. Or stimulate sales when there is a threat of overstocking.

Inventory management system or effective inventory management includes the continuous sequential execution of these steps.

There are two inventory management systems:

1. System of the fixed size of the order (delivery). This means that the store always orders delivery in a well-defined volume and quantity.

In this case, the delivery period is not defined. The entrepreneur makes an order for the next supply when the availability of that product has reached a certain regulatory threshold. Reduced stocks to a certain level - made another order.

2. Fixed period system. With this inventory management system, unlike the first, deliveries are made according to a certain fixed schedule.

The entrepreneur solves two problems: firstly, how to make sure that the level of stocks in warehouses is equal to or close to the standard indicator by the date of the next delivery; secondly, he must make such an order that by the next delivery the level of stocks will again be equal to or close to the standard.

The choice of inventory management system depends on many factors: the specialization of the store, the level of demand, the method of accounting for goods, and others.

Inventory management: turnover, stock turnover

To build an effective inventory management system, it is necessary to constantly monitor and analyze the state of the warehouse and shelves in the store. This is done by determining the turnover of goods.

Turnover or turnover is an indicator that characterizes the intensity of the trading process and, in general, the intensity of the business. Simply put, it is the rate at which a product is sold.

More precisely, turnover is the intensity or speed with which the goods go through the stages "Purchase - Storage in a warehouse - Sale".

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Also, the turnover or turnover of goods is an indicator that characterizes the effectiveness of the money invested in the business, that is, how quickly the money invested in the purchase is returned through the sale.

Obviously, the greater the turnover or turnover of goods, the greater the profit of the entrepreneur: each turnover of money carries a certain profitability, and a high level of turnover indicates that there are more such turnovers of money, which means more profit in rubles.

Inventory - this is a part of commodity supply, which is a set of commodity mass in the process of its movement from the sphere of production to the consumer.

Commodity stocks are formed at all stages of the movement of goods: in the warehouses of manufacturing enterprises, on the way, to and from enterprises.

Compliance is achieved through inventory. Inventories in wholesale and retail should serve as a real offer of goods, ensuring their uninterrupted sale.

The need for the formation of commodity stocks caused by many factors:

seasonal fluctuations in the production and consumption of goods;
discrepancy between the production and trade assortment of goods;
features in the territorial location of production;
conditions for the transportation of goods;
links of commodity circulation;
opportunities for storing goods, etc.

Inventory classification

The classification of inventory is based on the following features:

location(in or; in industry; on the way);
terms(at the beginning and at the end of the period);
units(absolute - in value and physical terms, relative - in days of turnover);
appointment, including:
- current storage - to meet the daily needs of trade,
- seasonal purpose - to ensure uninterrupted trading during periods of seasonal changes in demand or supply,
- early delivery - to ensure uninterrupted trade in remote areas during the period between the delivery of goods,
- target commodity stocks - for the implementation of certain targeted activities.

Inventory management

Of great importance in recent times is the location of commodity stocks. At the moment, most of the inventory is concentrated in retail, which cannot be considered a positive factor.

Commodity stocks should be gradually redistributed between the links of trade in such a way that a large share owned by the wholesale trade the following reasons.

The size of commodity stocks is largely determined by the volume and structure of the turnover of a trade organization or enterprise. Therefore one of important tasks of trade organizations or enterprises — maintaining the optimal proportion between the value of turnover and the size of commodity stocks.

To maintain inventory at an optimal level, a well-established inventory management system is required.

Inventory management means the establishment and maintenance of their size and structure, which would meet the tasks set for the trading enterprise. Inventory management involves:

them rationing - those. development and establishment of their required sizes for each type of commodity stocks;
them operational accounting and control - is conducted on the basis of existing forms of accounting and reporting (account cards, statistical reports), which reflect the balance of goods at the beginning of the month, as well as data on receipt and sale;
them regulation- maintaining them at a certain level, maneuvering them.

Consequently, the issue of quantitative measurement of the value of commodity stocks and the determination of the correspondence of this value to the needs of trade is very relevant.

Inventory indicators

Commodity stocks are analyzed, planned and accounted for in absolute and relative terms.

Absolute indicators are expressed, as a rule, in cost (monetary) and physical units. They are convenient when performing accounting operations (for example, during inventory). However, absolute indicators have one big drawback: with their help it is impossible to determine the degree of compliance of the value of the commodity stock with the needs of the development of trade.

Therefore, more widespread relative indicators, allowing to compare the value of the commodity stock with the turnover of trade organizations or enterprises.

The first relative indicator used in the analysis is the amount of inventory, expressed in days of turnover. This indicator characterizes the availability of commodity stocks on a certain date and shows how many days of trade (with the current turnover) this stock will last.

The value of the commodity stock is calculated 3, in days of turnover according to the formula

3 - the size of commodity stocks for a certain date;
T one - one-day turnover for the period under review;
T - the volume of trade for the period under review;
D is the number of days in the period.

The second most important relative indicator characterizing inventories is commodity turnover. Until the moment of sale, any product belongs to the category of commodity stock. From an economic point of view, this form of existence of a commodity is static (physically, it can be in motion). This circumstance, in particular, means that the commodity stock is a changing quantity: it is constantly involved in the turnover, sold, ceases to be a stock. Since inventory is replaced by other batches of goods, i.e. are regularly renewed, they are a constantly existing value, the size of which varies depending on specific economic conditions.

The circulation of goods, the change of the static form of stock by the dynamic form of commodity circulation constitute the economic content of the process of turnover. Inventory turnover allows you to evaluate and quantify two parameters inherent in inventory: the time and speed of their circulation.

Commodity circulation time - This is the period during which a product moves from production to consumer. The time of circulation is the sum of the time of movement of goods in various parts of the movement of goods (production - wholesale trade - retail trade).

commodity circulation time, or turnover, expressed in days of turnover, is calculated by the following formulas:

where 3 t.sr - the average value of commodity stocks for the period under review, rub.

The use of the average value of inventory in the calculation is due to at least two reasons.

First, in order to bring to a comparable form data on trade recorded for a certain period and commodity stocks recorded on a certain date, the average value of commodity stocks for this period is calculated.

Secondly, within each collection of goods there are varieties with different circulation times, as well as random fluctuations in the size of stocks and the volume of trade, which must be smoothed out.

The turnover, expressed in days of turnover, shows the time during which commodity stocks are in circulation, i.e. turns the average inventory. Velocity of commodity circulation, i.e. commodity turnover, or the number of turnovers for the period under review, is calculated by the following formulas:

There is a stable inverse relationship between time and the speed of commodity circulation.

A decrease in time and an increase in the speed of commodity circulation make it possible to carry out a larger volume of trade with a smaller inventory, which helps to reduce commodity losses, reduce costs for storing goods, paying interest on loans, etc.

The value of inventory and turnover are interrelated indicators and depend on the following factors:

internal and external environment of a trade organization or enterprise;
production volume and product quality of industrial and agricultural enterprises;
seasonality of production;
import volumes;
breadth and renewal of the assortment;
links of commodity circulation;
fluctuations in demand;
saturation of commodity markets;
distribution of stocks between wholesale and retail links of trade;
physical and chemical properties of goods that determine their shelf life and, accordingly, the frequency of deliveries;
the price level and the ratio of supply and demand for specific goods and product groups;
the volume and structure of the turnover of a particular organization or trade enterprise and other factors.

Changes in these factors can affect the amount of inventory and turnover, both improving and worsening these indicators.

Different products and product groups have different turnover rates. The share of product groups with a lower turnover rate is higher in inventory and vice versa. The decision to phase out slow-selling product groups and replace them with fast-selling ones seems obvious, however, retailers are not very active in getting rid of slow-selling product groups for the following reasons:

there is no opportunity to change product specialization;
there will be a sharp narrowing of the assortment and circle of buyers;
it is impossible to maintain selling prices at the level of competitors.

This requires systematic control and verification of inventory, i.e. the ability to know and analyze their value at any time.

Methods of analysis and accounting of the value of commodity stocks

In trade, the following methods of analyzing and accounting for the amount of inventory are traditionally used:

Calculation method

Calculation method, at which the value of commodity stocks, commodity turnover and their change are analyzed. Various formulas are used to carry out such an analysis;

Inventory, i.e. continuous counting of all goods, and quantitative assessment if necessary. The data obtained are evaluated in physical terms at current prices and summarized by product groups into a total amount. The disadvantages of this method are the high labor intensity and unprofitability directly for the organization or enterprise, since the enterprise, as a rule, does not function during the inventory. Accounting for the physical movement of goods is time-consuming, but extremely important both for commercial services and for heads of trade enterprises.

The use of two types of accounting (cost and natural) allows you to:

identify which product groups and product names are most in demand, and, accordingly, make reasonable orders,
optimize capital investment in inventory,
make informed decisions on assortment optimization through the purchase of goods;

Removal of residues or operational accounting, i.e. reconciliation by financially responsible persons of the actual availability of goods with the data of commodity accounting. Moreover, not goods are counted, but commodity items (boxes, rolls, bags, etc.). Then, according to the relevant norms, a recalculation is made, the quantity of goods is determined, which is evaluated at current prices. The disadvantages of this method include less accuracy than with inventory;

balance method

balance method, which is based on the use of the balance formula. This method is less laborious than the others, and allows you to provide operational accounting and analysis of inventory in conjunction with other indicators.

The disadvantage of the balance method is the impossibility to exclude various unidentified losses from the calculation, which leads to some distortions in the value of commodity stocks. To eliminate this shortcoming, balance sheet data must be systematically compared with inventory and withdrawal data. Using the balance method, it is easy to exercise operational control over the movement of goods. This method is especially effective for automated accounting based on a computer network.

To manage inventory, determine their optimal value, the following are used:

technical and economic calculations using well-known formulas, mathematical methods and models;
a system with a constant order size;
a system with a constant frequency of order repetition;
(S "- S) system.

First group methods is applicable both in retail and wholesale trade. The most well-known method of technical and economic calculations is the sequential determination of the optimal value of commodity stocks at each stage of the distribution of goods, followed by summing up the results obtained for each stage.

Second and third way are used primarily in retail, as they require constant checks on the availability of goods, which is mainly possible in retail.

The meaning of these methods lies in the fact that in order to bring the value of inventory to the required level, one should order the same amount of goods at any time intervals, as needed, or order the required number of goods at regular intervals.

Fourth way used for inventory management in wholesalers.

In this case, two levels of availability of inventory in the warehouse are set:

S" - the limit level below which the size of commodity stocks does not fall; and
S- maximum level (in accordance with the established design norms and standards).

The availability of inventory is checked at regular intervals and the next order is made if the stock falls below S or S - S.

In the practice of trade, the amount of inventory that you need to have is determined in several ways:

as the ratio of inventory on a certain date to the volume of sales on the same date for the previous period (usually at the beginning of the month);
as the number of trading weeks that the stock will last. The initial data is the intended turnover;
accounting for sales by possibly more fractional product groups. Therefore, in the calculation nodes of stores, cash registers are used, which make it possible to take into account the sale of goods according to several criteria.

In addition to the listed methods of inventory management, there are others, and none of them can be called absolutely perfect. Trade enterprises should choose the one that best suits the conditions and factors of their functioning.

Both actual and planned inventory are shown both in absolute amounts, i.e. in rubles, and in relative terms, i.e. in stock days.

We will present the initial data for the analysis of commodity stocks in the following table: (in thousand rubles)

Therefore, in the analyzed trade organization, taking into account the increased turnover, there is an excess inventory in the amount of:

4125 - (34.7 * 103) = 551 thousand rubles.

Now let's look at relative indicators - stocks in days (remains in days of stock). There are two main factors that affect the amount of inventory in days:

change in the volume of trade;
change in the absolute value of commodity stocks.

The first factor has an inverse effect on the amount of stock in days

From the last table it follows that the value of commodity stocks, expressed in days, increased by 14 days. Let us determine the influence of these factors on this deviation.

Due to the increase in the amount of retail turnover, the relative value of current storage inventories decreases by the amount: 3420 / 34.7 - 3420 / 33.3 = -4.4 days.

Due to the increase in the absolute amount of commodity stocks of current storage, the relative value of these stocks increased by 4060/12480 - 3420/12480 = +18.4 days.

The total influence of the two factors (balance of factors) is: - 4.4 days + 18.4 days = +14 days.

Then it is necessary to establish the influence of individual factors on the value of the average annual stocks of goods. These factors are:

Change in the volume of trade. This factor has a direct impact on the average annual inventory
Change in the structure of trade. If the share of goods with a slow turnover in the total amount of turnover increases, then the stocks of goods will increase, and vice versa, with an increase in the share of goods with a faster turnover, the inventories will decrease.
Goods turnover(merchandise turnover). This indicator approximately characterizes the average time (average number of days) after which the funds allocated for the formation of commodity stocks are returned back to the trade organization in the form of proceeds from the sale of goods.

We have the following values of the goods turnover indicator:

according to the plan: 3200 x 360 / 1200 = 96 days.
actually: 4092 x 360 / 12480 = 118 days.

Consequently, in the analyzed there was a slowdown in the turnover of goods in comparison with the plan for 118 - 96 = 22 days. When analyzing, it is necessary to establish what causes the slowdown in the turnover of goods. Such reasons are the accumulation of excess inventory (as in the example under consideration), as well as a decrease in the amount of turnover (in the analyzed trade organization, this phenomenon did not take place)

First, you should consider the turnover for all goods in general, and then - for individual types and groups of goods.

Let us determine by the method of chain substitutions the influence of the above three factors on the value of the average annual stocks of goods. Initial data:

1. Average annual inventory:

according to the plan: 3200 thousand rubles.
actual: 4092 thousand rubles.

2. Retail turnover:

according to the plan: 12,000 thousand rubles.
actually: 12480 thousand rubles.

3. The plan for retail turnover was fulfilled by 104%. turnover is:

according to the plan: 96 days;
actually 118 days.

Calculation. Table No. 57

Thus, the average annual stock of goods increased in comparison with the plan by the amount: 4092 - 3200 = + 892 thousand rubles. This happened due to the influence of the following factors:

increase in the volume of trade: 3328 - 3200 \u003d + 128 thousand rubles.
changes in the structure of trade in the direction of increasing the share of goods with a faster turnover in it: 3280 - 3328 \u003d - 48 thousand rubles.
slowdown in the turnover of goods: 4092 - 3280 \u003d +812 thousand rubles.

The total influence of all factors (balance of factors) is: + 128-48 + 812 = +892 thousand rubles.

Analysis of the supply of goods by individual suppliers, by type, quantity, timing of their receipt can be carried out as of any date or for any period of time (5, 10 days, etc.).

Inventory management in retail. Inventory and flow management

Commodity stocks at trade enterprises

Inventory classification

Goals and algorithm for building inventory management system

Analysis of goods turnover

Turnover rate

Analysis of the results of the turnover measurement

Inventory level and exit

Supply of retail trade enterprises

Principles of commodity supply of a retail trade network

Forms of supply

Delivery of goods to retail outlets

Organization and technology of delivery of goods to the retail network

Management of the trade and technological process of supply

Efficient in-store logistics

Availability of an efficient logistics system

Effective cooperation with suppliers

Replenishment of inventory based on needs

Integrated approach to organizational structure

Inventory turnover

Inventory types

Concept, essence and types of commodity stocks. Characteristics of inventory management systems. Software for managing stocks of goods in a trading company. The main ways to improve the system for managing products and their stocks.

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Similar Documents

Types of inventory

Reserve formation factors

Commodity stocks: definition and types

Inventory management

Inventory management system

Inventory management: turnover, stock turnover

Inventory classification

Inventory management

Inventory indicators

Methods of analysis and accounting of the value of commodity stocks

Calculation method

balance method