Keeping track of your business operations is no easy feat, mainly because there are so many areas that could demand your attention. You may have to keep an eye on production cycles, deal with employee issues and complaints, obtain new clients and follow up with current ones, engage in quality assurance, and even deal with a board and stockholders, depending on the business you run. So when it comes to tracking the whereabouts of pens, paper, and even computer equipment, you just might not have the time to even think about the ways in which inventory concerns could be affecting your bottom line. But if you don’t have a system in place to ensure that these items aren’t walking out the door or falling off trucks, you could be losing a lot more profit than you imagine. So here’s how to stay on track with inventory in order to increase profitability.
- Perform an audit. An independent auditor can inform you of all of the many areas in which your company is losing money so that you can find ways to combat the loss. A report may inform you of instances in which employees (or the processes they use) are wasting time, any environmental waste that is occurring (water, power, recyclable or reusable items getting trashed), and of course, loss of inventory. By performing an audit you can become aware of the money-wasting problems affecting your company so that you can begin to make the changes necessary to boost your profit margin.
- Hire a facilities manager.It is important to have someone you trust in charge of managing your facilities, including handling the task of inventory tracking. This person can keep all inventory under lock and key (raw materials and goods to be sold, as well as office furniture, equipment, software, and even supplies) in order to ensure that everything is accounted for and that nothing is getting “appropriated” by employees or visitors.
- Implement an inventory policy. One of the first steps toward making sure that items don’t go missing is to create a policy regarding inventory and then make all employees aware of the policy. You should let them know that they will have to sign for any items they check out, making them responsible should the items go missing, and then include provisions for write-up or other forms of punishment should they fail to meet their obligations concerning company property. If employees are not aware of the policy, they can’t really be held liable, so include this information as part of your orientation process.
- Use asset software. While you could certainly have a facilities manager enter everything by hand into a spreadsheet, records and processes will be a lot simpler if you use software that is made to track assets. The best programs will come with barcode labels and an option to scan the item along with an employee ID badge for easy tracking.
- Track everything! You might not think it’s that big a deal if employees are walking out with pencils and staplers in their briefcases, but it all adds up. By tracking everything, down to the last thumbtack, you’ll know when employees are checking out more than they should. And hopefully you’ll avoid losing large and expensive items like laptops, cell phones, and even ergonomic desk chairs (you’d be surprised what people might walk out with).
Jennifer Bloom writes for www.redbeam.com the leading provider of barcode and data collection software.