～Explore stocktaking challenges for Singapore retailers, including staffing issues, lost sales during counts, timely result reviews, and the value of professional support.～
Challenges in Stocktaking
Stocktaking requires retailers to confirm where products are located, what items they are, and how many units are available. This process must be conducted without omissions, which means it requires sufficient manpower, clear procedures, and accurate work.
1. Securing Stocktaking Staff and Maintaining Accuracy
One of the biggest challenges in stocktaking is securing enough staff. Ideally, store employees can conduct the stocktake themselves, but in many cases this is difficult. As a result, companies often need to arrange additional staff.
Common options include receiving support from other stores or headquarters, hiring temporary part-time staff, requesting support from business partners, or outsourcing to a professional stocktaking company. Cost is an important factor, but stocktaking also requires the skills to count inventory accurately. Prior training, clear work rules, responsibility, and motivation all affect the quality of the results.
Temporary staff or external support may not be familiar with stocktaking procedures. Even if a major error occurs, they may not feel a strong sense of responsibility. Staff from other stores or headquarters may have better awareness, but their level of commitment may still differ from staff working in their own store.
By outsourcing to a specialist stocktaking company, retailers can expect trained staff, professional skills, and a certain level of quality. Professional stocktaking staff are expected to count many items accurately and efficiently within a limited time. Their accuracy and productivity can also be checked through sampling and count records. However, outsourcing involves cost, so companies should make a balanced decision based on efficiency, accuracy, and overall cost-effectiveness.
2. Loss of Sales Opportunities
In most cases, stocktaking is conducted when customers are not present — in other words, when the store is closed. This means that a store may need to stop operations during the stocktake, creating a risk of lost sales.
Many retailers operate without regular closing days, so closing a store for stocktaking may not only reduce sales but also give competitors an opportunity to attract customers. To avoid a full closure, retailers may consider opening later than usual, closing earlier than usual, conducting the stocktake after closing hours, or conducting stocktaking during business hours in exceptional cases.
Ideally, stocktaking should be completed without changing business hours. However, it is often difficult for store staff alone to conduct stocktaking after closing, late at night, or early in the morning. In such cases, outsourcing to a professional stocktaking company can be an effective option. When considering the cost of outsourcing, retailers should also include the potential sales loss caused by closing the store.
3. Timely Review of Stocktake Results
After stocktaking, results must be compiled quickly and accurately. If any figures appear unusual, they should be reviewed and confirmed as soon as possible. To finalise profit, companies need beginning inventory, sales information, purchase information, and ending stocktake results. This makes timely verification essential.
However, post-stocktake review can be difficult. Companies may not have enough staff to verify the results, or they may not have clear rules on what should be checked. Before conducting stocktaking, retailers should decide when the review will be conducted, who will be responsible, how the results will be checked, and what staffing structure is required.
By preparing these points in advance, companies can review stocktaking results more quickly and use them effectively for financial closing and inventory management.
For Companies Facing Stocktaking Challenges
Many companies conduct stocktaking in-house but face challenges such as slow progress, concerns about accuracy, and difficulty securing staff. Stocktaking is not simply the act of counting products. It is an important business process directly connected to financial closing, profit calculation, product management, loss control, and operational improvement.
To conduct accurate and efficient stocktaking, companies need reliable data management, thorough preparation, an appropriate staffing structure, and effective post-stocktake review. For retailers in Singapore, improving stocktaking accuracy can help reduce workload, minimise inventory loss, and support more efficient store operations.
AJIS is a professional stocktaking service provider that supports the entire process, from product counting to data delivery. As Japan’s No.1 stocktaking company by domestic market share, AJIS provides customers with extensive experience, proven expertise, and reliable stocktaking solutions.
For more information about our stocktaking services, please refer to the page below.
👉 Stocktaking Service – AJIS Singapore
Read previous article: Column1 Why Is Stocktaking Necessary for Retailers?
Read previous article: Column2 How Stocktaking Improves Inventory Accuracy
Read previous article: Column3 Common Pitfalls in Stocktaking
Editor: AJIS Group
AJIS Group is a global corporate group led by AJIS Co., Ltd., which has been a leading provider of stocktaking services and retail support services in Japan. The Group operates in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
With a proven track record of working with more than 3,000 companies and supporting a cumulative total of over one million stores annually, AJIS Group helps address a wide range of challenges faced by the retail and distribution industries. Its services include stocktaking, store operations support, sales floor improvement, and promotional support.
By providing practical services tailored to the market characteristics of each country and region, AJIS Group contributes to improving store operational efficiency and enhancing the value of sales floors.
