You know the importance of taking your annual physical inventory in order to keep track of your stock levels and track any missing or misplaced items, but what effective jewelry inventory management practices do you employ for the other 364 days of the year?
At the end of a busy day, do you ever check your stock, or do you simply pack it up, lock it up, and then head home?
While it may seem time consuming, performing daily inventory procedures — even something as simple as a case count — is an important part of detecting and preventing internal theft as well as identifying any items than may have gone missing as the result of a sneak theft.
Begin with an inventory system
A computerized point-of-sale system can simplify your records and make checking your cases easy.
If you don’t have a computerized system, create your own tracking system by assigning a unique inventory number — otherwise known as a SKU (stock keeping unit) — to each piece of merchandise. For example, if you have two identical watches, they should have different tracking numbers.
Assign categories
Figure out a number, letter, or letter/number sequence that lets you divide your inventory into categories. Using this code system, a gold chain could be CH100; a wedding ring could be WR100.
Cross-check
As for any business, an essential part of inventory record keeping is to compare these inventory lists against actual merchandise on display. Each item in a showcase or show window should be identified by its “Display Location” in your inventory system, so that a case-by-case listing of inventory can be generated on demand.
Conduct random case counts
During slow times of the day, random case counts can be conducted by printing the inventory sheet for the specific cases to be counted. Pay special attention to high-end watches, loose diamonds, and bridal or diamond jewelry. Make sure you address any discrepancies in the case counts as soon as possible.
Implement checks and balances
Have a manager or key employee print the inventory list. That individual, along with another employee, should count the case to ensure that the numbers match. This will enhance your staff members’ understanding that merchandise must be accounted for at all times and reduce opportunities for internal theft.
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