Ever visited a retail customer service desk looking for a specific item and been told “The system says there are three in stock, but if they aren’t on the shelf, we don’t know where they are.”? Most shoppers have been in this frustrating position at least once (and most retailers, daily).
While virtually every retailer uses inventory management software, they still suffer from stockouts, and often find that physical inventory counts don’t match what the software is reporting. There are many reasons for this, including changes that occur between the time a measurement is taken and when the reporting takes place, and shoppers or staff placing items on the wrong shelves.
