Across the branches: a clearer answer to “where is the stock?”

A shared stock-by-location record helped the owner and managers discuss branch stock without repeatedly starting from manual confirmation calls. Transfers became part of the operating record instead of an informal handover that someone had to chase later.

This anonymous account describes a real past experience confirmed by IGFirstERP’s founder. Customer identity and private commercial details are withheld. The recorded outcomes are qualitative; there is no measured claim about revenue, loss reduction or response time.

More locations had created more uncertainty

The owner had more than one selling or storage location. To confidently say what a branch held, they often had to ask staff to check manually. Branch stock and central stock were not consistently aligned in a shared view, while transfer status depended too much on follow-up.

Availability decisions were slowed by that uncertainty. The owner needed to establish which location had the goods and what had moved before making the next decision. The existing record did not give management enough confidence to finish the discussion from one place.

That was the problem: not simply a lack of stock totals, but a lack of a usable account of stock across locations and the movements between them.

What changed

The business moved towards a clearer stock-by-location operating record. Transfers were treated as movements that needed a controlled handover rather than an informal instruction that goods had been sent.

The owner and managers could discuss branch stock from a shared record. The reported change reduced the need for repeated confirmation calls and made reviewing exceptions more practical. Questions about stock could start from the recorded location and movement instead of beginning a fresh search for someone to explain them.

This account does not claim that every transfer problem disappeared. Its value is the clearer basis for management decisions and follow-up when locations disagreed.

The lesson: total stock is not the whole answer

Here is how to apply the lesson in your own branches. A business may have enough of an item in total while the branch serving a customer has none ready to sell. Stock on another shelf or in transit is different from stock available at the promised collection location.

Keep the supplying location explicit. When staff discuss availability, they should know which branch or warehouse they are referring to and what movements still need confirmation. A combined total can help an owner plan, but it should not conceal a location-level shortage.

This is especially useful when one team answers customer enquiries for several branches. Sales needs a location it can confidently promise. The receiving branch needs to know which goods are coming. Management needs to see any difference between the intended movement and the actual receipt.

A practice example: stock is moving, but where is it available?

This is fictional. A warehouse has 24 packs and plans to send six to a branch. Until the agreed dispatch and receiving steps are completed, the team should not casually treat those six packs as ready for customer collection at the branch.

If the branch receives five rather than six, record the difference and assign follow-up. Check the sending record, physical goods and receipt information. The missing pack should not vanish inside a silent adjustment to the branch’s total.

The example is a training scenario, not a figure from this customer experience. It shows why the movement needs its own review, rather than only subtracting from one spreadsheet and adding to another.

Build a transfer routine around both teams

Agree who prepares and confirms dispatch, and who counts and confirms receipt. Use consistent products, variations and units at both ends. Keep the intended quantity and actual receipt distinguishable so a short transfer has an understandable record.

Name the person responsible for following an unresolved movement. If goods are in transit, damaged or waiting to be counted, state that position accurately. The next shift should be able to tell what needs checking without relying on the driver’s memory or a message on someone’s phone.

Do not close a difference simply because another location says it sent the correct amount. Check both sides. A good transfer routine supports a fair investigation and a clear decision about the remaining stock.

What should management review across locations?

Look at stock by location alongside transfers awaiting a completed handover and discrepancies awaiting investigation. Review the items that affect a current customer promise, a planned replenishment or a repeated location mismatch.

Ask a specific question: which movement is outstanding, what evidence has been checked and who takes the next action? That is more actionable than asking every branch to send a fresh total whenever management is uncertain.

Use recurring problems to improve the routine. Similar product names may be confusing staff. A receiving shift may lack a named owner. Units may differ between the warehouse and shop. The shared record helps expose the question; the team must repair the relevant process.

What this story means for your next branch

Expansion makes existing handovers more frequent. Before opening another location, test your receiving and transfer routine with the team that will use it. Confirm that another trained person can identify what is available, what is moving and what remains unresolved.

IGFirstERP can support this through stock by location and recorded movements. The fit depends on your locations, product units and staff responsibilities. Bring an actual transfer problem into the demonstration so you can see how the proposed routine addresses it.

Your multi-location checklist

• Keep stock discussions tied to the relevant location.
• Confirm both dispatch and physical receipt.
• Record the actual unit and any quantity difference.
• Give outstanding transfers an owner and next check.
• Review exceptions before making a promise based on a combined total.

Put this into your next working day

Explore branch stock and movement control. For the practical next step, use the practical reconciliation guide.