2. Who uses a stock control system

The previous page described what a stock control system does for you. But who uses one?

Well, practically every organisation with physical items to handle. For example,

High street shops and supermarkets

A supermarket has tens of thousands of items for sale at any one time. They could not operate without a sophisticated stock control system in place. Even small shops on the high street have to have a stock control system.

Online shops

They may not have a physical shop to visit, but they will have a web site that shows the items they are selling. Those items need to be available immediately. There is nothing so frustrating to a customer than to try and buy an item only to be told at the checkout that it is out of stock. This is equally true of all shops!

An online store will have a warehouse or storage depot to hold and process orders and a stock control system to keep track of items

Hospitals

Can you imagine the problem caused if a doctor needed blood urgently for his patient only to be told "We're out of stock!". So hospitals have a very sophisticated stock control system. It has to be especially careful about tracking the 'use-by' date on perishable items such as whole blood and vaccines.

The military

The soldiers are in the middle of a battle. They have used up all their ammunition, so they radio the quartermaster for more. Only to be told they have run out of stock. Again a stock control system is a vital part of the organisation.

Factories

Factories make things - cars, televisions and so on. They all need components. So factories need to make sure that they have enough components in place to make sure the production lines do not stop. A single day of lost production can cost millions - far more than the most expensive stock control systems.