Giving a wholesaler one stock figure instead of three

The situation

Where the business started.

The business ran two warehouses and a shop. Each kept its own stock book, and the office kept a spreadsheet that was updated from both, usually a few days late. When a customer asked whether something was available, the answer depended on who picked up the phone. Twice in the previous year the business had bought stock it already had sitting in the other warehouse.

What we built

• A single inventory record covering both warehouses and the shop, with stock held per location rather than as one pooled number.
• Sales and invoicing tied directly to stock, so selling an item moves it without a second entry.
• Reorder points per product, surfaced as a list rather than left to be noticed.
• Permissions separating what a storekeeper can change from what the office can change.
• A daily stock position the owner can read on a phone.

The argument was never about the stock. It was about which book was right.

What changed

• One stock figure that the shop, the warehouses and the office all read from.
• Duplicate purchasing stopped, because availability across locations is visible before ordering.
• Month-end stock reconciliation went from several days of comparing books to a report.
• New staff can be shown the process instead of taught one person’s system.