Background: Retailers invest billions in systems that generate outputs such as forecast and replenishment orders. These systems work on the assumption that the inventory record data upon which these outputs are based is accurate, which research consistently proves is not the case.

In fact, studies consistently show that up to 60% of stock records can be inaccurate at any given time, leading to frequent stockouts or costly overstock situations. As retailers increasingly rely on automated inventory management systems, errors in stock records become the norm leading to missed sales and inflated operating costs.

However, the current educational offerings and training available to students, retailers and the broader industry are all based on the assumption that the data being used in these systems is accurate. There is an opportunity and a need to augment existing training on inventory management with new knowledge on the problem of Inventory Record Inaccuracies (IRI), the consequences and the possible counter measures that the industry could adopt to improve inventory record accuracy.

The Need: Inventory Record Inaccuracies (IRI) are currently dealt with by diverse departments or most commonly cross-departmental teams, with personnel that otherwise have little or no experience and knowledge in managing inventory when the records are wrong. Further, and even when colleagues in industry have had some training in inventory management, forecasting and replenishment, everything they have learned at university, and on professional training courses, assumes that inventory data is always right. There is no education on the regrettable truth that most of the times inventory records are wrong, and the implications thereof, and this is precisely the gap that this course is addressing. In the context of omni-channel retailing, where the consumer is demanding ever greater visibility to the available inventory per location before they buy, the need for inventory data to be accurate has never been greater, and thus the value of this course, never higher.     

The New Training Course: This new, unique course, designed and led by renowned academics with deep domain knowledge and multiple decades of experience in retail operations and inventory research, will provide for the first time a comprehensive picture of the IRI landscape along with actionable insights and proven strategies to help retailers and the industry combat the resulting problems and improve performance.

Who Should Attend? Designed for any retail professional dealing with the problem of wrong inventory records, from inventory / audit functions to loss prevention, to supply chain and replenishment. The course would also be highly relevant to CPG’s, the functions who support their retailers with forecasting and on-shelf availability capability, and the service providers in inventory management.

Typical job profiles of our audience include, but are not limited to:

Inventory / Stock Audit Leaders: Your role is to design and execute via your own team, or a third-party outsourced team, the right counting strategy for the business. You are accountable for the budget and the expenses the business makes in wall-to-wall inventories. You are aware of the benefits, beyond compliance, of counting inventory. You know that when you count inventory, you correct the inaccuracies in the system that will re-start sales by 4-8%. You are curious and fascinated by the problem of IRI and you have a passion for finding ways through counting to improve IRA. You also know how more counting can improve the shrink result via the immediacy of the data. You want to engage more people in the business to improve IRA, and you also want to upskill your own team and / or third-party “counters” This training programme is interesting for you as it will be a “first” and will deepen your knowledge on the problem and opportunities for counting to drive value. The training should also help you engage with other parts of the business, such as buying and stock replenishment.

Loss Prevention Managers: Your role is to reduce the rate of unknown losses / shrink in your business, however you are aware that others talk about the problems of IRA and shrink being two sides of the same coin. But if you were pressed, you probably don’t feel that you would be able to fully and clearly articulate why that is the case. You are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of IRA as you are aware that if you can articulate your problem of shrink in a narrative around IRI, you would get greater support and “buy in” from merchants and supply chain colleagues. You sit in the team that looks over the counting audits and feel that with a better understanding of IRI and how the data is produced, and the different definitions, you might be able to work better with them and use their data within the business to drive change. You did not necessarily go to College / University, and previously did not have any professional training on how inventory systems “work”, how they can go wrong and how you can, as a leader, contribute towards improving accuracy and sales. You feel that this course can build your skillset and help you bring new solutions to the problem of shrink.

Replenishment Managers: You sit either in the Supply Chain or Merchandising team, and your role is to ensure that the shelves are always full, and so your work is about calculating the safety stock required on the shelf, the re-ordering point and then the flow of replenishment stock. There is a strong link between you and the team that designs the planograms, especially when the focus is on “one touch” planograms. You currently work on the assumption that the stock records are always correct, however, you are not naïve, you do realise that things do go wrong but you don’t really have any solutions to these problems or know how to work to a different / adjusted inventory number on which to base your replenishment decisions. You are excited to go back to the classroom and refresh yourself of inventory management systems and how the problem of IRI can impact your results and the ability for shelves to be full all the time. This would be the first time your business has invested in training to help you manage the problem of IRI. Since you work closely with the Category Managers, and share similar goals, you would probably want them to join you on this course.

What you will learn

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

1) Identify key drivers behind stock record inaccuracies and understand how these impact overall store performance and customer experience.

2) Be able to confidently articulate the difference between inventory record accuracy and unknown loss / shrink / stock loss.

3) Understand effective countermeasures to enhance stock accuracy, leading to reduced stock count frequency and lower operational costs.

4) Understand the basics of optimizing inventory availability and avoid stockouts, thereby increasing sales and customer satisfaction.

5) Leverage insights from academic research and real-world retail applications to apply best practices for managing and auditing stock effectively.

This training will be interactive, with theories and knowledge from the academics, plus practical real-world examples of practice from the participants. Further, gamification and stock control models will enhance the participants understanding as to how inventory systems work, and through what-if analyses, to simulate the implications of the problem and size of the benefit.

Information: Duration: 2 days of academic expert-led instruction, in-person, at Cardiff University, UK.

Certification: Upon successful completion, participants will earn a certificate co-issued by ECR Retail Loss and the course leaders.

Instructors

The course is led by a team of experienced academics who have collaborated with leading retailers across Europe to advance research and best practices in inventory record accuracy and stock management.

Professor Aris Syntetos

Professor Yacine Rekik

Professor Christoph Glock

To learn more, and to view the initial agenda, please click here.

To register your interest in the course, click the registration link at the top of the page.