Multi-Branch Retail Inventory Platform

The problem

A retail group operating several branches maintains stock in a separate spreadsheet per location. Transfers between branches are recorded by message and reconciled at month end, so the head office never knows current stock with confidence. Purchasing decisions are made on figures that are already days old.

• Stock figures differ between branch records and head office
• Transfers are untracked until month-end reconciliation
• Purchasing decisions rely on outdated numbers
• No single person can state total stock on hand

The solution

A single inventory platform holding one authoritative product record, with branch-level stock, tracked transfers and role-based access. Branch staff see and act on their own location; head office sees the consolidated position across all of them.

• One product record, with stock held per branch
• Transfers requested, approved and recorded in the system
• Role-based access matching the organisation structure
• Consolidated stock and movement reporting for head office

The approach

Work begins in the branches rather than in design, because the exceptions staff have improvised around are what determine whether the system will actually be used. Rollout runs branch by branch so problems surface at one location, not across the group.

• Process mapping on site with branch staff
• Data model agreed before interface design
• Cleaning and migration of existing spreadsheet data
• Phased rollout, one branch at a time
• Training for branch and head-office roles separately

What this approach targets

The platform creates one dependable stock position across the business, makes transfers visible as they happen and gives purchasing teams current information for every decision.

• A single stock figure both branch and head office rely on
• Transfers visible as they happen rather than at month end
• Purchasing decisions based on current rather than historic data
• Month-end reconciliation reduced to reviewing exceptions