Clearing slow-moving stock

This story shows a practical response to a list of items untouched for 180 days and a decision on each.

Before

A written rule changes the choice: every movement records item, quantity, location, reason and person. The difficulty is applying the rule to real exceptions. The routine depends on the stores manager knowing which call, slip or instruction matters. Records exist in physical racks, goods receipt notes, stock cards and job work challans, but another person cannot reliably reconstruct the decision. This is the problem behind clearing slow-moving stock.

A request arrives and somebody responds to the loudest part first. The original source is left in a folder or WhatsApp chat. Later, when the production or purchase manager needs to review it, people reconstruct what happened from memory. The missing piece is often physical quantity, unit of measure, rack location, issue slips and pending receipts. By the time it is found, another person has already acted on an assumption.

The cost is visible as interrupted work, repeated checking or a promise that needs correcting. No saving or improvement figure is claimed here. The point is to change one repeatable action so that the next case can be handled without a chain of calls.

Why it was like that

The previous method relies on informal permission and experience. Staff may understand the right thing to do, but not where to record it or who can approve an exception. Adding a shared spreadsheet without clarifying authority would leave the same bottleneck in place.

In this example, the control that is missing is every movement records item, quantity, location, reason and person. An urgent request can legitimately break the normal rule. The exception still needs a named decision-maker, a reason and a source reference. Otherwise the exception becomes the usual way of working.

The change

The replacement is a one-page stores movement register. List unused items by age and value. This is the required check before an instruction moves to the next person. Confirm if customer orders still need them. Finally, decide transfer, return or controlled sale. Each line retains the evidence needed if the decision is challenged later.

Copyable rule for this team

Example register rows, for illustration only:

Job / item	Quantity (example)	Check required	Status	Decision owner
S063-A	8	List unused items by age and value	Open	stores manager
S063-B	11	confirm if customer orders still need them	Needs proof	production or purchase manager

The owner can set a sample limit, but it should be based on actual financial exposure, not copied from another firm. A rule that touches statutory dues, credit, worker pay or electrical safety also needs a qualified reviewer.

After

In the revised composite routine, the first person records the incoming request once. Another team member can see its source, status and next action without recontacting everybody. The production or purchase manager sees only the cases needing judgement. Routine cases move under written delegated authority.

For the specific case in this article, the first visible change is list unused items by age and value. The next person can then confirm if customer orders still need them. At the end, decide transfer, return or controlled sale. That sequence matters because each part leaves a record that the next role can verify.

A weekly check samples a few entries rather than trusting the tick column. The manager looks for cases marked closed without supporting evidence, repeat exceptions and requests that still depend on the owner. Those are reasons to revise the rule.

What to watch out for

Staff may start filling the register after the event. Check the time and reference against the source.
The authorised manager may approve an exception by phone and forget to record it. Ask for the decision to be added to the same entry.
The team may treat every request as urgent. Compare actual deadlines and commercial or safety effects before changing priority.

Keep rejected or uninspected goods separate from stock that production is allowed to use.

Copy it

Use the table above as a starting point. Replace the example entries with two current cases. Mark unclear evidence as Open, then name the next person to check it. Keep the source record, owner, next review date and reason for any override. An example exposure of ₹18,500 or 8 units is illustrative only; set limits from your own business records.

Start with Stock turnover calculator. If you need the full sequence, use Physical stock count. Measure open exceptions and missed commitments for four reviews before deciding whether the change holds.