Moving a shop: counting stock so that nothing goes missing

The lease has ended, or you have found a bigger, better place: the shop has to move. There are hundreds, sometimes thousands, of items; everything is boxed, loaded into a vehicle and put back on shelves at the new site. Stock often goes missing in a move: one box goes astray, another bursts open, glasses break, and nobody knows when or where it happened. Much of the loss can be prevented with a simple routine: begin the move with a count and finish it with a count.

Before the move: a full count

A day or three before the move, choose a slow day and count all the stock. This count does two jobs. First, it becomes your opening balance at the new place: if a gap appears after the move, you know what to compare it with. Second, the counting turns up things not worth moving.

Divide the stock into three groups:

• to be moved: the normal balance;
• to be sold before the move: old, odd or slow goods, which you can discount;
• to be thrown out: broken or unusable.

Less stock means fewer boxes and less risk. Put equipment on a separate list too: shelves, display cases, the till, scales, racks. Each has its own place and condition.

Numbering boxes and lists

The main rule of a move: every box has a number and a list. Work like this:

1. Write a large number on each box, 1, 2, 3 and so on, on two sides.
2. Write the group name, for example "Crockery, shelf 3".
3. List the item names and quantities inside on a slip, and put it in the box or stick it outside.
4. Copy the list into your notebook or photograph it with your phone.
5. Mark fragile boxes, and remember to put heavy ones at the bottom.

Example: "Box 14. Crockery, shelf 3. Glasses 24, bowls 12." Before closing a box it is good if a second person checks the contents against the list. It is five minutes' work, and later it cannot be repeated.

Moving day

Start with a plan: how many boxes fit the vehicle, how many trips, is the new place ready? If its shelves are not up, goods stay in boxes and the move drags on. Prepare the shelves first if you can, while selling continues at the old place.

Assign three roles in advance:

• loader: puts the box in the vehicle and calls its number aloud;
• recorder: ticks the numbers called on a sheet, "out: 1 to 40";
• receiver: at the new place, takes in the boxes and ticks their numbers.

Take expensive, small or easily lost goods (phone accessories, cosmetics, valuables) in a separate closed box yourself. If there is a lot of stock, do the move in stages: first what is needed less often, and what is needed on trading days last.

At the new place: boxes first, contents second

At the new place, before unpacking, work in order:

1. First count the boxes. If 40 went out, did 40 arrive? If there is a gap, find out at once: the vehicle may not be back yet.
2. Set the boxes unopened where the shelf plan says.
3. Then open each one, check the contents against the list and put them on the shelf. Tick what has been checked.
4. Write down anything broken or missing and photograph it.
5. When all is in place, take a short second count and compare it with the count before the move.

Before closing the old premises, walk round once more: corners, behind the racks, the back room and the balcony. Once the keys are handed back, it is hard to return for a forgotten box.

Keep the lists for at least a month: if an item turns up short later, they show which box was not opened or broke.

Common mistakes

• not counting before the move, then being unable to find the cause of a gap;
• boxes without a number and list;
• mixing different groups of goods in one box;
• putting expensive and small goods in the general load;
• handing back the old premises without a last check.

Conclusion

In a move, stock is lost not in the vehicle but in disorder. A full count before the move, a number and list on every box, loading by roles and, at the new place, boxes first and contents second cut this risk considerably. If the move is large, the Sanab team can count before and after it and hand over a comparison of both results in a report.