How do you manage inventory more efficiently?

How do you manage inventory more efficiently?
Inventory management is one commercial process that is frequently ignored.
To maintain accuracy its essential to have a system that works for you.
There are many, many computer systems out there that help with stock control.
In basic its essential to establish correct product identification. These are known as IPC Individual product codes each code is tied to a product description - every product that is the same must have these two factor accurately set in the data system
A way of recording what came in to the stock storage system and when - a way of adding that to the stock in hand (what you have on the shelf) and a way of recording what went out and that figure reducing the stock in hand amount accurately.
these are normal systems
However, where you get error and then massive inefficiencies is when the volume incoming is not checked in correctly and the system adds in more or even worse LESS than actually was accepted and the opposite end where more is release out of the system than was recorded.
Additional factors are stock that is coming in damaged and the accepted amount not changed so you have 100 in and 20 that are broken so only 80 actually of use.
there for a way of changing incoming amounts is needed - Then stock damaged whilst in the inventory needs to be removed and the inventory reduced by that amount. A good system will have total inventory and a section showing "of which is damaged/unusable" so that accuracy can be checked. Spot checks called protocol checks are very important - here a print off of a number of products in made and a physical check of how many are there compared with what the system thinks are there is made - changes then are used to correct the error and some need to check why that number is different
If a product has a shelf life such as food this makes the inventory system more fragile as stock needs to be issued out on a first in first out basis or you'll have huge waste volumes