Stores systems involve planning for materials needs through forecasting, periodic review of forecasts, and optimizing resources to efficiently meet actual needs. Efficiency is measured by stock turnover, meaning how quickly materials move through the stores. Stores encompass a wide variety of materials that require specialized storage, handling, and licensing depending on the product. The key responsibilities of stores personnel are to properly account for all received items, preserve materials until issue, and issue materials as demanded. Effective stores management has main functions of receiving, custody, inventory control, and disposal of materials.
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Store system and procedures
1. Stores' Systems and Procedures
Any Stores system starts with planning the need for materials. It is assumed here that the need
itself has been forecast with a considerable degree of accuracy. The forecast also must be
subjected to periodic review.
The art of storekeeping is largely that of optimizing the use of resources to meet actual needs in
an efficient manner.
Efficiency of Stores function is measured by the number of times the stocks have turned over.
That is how much time material spends in the stores.
The lesser time it spends the better it is.
As money is a scarce resource , once it is converted into materials, then only it is useful. This is
the essence of stock turnover.
Stores is a very broad word that indicates a wide variety of materials stored such as chemical,
metals, liquids, gases, spare parts, equipment, or finished goods,
ranging from engineering components to drugs and pharmaceuticals.
Each of these items will require a specific type of storage and their handling and preservation
methods will vary accordingly. There is a high degree of specialization required to store and
handle these products and in many cases special storage licenses need to be obtained from the
Government, e.g., the storage of petroleum products or explosive products. It is hence
mandatory for Stores personnel to understand thoroughly all of these requirements and
implications The understanding of these principles is most important in the efficient practice of
the art
The services rendered by Stores can be arranged into four broad activities of storekeeping.
To make available a balanced and uninterrupted flow of raw materials,
components, tools, equipment and any other material needed to meet
operational requirements
To provide maintenance materials, spare parts and general stores as
requirements
To receive and issue finished products
To accept and store scrap and other discarded material as they arise
To effectively dispose of the unwanted materials
2. The interesting facet of the whole situation is that Demand comes bundled while
supplies unbundled. That is demand is usually from Production which will give Stores a
BOM (Bill of Materials) and probably different materials (which come from different
suppliers) are required at the same time. While supply comes from different suppliers
from different regions which may or may not (in all possibility may not) come at the
same time. Hence balancing all these is a considerably demanding job, which is
required to be performed by stores personnel.
In the face of a challenging situation faced by stores personnel, one of the main
responsibilities for them is to :
Properly account for every item received in the stores
Preserve the material till its issue from stores and
Issue the material when demanded
To have effective control and proper accounting of materials , a professionally managed
Stores has the following main functions :
Receiving
Custody
Inventory Control
Disposal
To discharge the functions effectively , a typical stores division consists of several
physical structure (building) known as Receiving bays, Custody storage , Quarantine
space etc