Retail chains running spreadsheet-based stock counts typically discover shrinkage a week after it happened — by which point the cause is impossible to trace. The fix is not more frequent counting; it is removing the lag between a stock movement and visibility into it.
What live inventory changes
With every outlet posting to a single, real-time stock ledger, a discrepancy shows up the same day it occurs — while CCTV footage and shift records still exist to investigate it. Reorder points also become meaningful: they can trigger off actual current stock instead of a week-old snapshot.
Rolling it out without shutting outlets down
Migrate one or two pilot outlets first, validate the stock-take reconciles cleanly against the old spreadsheet process, then roll the remaining branches out in batches over a few weeks rather than a single cutover night.