Our inventory count was off by 800 units and it tanked a big order

I mean, I always thought our manual spreadsheet system was fine, you know? It worked for years. But last month, we had a rush order for 1,000 custom parts from a new auto shop in Toledo. I checked the sheet, saw we had 850 in stock, and promised a two-day turnaround. When we went to pull them, the actual shelf count was 50. The sheet hadn't been updated after a big shipment went out three days before. I had to call the client, admit the mistake, and offer a huge discount to keep them. It was so bad. I spent the next 48 hours calling every supplier we have to try and piece the order together. Has anyone else been burned by manual tracking and switched to a real system? I'm looking at options now.

2 comments

2 Comments

margaretrivera1mo ago

What discount did you have to give them to keep the order?

johnthompson1mo ago

Had to knock off 15% to make it work. They were ready to walk over a 2% price difference from a competitor. Threw in faster shipping too, which cost me less than the discount would have. Sometimes you just have to eat a smaller margin to keep a good client.