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Physical inventory refers to the process of physically counting, measuring, or otherwise verifying the actual quantities of stock, assets, cash, or valuables a company holds. Its purpose is twofold: ensuring the accuracy of financial records and ensuring operational integrity. Standards under GAAP and IFRS typically require businesses that maintain physical inventories to perform regular counts to validate what’s reflected in their accounting systems. In many countries—though not all—there may also be legal or regulatory obligations to retain inventory data for a defined period. For example, under Czech law, companies must keep inventory documentation for five. In Germany, a full physical inventory is required under the Commercial Code (HGB) at business inception and at the end of each fiscal year. Internationally, such mandates vary—some countries demand strict compliance, while others place more emphasis on regular auditing or risk-based sampling. It’s crucial to recognize this diversity when discussing inventory best practices in a global context.

Challenges in stocktake preparation, execution & follow-up

Organizations face multiple hurdles throughout the inventory cycle:

• Preparation: Coordination across regions, training of counting teams, establishing schedules, and dividing counting responsibilities—including defining stock locations and documentation rules—is time-consuming and prone to miscommunication.
• Execution: Manual counts with pen-and-paper or even Excel introduce inefficiency, counting errors, double entries, and lost time—particularly when staff is drawn away from regular duties to assist. Discrepancies and frustration arise rapidly.
• Post‑Inventory Processing: Reconciling counts, investigating variances, updating ERP systems, and ensuring compliant data storage challenge many firms—especially when data is dispersed across Excel files or paper binders, and never effectively centralized or reused.

Stocktaking software by COSYS: A game-changer for a fashion retailer

Use Case: A legacy fashion retailer with a central warehouse in Austria and flagship stores in France, Italy & Spain

Imagine a long-established fashion retailer operating a central distribution center in Austria and outlets across France, Italy, and Spain. Its leadership—seasoned executives accustomed to traditional methods—previously relied on manual retail stocktakes, Excel sheets, and laborious ERP entry. Entire teams were pulled off the floor, costing time and money. Inventory mismatches, errors, duplicates, and widespread data fragmentation were the norm.

Enter COSYS Stocktaking Software.

Key Transformations:

• Digital, Multi‑Language Counting
  Staff across all regions now use intuitive mobile apps paired with barcode scanners. The multilingual interface supports German, French, Italian, Spanish, and English, eliminating misinterpretation across borders.
• Streamlined Integration
  COSYS imports master data effortlessly from the company’s ERP via interface, enabling synchronized product data—no manual duplication.
• Multi‑client architecture
  Each country’s operations remain distinct yet integrated. Count data is collected centrally—no more decentralized spreadsheets.
• Efficient Scanning Workflow
  With “quantity-1 counting” and accurate barcode scanning, users record each item digitally, while batch and location capture is supported aswell
• COSYS WebDesk & Business Intelligence (BI)
  Inventory results are accessible via WebDesk—and with the added BI component, insights come alive. For example, the system can answer:
  1. Which stock items had the highest discrepancies across stores?
  2. Where are recurrent variance hotspots by warehouse zone or SKU?
  3. What average time did each store require per 1,000-unit count?
  4. How much shrinkage or overstock did we record by region or category?

Mobile Device Management (MDM) by COSYS

The robust operations of COSYS extend beyond physical inventory into Mobile Device Management (MDM)—a suite designed to manage and secure all mobile devices involved in the stocktaking process. Industry-leading MDM tools typically offer features like device enrollment (including zero‑touch provisioning), app distribution, remote monitoring, compliance enforcement, location tracking, and even remote wiping or locking if a device is lost or stolen COSYS MDM aligns with these capabilities: it allows IT teams to enroll devices with minimal overhead, enforce security policies, monitor usage and health, deploy inventory apps across platforms, and easily manage multilingual deployments — ensuring the device fleet stays secure, compliant, and operational during inventory cycles.

Conclusion

In an international retail environment—especially one with legacy leadership and fragmented inventory workflows—the shift from manual processes to modern technology is transformative. COSYS Inventory Software empowers the fashion retailer to conduct fast, accurate, and intuitive counts using mobile scanning, synchronized master data, centralized variance monitoring, and powerful BI analytics. Paired with secure, efficient device management via COSYS MDM, the organization reduces time, cost, and errors—while gaining actionable insights and ensuring compliance. For companies looking to modernize their inventory process—across borders and languages—COSYS delivers a clear path forward.