Revising an online shop: Telegram, Uzum and your own stock
The same goods can be in your own store, at a platform's warehouse and with a courier. Split the balance by location and reconcile it every week.
For a seller who trades through a Telegram channel, has a shop on a platform such as Uzum or combines the two, the idea of a "warehouse" has widened. Goods may be kept at home, in a garage or in a small rented room. Part of them is at the platform's warehouse, and part with a courier or on the way back awaiting a customer's return. So the simple question "how many are on the shelf" is no longer enough. The main idea of a revision in online trade is this: split the balance by location and reconcile it every week.
Where the difference comes from
In online trade, shortages and surpluses often appear outside the warehouse:
- one item is sold in two channels (Telegram and the platform), and the stock is used up twice;
- an order has been accepted but the goods are not yet shipped, or the order is cancelled;
- returned goods have arrived but are unchecked and not put back on the books;
- there is a gap between the quantity sent to the platform's warehouse and the quantity accepted there;
- goods handed to a courier are undelivered or on their way back.
Much of this is not loss but data arriving late or kept in two places. Yet if it is not checked, it turns into a real shortage: the goods are gone and the money has not arrived.
Split the balance by location
Instead of one "total balance", keep a table of four lines: in my own store, at the platform's warehouse, with a courier or in transit, and returns awaiting inspection. For each item the sum of these four figures must equal your overall record. If the sum does not match, you look for the link where the difference appeared, and the source of the problem is found much faster.
The weekly reconciliation
Every week on the same day, do three things:
- Count the goods in your own store: all of them, or the best sellers.
- Compare the balances and sales in the platform's report with your own records.
- Check the number of completed, cancelled and returned orders.
A difference is easy to explain within a week and almost impossible to explain a month later. Note the result briefly: how many items showed a difference and why. After a few weeks you will see which channel or link causes most trouble.
Receiving returns
Online trade brings many returns, so a clear routine is needed. Do not put returned goods straight onto the main shelf. First check the packaging, completeness and condition, then choose one of three routes: back on sale, stored separately as defective, or returned to the supplier. Document each case. Otherwise such goods end up "not in the records but in the warehouse". Record the reasons for returns too: wrong size, a defect, not as described. A repeated reason points to a mistake in the product description or a problem with the supplier.
A simple system for a small seller
A small seller working from home does not need a complex program. An Excel sheet or a notebook is enough: item code, name, quantity in the own store, at the platform, in transit and the date of the last count. The main thing is to update the sheet every day and have one person answer for it. Once a month count all the goods in your own store and check the platform's warehouse against its report. If you keep handover documents and photographs, they will help when the quantity the platform accepted turns out lower than your records.
A hypothetical example: a Telegram shop sells 150 items in two channels. The weekly reconciliation shows that six cosmetic sets are missing. The sheet shows that two were returned by a customer but not booked in, three are with a courier on the road, and one is marked as delivered in the platform's report but is not yet in the shop's own records. The problem is not a loss but a lag in the records.
Conclusion
In online trade goods sit in several places at once, so the task of a revision is to see the balance in each place separately and link them together. A weekly reconciliation, orderly receiving of returns and a simple sheet protect even a small seller from shortages and surpluses. If your goods lie in several places and you cannot see a reliable balance, the Reviziya team can compare your records with a count and the platform's reports and help find the source of the difference.