And nearly half of firms have difficulty keeping stock records up to date.

Half of UK companies have lost sales due to low stock levels, which meant they could not fulfil orders, and nearly half have difficulty keeping stock records up to date, new research finds.

A third of those surveyed agreed with ‘In recent years, we have seen an increase in the amount of stock written off due to unexplained losses’. With those in SME sized organisations (52%) were more likely to disagree, compared to those in Large organisations (29%). Those in the North (17%) were more likely to ‘strongly agree’, than in Central (3%) or South (0%).

The survey by Wasp Barcode Technologies questioned managers in UK companies that store stock, parts or products for the day-to-day running of their business, either for manufacturing or sales. The companies were selected from the retail/wholesale, manufacturing, healthcare/pharmaceutical, technology/communications and engineering/construction sectors.

Other findings

More than half of UK companies (64%) felt that their stock control system could be improved.

One third of companies surveyed (32%) had seen an increase in the amount of stock written off due to unexplained losses.

Almost half (47%) agreed with ‘We often experience difficulty keeping our stock system up to date because stock levels are continually changing’. Board Directors/Senior Managers (38%) were more likely to disagree, compared to Middle Managers (17%).