Production records
Practical Action
Stock management
In general, small-scale processors keep the amounts of stored ingredients, packaging and
products to a minimum. Decisions on the size of stocks depend on the balance between the
cost of buying the material and the cost of storing it. The materials that are most likely to be
stored are high-value materials that are used most often and/or they cannot be replaced
quickly. The least likely materials to be stored are the lowest value materials that are used
least often and are readily available and so can be easily replaced.
Storeroom management involves monitoring and controlling material movements into and out
of the stores, and checking stock levels and stock rotation. Bin Cards (Table 11) may be fixed
to containers for easy identification of raw materials, work in progress and finished goods. Also
defective materials such as spoiled foods and foods to be reworked can be identified in this
way.
Table 11. Bin card
Item …………………………..
Date
No/Weight/Volume
received
No/Weight/Volume
used
Balance
The Storekeeper carries out a physical stock check at the end of each day and records this on
a Stock Balance Record (Table 12). A full stock check of the amounts of ingredients,
packaging and products is made by the production supervisor at the end of each week and by
the finance officer at the end of each month. The results of these stock checks are also
recorded on the Stock Balance Record and these are given to the owner each month. The
production supervisor also uses the Stock Balance Records to cross-references ingredient
usage with the amount of production each month to confirm that the correct amounts of
ingredients have been used, or to identify if there are any discrepancies that may indicate
pilferage.
Table 12. Stock Balance Record
Date
Ingredient:
Flour (kg)
Expected balance
Actual amount
Variance
Expected balance
Actual amount
Variance
Expected balance
Actual amount
Variance
Expected balance
Actual amount
Variance
Completed by ………………..(Storekeeper)
Oil (litres)
Salt (kg) Colouring (g)
Checked by…..……..(Production supervisor)
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