THE STORES DEPARTMENT
15. In this discussion, the stores department, or stock department as it is frequently called, is treated as a subordinate division of the purchasing department. Properly organized, it becomes one of the most valuable from a profit-making standpoint. Without organization it may degenerate into one of the most useless.
To attain the state of efficiency of which it is capable, the organization and system of operation of the stores department must be of the highest order, otherwise it cannot be expected to fulfill its mission. So much has been written about the failure of stores departments and stores systems to produce desired results, that a statement of what is meant by stores department seems to be demanded before we can arrive at intelligent conclusions regarding its functions and operation.
Broadly, the stores department is that department of a business which has the custody of its stock in trade, materials, supplies, and other physical property, except real estate. Reduced to a concrete example, in a trading business the term means that department which is responsible for the storage and proper care of the goods purchased for resale; also the materials and appliances required in the operation of the business. There may be no department known by this name; there may be no one man whose duty it is to supervise the work; nevertheless, the department exists. Every clerk in a small retail store may be a receiving clerk, a salesman, and a stores clerk; or in a larger establishment several men may be employed as stockkeepers; but in both cases the responsibilities of the stores department are shouldered by some one, perhaps by several people.
Like every other department of a business, the organization of a stores department depends largely upon the nature of the business. To furnish an illustration that can be readily understood, we will treat the organization and operation of the stores department from the standpoint of a manufacturer.