Stock control or stock control can be broadly defined as "the activity of checking a store's stock". More specifically, inventory control can refer to:
• In operations management, logistics and supply chain management, the technological system and the software programmed necessary to manage the inventory
• In economics and operations management, the problem of inventory control, which aims to reduce overheads without damaging sales. Answer the 3 basic questions in any supply chain: When? Where? How much?
• In the field of loss prevention, systems designed to introduce technical barriers to theft
Inventory control also involves knowing where the entire stock is and ensuring that everything is posted at a given time. An inventory control system or computerized inventory system is a process for managing and locating objects or materials. In common usage, the term can also refer only to software components. Many stores now use stock control systems. The term "stock control system" can be used to include several aspects of controlling the amount of stock on the shelves and in the warehouse and how the rearrangement is performed.