The Inventory Crunch: How Supplemental Staffing Saved My Sanity—and My Store’s Bottom Line

The Inventory Crunch: How Supplemental Staffing Saved My Sanity—and My Store’s Bottom Line

Written by Deepak Bhagat, In General, Published On
May 14, 2025
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Running a retail clothing store is all about balance. Balancing trends with timeless staples. Balancing budgets with customer experience. Balancing schedules, sales goals, visual merchandising, and—everyone’s favorite—inventory counts.

I’ve been managing this store for over six years now, and if there’s one thing that’s consistently caused more stress than anything else, it’s inventory. Not because I don’t believe in its importance—we need accurate numbers to make smart decisions—but because doing it right takes time, focus, and staff I simply don’t have.

The Inventory Tug-of-War

Here’s the truth: we’re short-staffed. Not just a little short—chronically short. The short that makes even regular store operations feel like a game of Jenga. Pull one person to cover the fitting room, and suddenly no one’s folding denim. Ask another to restock accessories, and the cash wrap backs up. So, when inventory season comes around? It’s a logistical nightmare.

My team is amazing. They’re dedicated, hardworking, and caring. But they’re also maxed out. Most of them are already working full-time hours, and the last thing I want to do is burn them out by asking them to stay late and count racks until midnight. But inventory doesn’t wait. Corporations want accurate numbers on a strict schedule, and they don’t want to hear excuses.

So I was caught in a frustrating cycle. Either I pulled my team off the sales floor to start counting during slow periods (and risked falling behind in day-to-day operations), or I asked them to stay late after closing (and risked overtime costs, morale issues, or worse—mistakes caused by sheer exhaustion). None of these options felt sustainable.

The Real Cost of Inaccurate Inventory

If you’ve ever managed a store, you know that inaccurate inventory is more than just an internal hiccup—it’s a customer-facing problem. When inventory is off, it affects everything.

We started seeing signs: a customer would order something online for in-store pickup, and we’d realize the item was missing. Another would come in looking for a size our system claimed we had, but we’d torn the backroom apart trying to find it. Sometimes we’d reorder items, thinking we were low, only to discover we’d just miscounted the first time and now had way too many.

All of this leads to financial waste: unnecessary markdowns, restocking fees, and missed sales. It also creates customer frustration, which translates to lower satisfaction scores and negative reviews. We work so hard to make the shopping experience feel seamless, and inaccurate inventory undermines all of it.

So I started looking for a better solution. And that’s when I came across something I hadn’t seriously considered before: supplemental inventory staffing.

Finding the Right Help: Supplemental Inventory Staffing

I’d heard of companies that offered inventory services—teams that could come in, count everything, and leave us with clean, accurate data—but I assumed it was too expensive or too corporate for our store’s size. Then I stumbled across Datascan’s Inventory Staffing Solutions, and it opened my eyes to a whole new way of managing this process.

What stood out was that they didn’t just offer the tools—they offered trained professionals who could work side-by-side with us or even handle the whole count independently. I reached out to learn more, and what they described was almost too good to be true: a dedicated team that could be scheduled around my store hours, equipped with state-of-the-art scanning devices, ready to move efficiently through the floor and backroom without pulling my team away from their responsibilities.

And best of all? I wouldn’t be paying overtime. I wouldn’t be exhausting my staff. And the numbers would be accurate, because this was their specialty.

Our First Count With Datascan’s Team

I decided to give it a try.

We scheduled a full-store inventory with a supplemental team. I notified my staff ahead of time to let them know we’d have outside support this time, and the mood shifted immediately. Instead of groans and anxiety, there was genuine relief. They could focus on doing what they do best—serving customers—while the count was handled by people who enjoy counting things (bless them).

When the Datascan team arrived, they were professional, prepared, and efficient. They moved through the store quickly, scanning and validating items with handheld devices that synced directly to the cloud. No manual logs. No second-guessing. Just clean, fast work.

The whole process took a fraction of the time it normally would. And the results? Some of the cleanest inventory data we’ve ever had. We were able to reconcile everything within 24 hours, place smarter reorders, and even identify a few problem areas in our receiving process that we hadn’t noticed before.

Real Benefits Beyond the Count

The success of that first count went beyond just good data—it changed the way we thought about staffing and operations.

For one, my team didn’t burn out. No one had to stay late. No one had to come in early. They weren’t resentful or exhausted the next day. That, in itself, is priceless. In retail, morale is everything. When your team feels respected and supported, they work harder and stay longer. That’s the kind of culture I want to foster.

Second, we saved money. When I did the math, the cost of hiring supplemental staff was less than what we’d have paid in overtime hours—and far less than the cost of inventory mistakes or lost sales. Not to mention, the time saved allowed me to focus on other areas that needed attention, like improving merchandising and reorganizing the backroom for faster restocks.

And third, we gained trust from customers and the corporation. Our inventory accuracy improved significantly, which helped with online order fulfillment, visual merchandising, and even seasonal planning. We looked organized, competent, and on top of things—and that made everyone’s jobs easier.

A Smarter Way to Do Business

Since that first experience, we’ve made supplemental staffing a regular part of our inventory strategy. Sometimes we use them for full counts, other times just to support cycle counts in high-volume departments like denim or accessories. Every time, the experience has been smooth, cost-effective, and—honestly—a huge relief.

I never thought I’d be the person advocating for outsourced help, but here I am. Because here’s the truth: we can’t do it all, and trying to will only wear us down. Inventory is too important to be rushed or done halfway, and your people are too valuable to be pushed past their limits.

If you’re a store manager like me, stretched thin and dreading inventory season, take a serious look at supplemental staffing. It’s not a shortcut—it’s a smart strategy. It lets you maintain high standards without sacrificing your team or your sanity. And in today’s retail environment, that kind of balance isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential.

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