Stores management is part of the overall function of materials management. In order, therefore, to understand the function of the former it is desirable to have a clear understanding of what materials management stands for. According to Alford and Beatty “storekeeping is that aspect of material control concerned with the physical storage of goods.” In other words, storekeeping relates to art of preserving raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods in the stores.

2. Stores management is part of the overall function
of materials management. In order, therefore, to understand the
function of the former it is desirable to have a clear understanding
of what materials management stands for.
According to Alford and Beatty “storekeeping is
that aspect of material control concerned with the physical
storage of goods.” In other words, storekeeping relates to art of
preserving raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods in
the stores.

3. Storehouse is a building provided for preserving
materials, stores and finished goods. The in-charge of store is
called storekeeper or stores manager.
The organisation of the stores department
depends upon the size and layout of the factory, nature of the
materials stored and frequency of purchases and issue of
materials.

4. Objectives of store management: Following are the main
objectives of an efficient system of storekeeping:
1. To ensure uninterrupted supply of materials and stores
without delay to various production and service departments of
the organisation.
2. To prevent overstocking and understocking of materials,
3. To protect materials from pilferage, theft fire and other risks.
4. To minimise the storage costs.
5. To ensure proper and continuous control over materials.

5. Functions of store management:
1.Receipt
2.Storage
3.Retrival
4.ISSUE
5.Records
6.Housekeeping
7.Control
8.Surplus management
9.Verification & packaging
10.Interaction &coordination

6. a)Receipt: Receipt is the process of checking and accepting, from
all sources (vendors, production units, repair units etc.), all
materials and parts which are used in the organisation.
These includes supplies for manufacturing or
operating processes, plant maintenance, offices and capital
installations.

7. b) Storage : The store room should be located at a convenient and
appropriate place. It should have ample facilities to store the
materials properly viz. bins, racks and shelves etc.
There can be a single store room in case of a
small organisation, but a large scale concern can have different or
multiple stock rooms in addition to general or main store.
The separate stockrooms may be used for different classes of
inventories. The material should be stored in such a manner as to
protect it against the risks of damage,
destruction and any kind of loss.

8. c)Retrival: Retrival helps to easy accessibility to materials and
ensures optimum space utilization. materials can be retrived with
ease.
d) Issue:The materials should be issued to respective departments
on receiving duly authorised requisition slips. It satisfies the
demand of consuming departments by proper issue of inventories
on receving the requisition.

9. e)Records: Various records are used in the stores.
 Bin cards: These cards are very simple, giving thedescription of
the item including the code no., the unit of issues, the quantity of
the item, etc.
 Stock cards: These are kept in the stores office. There are
various kinds of stock cards- Showing the quantity only,
Showing the quantities and unit price, Showing the quantities,
unit price, value of stock, value of the balance
in stock.

10. f)Housekeeping: The space is kept neat and clean so that material
handling, preservation, storage,issue and
receipt is done satisfactorily.
g)Surplus stock: A surplus is the amount of an asset or resource
that exceeds the portion that is utilized. A surplus is used to
describe many excess assets including income, profits, capital and
goods. Scrap and surplus disposal management is a function of
stores.

11. h)Verification & packaging: physical verification and purchase
initiation to avoid stock-outs.
Packaging : Materials dispatched to customers from the finished
goods store or from one store to another at different location
require to be packed. Materials required packing according to
their nature and this may vary from heavy wooden crates to
ordinary paper cartons.

12. i)Co-ordination and interaction:
Coordination and interaction is used to interface with production
and inspection department.

13. Types of stores: Stores may be centralised or decentralised.
1)Centralised: Centralised storage means a single store for the
whole organisation.
 Centralised storekeeping ensures better layout and control of
stores, economical use of storage space, lesser staff, saving in
storage costs and appointment of experts for handling storage
problems.It further ensures continuous stock checking.
Drawbacks: It leads to higher cost of materials handling, delay in
issue of materials to respective departments, exposure of materials
to risks of fire and accident losses are practical difficulties in
managing

14. big stores.
2)Decentralized: Decentralized storage means independent
small stores attached to various departments.
 Decentralised stores involve lesser costs and time in moving
bulky materials to distant departments and are helpful in
avoiding overcrowding in central store.
Drawbacks: uniformity in storage policy of goods cannot be
achieved under decentralised storekeeping, more staff is needed
and experts may not be appointed.

15.  centralization or Decentralization then is a matter
of convenience. However, one basic organizational feature
must be observed.
 The entire Stores setup should be under the unified control of
one department with Senior Controller of Stores in charge, in
order to efficiently achieve the objectives of the function of
stores.

16. Types of Stores:
Stores fall into broadly two categories contingent on the following
considerations:
1)Functional: depending on the use to which the material is put –
chemical, tools, raw materials stores, etc.
 Eg: Raw material store, Production Store, General Store, Tools
Store,SalvageStore,PackingStore,SpareStore,
ReceiptStore,QuarantineStore,FinishedGoods Store.

17. 2)Physical: depending on its size and location – centralstores, sub-
stores, sites stores, etc.
 Eg:Central Store,Sub-store,Departmental Store, Group Store,Site
Store, Transit Store, And so on.