EPoS and branch stock management

EPoS has been around for some years. However, it is only within the last year or two that the major retail chains have committed themselves to the widespread introduction of full data capture systems in conjunction with scanning. Based on the author's experience of inventory systems in the builders' merchanting sector, gained primarily while working with CCB (Cheltenham Computer Bureau) on such systems, this article considers the extent to which control policies need to be re‐thought in the light of this new technology.