Stock Transfers Between Branches: How to Control Inter-Branch Stock Movements

What is a stock transfer between branches?

A stock transfer between branches is the movement of stock from one of your sites to another, with no sale involved. It is also called an inter-branch transfer. The stock leaves one branch's records and must arrive in another's.

Transfers look simple, which is why they are often loosely controlled. A sale has an invoice and a customer who complains if goods are short. A transfer often has only a delivery note and two busy storekeepers.

Stock tracking software helps by recording each step, but the controls come first. This guide sets out those controls. For choosing a system, see how to choose inventory management software in South Africa.

Why do inter-branch stock transfers go wrong?

Transfers go wrong when nobody owns the stock between dispatch and receipt. The sender thinks the job is done once the truck leaves. The receiver may not know the stock is coming.

• Stock is sent without an approved request, so nobody expects it.
• Dispatch quantities are copied from the request instead of counted.
• The receiver signs the delivery note without counting.
• Short deliveries are adjusted quietly at one branch.
• Transfers are never closed, so stock stays "in transit" for months.

How should a stock transfer work step by step?

A controlled transfer follows the same seven steps every time:

1. Request. The receiving branch asks for specific items and quantities, with a reason and a date needed.
2. Approve. A manager approves the request, checking that the sending branch can spare the stock.
3. Pick and count. The sending branch picks the items and counts them, ideally scanning each one, and records the transfer.
4. Dispatch. Stock is packed and sealed where practical. The driver signs for the items, and the transfer shows as in transit.
5. Receive and count. The receiving branch counts what arrived without relying on the dispatch figures, and records what it received.
6. Close or raise a discrepancy. If the counts match, the transfer closes. If not, a discrepancy is raised with the details and photos.
7. Investigate and adjust. Someone not involved in the transfer investigates. A manager approves any stock adjustment, and the cause is recorded.

Small, urgent transfers are where shortcuts creep in. Keep the steps the same for a single item, even if approval is quicker.

Which controls should each stage of a transfer have?

Each stage needs one control, one accountable person and one record. The table sets out a simple structure you can adapt to your branches.

How do you keep track of stock in transit?

You keep track of stock in transit by treating every open transfer as a live item, with an owner and an expected arrival date. The stock still belongs to the business, so it must sit somewhere in your records.

Review open transfers by age every week. A transfer that should have arrived two days ago needs a phone call, not a month-end surprise.

In-transit stock also matters at a stock take. Freeze transfers before the cut-off, or list every open transfer, so it is not missed or counted twice. Our guide on how to do a stock take covers this in more detail. Ask your accountant how in-transit stock should be reported.

How do you handle stock transfer discrepancies?

Record every discrepancy as soon as it is found, investigate it and only then adjust the stock. A quiet adjustment at the receiving branch hides the problem and removes the evidence.

Discrepancies usually fall into four types, and each points to a different check:

• Short: less arrived than was sent. Check the sending branch, the vehicle and the dispatch count.
• Over: more arrived than was recorded. The dispatch count was wrong, or stock was added without a record.
• Damaged: the stock arrived but cannot be used. Record it with photos and decide who carries the loss.
• Wrong item: a similar product was picked. Check product codes and labels at the sending branch.

Then work through the same steps every time:

1. Record what is short, over, damaged or wrong, with photos.
2. Recount at the receiving branch, and check the sending branch for stock left behind.
3. Compare the dispatch record, the driver's signature and the receipt record.
4. Ask the driver and both storekeepers what happened.
5. Agree a time limit for the search, such as five working days.
6. Have a manager approve the adjustment, and record the cause.

Who should be accountable for stock transfers?

A named person should be accountable at every stage, and no one person should control both ends. The storekeeper who dispatches should not also confirm the receipt.

Drivers should sign for what they carry. Where the stock is valuable, seal the load and record the seal number at both ends.

Repeat discrepancies on one route or at one branch are a management issue, not a counting issue. Review them by branch and route each month.

Small branches may not have enough staff to split every role. There, the branch manager can confirm receipts, or a second person can witness the count. Record who did what, so the trail stays clear.

Which reports show stock transfer problems?

The most useful reports show open transfers, discrepancies and adjustments, broken down by branch and route. Review them weekly, and look for patterns rather than single events.

• Open transfers by age: anything past its expected arrival date needs a follow-up call.
• Discrepancies by branch and route: one route with repeat shortages points to a handling or security problem.
• Adjustments by user: one person approving many write-offs deserves a closer look.
• Transfers without a request: these show stock moving outside the agreed process.
• Time from dispatch to receipt: long gaps suggest stock waiting on a loading bay or in a vehicle.

How do you roll out transfer controls across your branches?

Roll out transfer controls by writing the process down, naming owners and training each branch before you switch. A process that lives only in one manager's head breaks the first time that person is on leave.

1. Write the steps and the control table on one page.
2. Name the requester, dispatcher, receiver and approver at each branch, with a backup for each.
3. Make sure every product has a code and a barcode or tag that can be scanned.
4. Train storekeepers and drivers together, so each side knows what the other records.
5. Close or write off old open transfers before the new process starts.
6. Review the first month's reports with each branch, and adjust the process where it does not fit.

What does a controlled transfer look like in practice?

Here is an illustrative example with fictional branches and round numbers. A Pretoria branch sends 40 cartons of cleaning stock to a Gqeberha branch.

The Pretoria storekeeper counts 40 cartons out and records the transfer, which stays open. Gqeberha counts 38 on arrival and raises a discrepancy with photos. The two cartons are found the next day on the Pretoria loading bay, sent on and received, and the transfer closes.

Without the counted receipt, Gqeberha would have signed for 40. The two cartons would have disappeared from both branches' records.

How Worxit handles this

Worxit Inventory Tracking records daily stock movements and transfers between sites. Staff scan items with NFC tags, barcodes or QR codes, which removes manual entry errors.

• Every inter-branch transfer is recorded with the time and the user who made it.
• Every movement is time-stamped, giving a full audit trail across branches.
• The dashboard shows stock levels per branch in real time.
• Reports cover stock ageing, high-movement items and branch-level circulation.

For equipment rather than stock, Worxit Asset Management records transfers between staff and branches.

The dashboard licence is R600 per month, including one admin user, and extra dashboard users are R75 per user per month. Each phone, tablet or radio running the app needs a R350 monthly device licence. Prices exclude VAT.

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