Worked scenario
Same bolt, four codes, four stock figures
A hardware catalogue built at the counter accumulates duplicates, and every duplicate splits a stock figure that was already hard to trust.
3 min read
Hardware retail carries an enormous number of small, similar lines. New items get created under pressure, at the counter, with whatever name the customer used.
Duplication splits everything
Stock, movement history and reorder points all divide across the duplicates. Each entry looks slow-moving, so nothing is reordered until the shelf is visibly empty.
Aliases are the practical answer
Customers genuinely use different names for the same item. Recording them as aliases against one record serves the counter without creating a second stock line.
What changes
- A single item record per product, with alternate names as aliases
- Duplicate detection when a new item is created
- Stock consolidated rather than split across codes
- Reordering driven by a complete movement history
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