Merchandise Management

Merchandise Management (Warenwirtschaft)

Merchandise management handles purchasing, stock levels and sales of goods end to end in one system.

Merchandise Management: Not to be confused with

Merchandise management is NOT necessarily a full ERP. A dedicated merchandise management system covers purchasing, warehousing and sales without necessarily connecting finance, production or HR on the same data model the way an ERP does.

Originally a standalone category next to financial accounting, merchandise management today is usually a module within an ERP that links purchase orders, goods receipt, stock levels and sales documents seamlessly (Source 1). Without that link, duplicate data entry and mismatched stock counts between warehouse, till and accounting quickly follow.

The connection is especially tight in Retail & Wholesale, where it links to the point-of-sale system, and in Hospitality & Tourism, where it links to recipe costing.

Related terms

• ERP

Sources for Merchandise Management

1. Wikipedia, "Inventory management software" ↗