Point of Sale’s Transaction Data: Envisioning Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME)’s Inventory Management Strategy

Abstract

With the progression of Big Data Analytics (BDA), Point of Sale (PoS) could be amalgamated with Inventory Management (IM) system, thereby assisting merchants in providing an overview of their inventory and even predicting when restocking is necessary. This qualitative inquiry aims to assess the merchants' awareness of digitalisation in Klang Valley, Selangor, Malaysia, from October to November of 2023, with total number of thirty merchants being interviewed. NVivo 12 was used to support analysis tasks. The results are inconclusive, as some merchants still rely on separate systems for their PoS and IM. Those who lack IM system but possess digital PoS still believe that they can sustain their inventory management through manual means. Even when IM is integrated with PoS, workers still prefer to inform the manager verbally when the stock is nearing depletion. Only those who diligently utilise the integrated system can truly appreciate the benefits of their investment in the digitisation of their daily operations. These study could provide valuable insights for governing authority, such as the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) and the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU), in incorporating essential content into their educational programs to promote the advantages of digitalisation to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), as well as to educate Solution Providers on the need to revise their software's Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Manuals to be available in both English and Bahasa.