Fergus Gibson
Technical Systems Representative for Auto Electrical Imports in Australia (www.ionnic.com)

It is my pleasure to recommend Mark from Stockrite Solutions to any business having stocking, inventory, or stock related issues.

Mark and I began working together at Transport Wholesale Limited (TWL) in the mid-nineties.  My role as Customer Sales Rep and Mark the Inventory Manager.  Our professional paths crossed almost daily, with me holding a large and diverse range of stock in the company van, and Mark overseeing the weekly stock takes on the vehicle, among his many other inventory roles. His attention to detail was evident to me even then.

Mark is a very meticulous, and results driven person. He does not accept the “close enough is good enough” mantra, he methodically works his way through various situations with a calm and confident demeanour, while maintaining a great attitude, and a good sense of humour!  He also has a knack of identifying old or obsolete stock and gave each of our branches a list of their dead stock to identify and move on.

Mark is tenacious, and a hard worker (think dog with a bone) and sees tasks to logical and understandable conclusions, however large or small.

Here are a couple of examples of the work Mark did for us which resulted in some shocking revelations.

 Investigation 1

1999 - I was promoted to Manage a TWL Branch in the southern city of Invercargill in New Zealand.  My role there was to not only manage the Sales of the branch, but to oversee Reps, internal sales staff, the warehouse, and to manage stock control.  I had weekly (at Marks insistence), monthly, and yearly stock takes to conduct and account for.

It was at the yearly stock take we realised that something was wrong with the warehouse stock numbers, as we could not get them to tally, despite multiple recounts, and computer investigations. I called Mark and we went over what was wrong.  Mark could remotely see our stock movements, both in and out, and after looking over them agreed that there was something wrong.  My assistant Manager and I racked our brains trying to figure out what was wrong to no avail.  Mark flew down to Invercargill from Christchurch, and the three of us set about finding out what was wrong.

It took Mark only a day to work out that one of the staff was purchasing products for himself, receipting them into the warehouse stock as another part number, and then removing them from the shelf stock for his own use. He had used multiple layers to hide and dead-end enquiries, hence why we could not easily see what he had done.

Mark forensically traced the movements of these items and methodically worked out what had happened.

The Staff member was dismissed once presented with Marks evidence.

Mark also undertook to address the whole staff on the matter of stealing, and the importance of inventory management, and correct inputting of data, which was very much appreciated by me, as Mark carried a lot of respect all over the near 150 employees of TWL, due to the stock control systems of checks and balances he had set up.

Investigation 2

The Rotorua Branch of TWL had been having stock take issues for some time.  This branch was behind in their scheduled stock taking and senior management were concerned.

Mark flew to Rotorua to see firsthand what was going on.

He was told by the acting Manager they just did not have time to do stock takes. Mark offered to do a stock take for them, on his own.  During this one-man stocktake Mark was shocked to find nearly $10,000 of stock missing.  Once again (as in Invercargill) Mark soon tracked down what had happened, how it had happened and - more importantly - put procedures in place to stop this happening again.

As it turned out a Staff member was removing items from the store and giving them to the customer with no paperwork or adjustments of warehouse stock. This staff member was dismissed for failure to follow the company procedures. Again, Mark’s tenacity and knowledge of stock and stock systems stood him in particularly good stead to work out what was happening.

To summarise:

Mark is an open and engaging person. He is friendly, outgoing, and as stated, has a well-developed sense of humour. He relates well to all staff, from the Warehouse to the Manager, to the Board.  His tenacity, and his single mindedness to complete the task at hand are exemplary. He has an ability to explain things in laymen’s terms, but also can delve forensically into computers and dig out all sorts of information as well. He has set up tried-and-true systems for stock and inventory control that work.

I would recommend Mark to any business who is having stocking, inventory, or stock related issues.

— Fergus Gibson, Melbourne, 5/11/20.

Nick Otto
Financial Controller for Gough Transport Supplies

…very diligent, hardworking and trustworthy…

Following his appointment to the role of National Stock Controller in 1997 Mark developed an in-depth knowledge pertaining to the effective management of inventory. The company imported stock from all around the globe which was held at 20 branch locations and two distribution centres with around 20,000 product lines. To achieve the results Mark produced required sound analytical skills, clear communication and reporting together with the consistent application of an array of cohesive inventory management processes. These included implementing and monitoring a rolling stocktake program, excess stock identification and inventory clearance tasks. To be effective the co-operation of branch and product managers was essential and Mark established good work relationships to meet the targets he was set.  After four years due to Mark’s success the role was expanded to include other Group members including Australian operations.

During the eight years in the role Mark proved to be a very diligent, hardworking and trustworthy member of our team who could always be relied on for sound analysis and recommendations. 

—Nick Otto

Matt Bale
Senior Customs Office with the NZ Government

…common sense and clear understanding in a way that an algorithm just cannot offer.

I employed Mark as the Export Sales Co-Ordinator for Transdiesel Limited in May 2010. I enjoy long motor bike rides and cycling out in the country. I have an appetite for touring all parts of New Zealand. Currently I am employed as a Senior Customs Office with the NZ Government.

Mark (Managing Director - Stockrite Solutions Limited) has a talent in assessing an inventory list and conducting analysis through a critical lens, producing positive outcomes for the organisation.

Mark’s extensive experience allows him to not only collate the information but also to give it clear relevance. The resulting reports are characterised by common sense and clear understanding in a way that a mere algorithm just cannot offer. And as a result of his sleuthing the previously hidden root issues and long forgotten procedural decisions that contributed to the problem are spotlighted and can now be corrected.

After conducting his stock investigation for Transdiesel, Mark subsequently suggested some initiatives and implemented others that produced positive outcomes for the organisation. His efforts reduced inventory value, increased stock turn, liquefied low yield goods and contributed to inwards cash flow.

In sum, Mark’s talent, and passion for the art of inventory management, combined with his depth of experience produces tangible, useable and worthwhile outcomes.

— Matt

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