AI USE CASE
Bar Stock Shrinkage Anomaly Detector
Automatically flags unexplained stock losses for bar managers by reconciling sales and pour data.
What it is
This tool cross-references POS sales data, pour counts, and weekly stocktake results to surface SKUs with unexplained volume discrepancies. Setup requires only a POS export and a simple inventory spreadsheet, making it accessible to venues with no dedicated data team.
Data you need
Weekly or daily POS sales exports by SKU and basic stocktake counts (manual spreadsheet or inventory app data is sufficient).
Required systems
- ecommerce platform
- none
Why it works
- Designate one person (bar manager or GM) who owns the weekly review and acts on every flagged SKU.
- Standardise how comps, staff drinks, and wastage are recorded in the POS before rollout.
- Start with the top 10 highest-margin SKUs to demonstrate quick wins before expanding coverage.
- Review and adjust anomaly thresholds after the first month based on real false-positive rates.
How this goes wrong
- POS data exports are inconsistent or require manual cleaning each week, making automation unreliable.
- Staff distrust the alerts and dismiss them without investigation, so shrinkage continues unaddressed.
- Free-pour or off-system sales (staff drinks, comps) are not recorded, creating false positives that erode trust.
- Tool is configured once and never reviewed, so thresholds become outdated as the menu or volume changes.
When NOT to do this
Don't deploy this if your bar has no consistent POS system or records sales on paper, the reconciliation model will produce meaningless alerts without reliable baseline sales data.
Example vendors
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