For many business owners, inventory is still viewed as a back-office necessity – something operational, administrative, and often delegated to storekeepers or accountants. However, according to Steve Mangion, inventory is far more than stock sitting on shelves. It is an information and systems challenge that directly impacts profitability, cash flow, decision-making, and long-term growth.

Through ReachIt, the consultancy firm he founded in 2014, Mr Mangion has spent over a decade helping entrepreneurs, SMEs, restaurants, retailers, and larger organisations optimise their operations through smarter inventory management and data-driven processes.

Driven by the company’s motto, ‘If can you measure it, you can manage it,’ the firm provides end-to-end consultancy services focused on improving sales and marketing efficiency while also tackling cost efficiency across internal operations.

“I started in inventory after university and spent 12 years in the business,” Mr Mangion explains. “Then in 2014, I decided to venture on my own.”

Today, his expertise extends beyond Malta, with ReachIt also expanding into consultancy and industrial operations in India. Yet despite working across different markets and sectors, Mr Mangion says one challenge remains universal: businesses often underestimate the strategic importance of inventory.

“Many business owners still see inventory as a purely operational or a storekeeping function,” Mr Mangion says. “But there are two sides to the story; the physical part and the software. When something moves, we need to know where it goes.”

For him, inventory is fundamentally about visibility and decision-making. Businesses cannot make informed purchasing, pricing, or operational decisions if they do not have accurate data about what they own, where it is, or how quickly it moves.

“What do you need when you order?” he asks. “If you know what you have, then you can make the right decisions.”

Many companies still treat inventory systems and processes as secondary investments rather than critical business infrastructure. Mr Mangion believes this mindset is one of the reasons why recurring inventory failures continue to affect companies across industries, from restaurants and hotels to jewellery shops and furniture retailers.

“It happens in every industry for different reasons,” he explains. “One of them is how much businesses are willing to invest. A lot of people think digital transformation simply means buying a new system. But digital transformation has everything to do with processes.”

He warns that implementing expensive software without fixing operational habits first can actually amplify inefficiencies. “If you’ve been doing the mistake manually, you will keep doing the mistake digitally.”

One of ReachIt’s defining strengths is its hands-on consultancy model. Rather than simply advising companies and walking away, the firm often becomes operationally involved in helping businesses implement changes and sustain them over time.

Mr Mangion says this practical approach is particularly important when working with SMEs and family-run businesses, which make up the majority of his client base.

“I work a lot with small to medium enterprises,” he says. “Around 80 per cent are SMEs and family-run. For many of them, the business is personal and not just their work. There are a lot of emotions involved.”

Instead of pushing costly enterprise software solutions, ReachIt focuses first on improving the client’s existing processes using the tools they already have.

“When I go into a company, I try to work with what they already have first before implementing any kind of software - that comes later, when everything is falling into place,” Mr Mangion says.

In some cases, ReachIt even builds temporary operational support teams around clients during periods of transition. “When companies invest in systems, they need the right people around them to make the software work,” he explains. “If they don’t have enough employees, I can lend my team to help with the changes.”

This hybrid consultancy-and-execution model ensures that businesses do not simply diagnose inventory problems but they solve them sustainably.

Some of the most striking examples of inventory inefficiencies emerge in restaurants and hospitality businesses, where margins are tight and stock turnover is rapid.

Mr Mangion says many family-run restaurants still lack proper inventory discipline, despite the direct impact on profitability and even health and safety compliance.

“A lot of restaurants and hotels don’t realise how much food wastage is costing them,” he says. “Many are family-owned businesses run by people who are not technical or trained in data management.”

In some cases, stock takes are either delayed or not carried out consistently, making it difficult to identify wastage, expired products, or purchasing inefficiencies. Operational inconsistencies also create hidden losses. Different chefs may prepare the same dish using varying ingredient quantities, impacting food cost calculations and menu pricing.

Technology can help streamline these operations, particularly through integrated point-of-sale systems and better reporting tools. However, Mr Mangion insists that technology alone is never the answer.

“This is not about changing everything overnight,” he says. “You need to build processes with the things you can afford and with the team you already have.”

Although ReachIt works closely with technology systems, Mr Mangion is careful not to position the company as a software vendor. Instead, he sees software as a secondary tool that only becomes effective when paired with strong operational discipline.

“Process is everything,” he says. “Software is a tool, but the process is the commanding of the tool.”

His philosophy stems from practicality. Some companies may only require better spreadsheets and organisational structures, while others may need to recruit dedicated administrative staff as they scale.

“Inventory is the entry point,” Mr Mangion says. “It’s around 40 per cent of your balance sheet. Fix that first, then move on to the rest.”
That specialised focus, he believes, is what continues to differentiate ReachIt in a crowded consultancy landscape.

“There aren’t many people dedicated specifically to inventory,” he says. “I like it. It’s interesting. And there’s a lot of help businesses can receive if they truly understand inventory.”