Inventory Accuracy

An enormous concern regarding warehousing is inventory control, which is, to say the least, not easy. With the influx and outgoing parts moving through the warehouse quickly, it becomes difficult to get an accurate count. For most 24/7 environments, it is not feasible to close down operations once a year in order to get an accurate count.

The alternative options is to use the cycle counting method, which entails using counting a subset of the inventory rather than your entire inventory. This tends to be a better method, because you are able to remain current on inventory discrepancies. Start with your problem areas and conduct a cycle count more often in these areas. You may even consider doing a cycle count every day until you get the problem under control.

Important to conducting a cycle count is taking into account incoming and outgoing product within the specific time that inventory is audited. Compare variances to determine accuracy. Keep in mind that the number of parts within an inventory will affect the variance percentage; the greater the number of parts, the higher the accuracy rate. Do provide adequate training in order to ensure accurate measures, otherwise all the work was in vain.

Inventory audits ensures success for your organization, so it is vital to your organization to establish defined processes and to document in detail location, part, and when the inventory count what conducted.