Warehouse Count Process
Inventory is money, and hence businesses need to perform physical inventory counts periodically to make sure that their inventory records are accurate. The traditional approach to conducting inventory counts is to shut down a facility during a slow time of year to count everything, one item at a time. This process is slow, expensive, and (unfortunately) not very accurate.
Inventory counts
Inventory is money, and hence businesses need to perform physical inventory counts periodically to make sure that their inventory records are accurate. The traditional approach to conducting inventory counts is to shut down a facility during a slow time of year to count everything, one item at a time. This process is slow, expensive, and (unfortunately) not very accurate. Cycle counting is more efficient and accurate than traditional physical inventory counting.
Why Counts are Done?
- According to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and IRS rules, it’s expected that businesses that store items in a warehouse conduct an inventory count periodically.
- Inventory counts can be important for accountants, who want to make sure that the numbers they see on the books line up with what’s happening in the store.
- Counts are typically done to eliminate mismatches between the system and the actual inventory.
- Count tasks may be pre-scheduled or requested ad hoc by the inventory control department
- Inventory counts are also useful for logistics personnel to confirm that inventory isn’t being lost, damaged, or stolen.
What is Count Process?
A count system enables you to execute counts in a planned or ad hoc manner. One common type of count employed is counting year-end inventories, which, although exhaustive and time consuming, does not ensure accuracy throughout the year. The other method is to only count items based on velocity or price, every quarter. However, the best method is to ensure that count is performed periodically in the warehouse. Count are done on a periodic basis. Count tasks can be generated from WMS and then executed through count sheets or through the Mobile Application.
The simplified Cycle Count process is:
- The users perform the first level count tasks.
- If no variance is found, the count is purged.
- If variances are found,
- Other users perform the variance tasks.
- Variances, if any, are accepted.
- The count is purged.
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