Stock accuracy is one of the most important KPIs in a company warehouse. It informs you if all processes are working correctly and the staff is performing a professional warehouse operation. If your warehouse is failing on stock accuracy, don’t fret. There is a warehouse process that, when implemented successfully, will revolutionize your warehouse operation – cycle counting. The best way to implement an effective cycle counting process is through an inventory management mobile app.
Cycle counting is a process that checks and confirms that a company's physical inventory matches its inventory records. Audit plans are prepared to minimize the chances of transaction errors and maintain recorded stock accuracy. With regular cycle counting, companies audit and track their inventory to avoid chances of mismatch in actual and recorded data. Precisely, cycle counting identifies and rectifies inventory record discrepancies.
What is Cycle Counting?
Cycle counting is a necessary task that helps inventory managers identify significant warehouse issues before they show adverse effects. Companies can improve the accuracy of their inventory and financial statements by the timely capturing and monitoring of cycle counts.
The process involves physically counting a subset of all the products in the warehouse regularly. Physical counts and the system stock levels are compared to check and account for any adjustments carefully taken into account. Regular counting means the cause of discrepancies can be investigated and put right quickly. The cycle count frequency is set up in the ERP system, whereby fast-moving products are counted more frequently than slow-moving products.
Problems with Inefficient Cycle Counting
Using an inefficient cycle counting process may leave you at risk of creating misplaced inventory. It causes delays in locating the inventory, customer dissatisfaction, and missed future business opportunities. To maintain adequately accurate records, organizations should have a solution in place that enables visibility into their inventory, no matter where it resides.
Common excuses for irregular cycle counting that companies cite are that they are either too busy, customer orders took priority, or they are short of staff. Whilst it may seem convenient to deprioritize cycle counting, you are only storing problems for later. The follow-on effects of not doing cycle counting will become quickly apparent as physical inventory quantities diverge from the information in the ERP system. Warehouse productivity starts to decline as time is wasted trying to find materials. As productivity falls, customer service will be affected if staff fails to get orders picked up according to the outbound transport schedule.
Mobile Inventory Management for Accurate Cycle Counting
Cycle counting is a proven way of increasing warehouse stock accuracy compared to annual stock counts. However, if the cycle count process is based on paper count sheets, handwritten entries, and input of the physical count on a desktop computer, then the full benefits of cycle counting will not be realized.
Modern digital technologies such as barcode scanning, wearables, and smartphones eliminate error-prone paper-based processes. Using barcode scanners enable warehouse workers to perform inventory counting faster, almost in 50% less time. Since workers don’t need to write down numbers, the chances for errors are zero. If these barcode solutions are integrated into the ERP system, data is automatically updated in the system.
A modern mobile inventory management solution, such as Innovapptive’s mInventory application will speed up the cycle count process and will drive up stock accuracy. mInventory links directly into the backend ERP system. Warehouse transactions are completed on the device by scanning a barcode or keying input, which updates the ERP in real-time.
During cycle counting, the handheld device informs the user of the bin location of the material to be counted. The material barcode is scanned to confirm the correct product. The product is physically counted and the quantity is directly put into the handheld device. The use of a handheld device does away with the need for paper count sheets, handwritten count quantities, and separate entries of the count by someone in the office. This not only speeds up the counting process but reduces data entry errors.
Transform Your Warehouse Productivity With Innovapptive
Watch our Connected Inventory Management in action by clicking this link . To learn more about how Innovapptive’s mInventory can help your company increase cycle counting efficiency and improve warehouse productivity, call 888-464-6668 or schedule a free demo. Our experts are standing by to answer your questions, listen to your needs, and configure a solution to overcome your warehouse challenges.
