How do you improve inventory accuracy?

I have kept it very simple and have achieved 99.9% accuracy for over two years in a warehouse having 5000+ part numbers. Here is the process - Make a plan to audit 50 components every days. - There is no priority defined for A, B or C class. We need to count components as per the part number sequencing. - A dedicated person, who will invest four hours every day to count these 50 part numbers. - If there is any variation, it needs to be booked into system by end of next day of finding the variations. - All 5000 components get counted in 100 days. Once the cycle completes, the counting starts again. In the next cycle there will be new components too. - We started with 54%, 87% and finally achieved 100% accuracy.

Frequency is key. How frequently you check your inventory can reduce the risk of inaccuracy in inventory levels. Theft and damages such are leakages are drastically reduced if not eliminated when audits are frequent. Also, the physical count and location should correspond to the system details. This way variances are identified quickly and rectified.

Utilize modern inventory management software that offers real-time tracking, reporting, and analysis capabilities. This software can help you maintain accurate records and make informed decisions. Conduct regular physical counts of your inventory to identify discrepancies between recorded quantities and actual stock levels. Regular audits help catch errors and discrepancies early, preventing them from snowballing into larger problems. Instead of doing a complete inventory audit all at once, implement a cycle counting approach where you count a small subset of items on a regular basis. This helps maintain accuracy without disrupting daily operations.

In my experience bin counts done daily by all members of the parts departments is the superior way to keep your inventory accurate. Cuts down on personal lost time by fewer empty bins which creates lost sales and decreases technician efficiency.

One thing I've found helpful is that companies should invest in people that are committed to his/her work, valued people that are dedicated and loyal to their duties. Having all the inventory systems and all procedures to attain good inventory are wasteful without a commited people. Train them and make them feel they are secured with the company that they are working for, give them incentives for every milestone the company achieved. Thank you!

I agree with finding ways to simplify the process: this is key in not only optimization but also in making the job easier for teams, giving them space for continuous innovation efforts. ??

Medium to Large warehouses can have barcoding or RF systems in place that help identify picking and bulk storage areas, as well as the enablement of scanning for bulk shippers, or individual units. Use of barcoding provides digital tracking for the movement of inventory in real time where paper based systems require additional information and only suitable for small business Large retailers will require the registration of barcoding through online and syndicated publications such as GS1.net This allows manufacturing and distribution organisations to provide descriptive characteristics such as weight, size allergen and palletisarion . This simplifies the information required for capture as material moves through the supply chain.

Crucial step in implementing a WMS, which uses barcode or RF identification, is to determine the right solution for your specific ERP. Whether it be an embedded or standalone, best practice is to minimize time gaps between each physical action and running records in WMS and ERP databases, making it synchronous. It may require a bit more resources, but makes material flow significantly more transparent, even if serialization is not used. Another important step is bringing the units of measurement to a single corporate standard. Obvious thing in practice may cause serious losses if it's not organized well. And the most important common rule: before automating, you need to put the process in order. Otherwise, the mess will be automated.

Barcode systems when used as required can be very beneficial in reducing human interaction there reducing human errors Sorting, identification, retrieval, and putaway are quicker as compared to manually doing it.

Barcodes are great and almost every product has it now with UPC on packaging. They save a lot of time as long as the company you work for uses technology to it full potential. There are still companies out there that count items by hand and even inventory item on paper. Technology can save time and labor when used correctly.

Inventory staff can be early or mid career. By having consistent and quality training materials, it helps standardise your warehousing and inventory control with your organisation as people leave or join the business. It also helps reduce potential operator variance, and encourages good stock control and warehouse housekeeping consistent with 5S practises. Inventory control can appear to be given, or routine, but the costs of training and compliance with cycle counting and record keeping can truly be offset with reduced ullage, and improvements to order accuracy. It is good practice to provide formal induction plans and periodically check in with operational staff, if they are in fact using the system and supporting metrics.

Counting widgets is not a fun activity. If you can gamify the function, or make it competitive in some way, you can prevent burnout and sloppy work.

One of the biggest things you can do to help motivate your staff is to explain the "why" behind what you are asking them to do. If they understand the benefits to both the business and to their specific job function, they will be more engaged. Additionally, be sure to encourage them to provide feedback on any process improvements they may find. It is so easy to get pigeonholed into thinking that the status quo is the best and most effective way to achieve a goal. Often those directly involved in a process will have valuable input on how to improve upon the processes.

Staffing to me may be the most important. If you don't have a trained and motivated staff that cares and also knows you care about them things can fall apart quickly. Take the time to get to know the people you work with...you don't have to be friends outside of work but friendly and kind to each other. You don't have to have the same opinions or beliefs but be accepting and acknowledge differences. Everyone has a different perspective and viewpoint that is beneficial to the work unit.

Staff or human resources is one the most vital part of any organization. They serve as the delivery mechanism of all ideas and policies. Keeping them up-to-date, interested, informed, Valued and motivated will ensure goals are attained

It can be observed that when there are minimal differences between products in terms of their appearance, pack sizes, and other attributes, there is a higher risk of errors occurring during the receiving, put-away, and shipping of goods. This is because it is easier to overlook these slight differences and make an error in combining different SKUs. The likelihood of there being an error in the inventory is increased as a result of this. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to maintain a proper spacing between items that are virtually identical but have different SKUs. However, this arrangement should also be altered for objects that move quickly and those that move slowly, as well as for freshly manufactured/procured vs older items.

Great warehouses have thought in terms of material flow, how to move material from receiving, through to storage, finishing, packing and despatch. The intention of lean warehousing is to reduce the amount of internal warehouse transfers, logistics (even down to footsteps) and stage material in a way that promotes order picking accuracy, the preventing of spoilage, damage or theft. Material such as dangerous goods, chemicals may need specialised or contained storage, and may have limits on how much can be stored on site. Warehouse design may require an element of consideration of gold housekeeping how to keep dust and debris or unwanted packing materials away to limit hazards, as well as limiting mobile plant for safety purposes.

Reduce the time it takes to you to retrieve stock, and the time taken to maneuver your warehouse, and optimized the use of limited space and reduce multiple handling. When these are attained its an added advantage over the competition. These can be achieved by optimize your inventory layout and storage

Layout are important and can contributed to long pick times. One thing to remember is that sometimes thing need to change and stay fluid. One companies process may not work for anyone else. One building in a company may be different than another specifically in retail. Locations can vary from large to small and the amount of items in a location. Not locations are the same.

Using layout as a tool is crucial for an effective goods flow. Visualization and communication management should be considered for tracebility and easy-to-find. They are the parts of the warehouse management. On the other hand, if we deal with the evaluation of inventory, we need to use the methods, i.e. FIFO, ABC analysis, inventory turnover. There are lots of Key Performance Indicators to improve inventory management which have been researched since 1950s.

Good internal dashboards can be cross functional, it may show operationally the amount of lines despatched, amount of outstanding receipts or cycle count activity, inventory valuation, storage capacity, amount of empty pick locations by type. Also, there can be loss traceability reports, i.e. where inventory movements have happened, to what location, from what supplier, to what customer to assist with traceability to the point of conducting loss investigations. To optimise operations, periodically, material can be internally restaged in the warehouse, to move higher velocity items closer to picking and packing areas, or within shelf height, or relocation of seller moving items into bulk or medium term storage. Slow movers can be sold off.

KPI that can be used to measure the extent at which right quantity inventory is in the right place at the right time include....Lead times, service level,rate of stock turn,stockouts,stock cover,costs. Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) is invaluable at driving long-term value for two parties and improving performance.Data generated from good quality KPIs should be used to review,monitor and manage the effectiveness of the supplier relationship.

Reviewing processes from time to time is very helpful. Never limit the power of changes in an organisation. The smooth flow and of work will greatly reduce any breakage, shrinkage or inaccurate inventory. Having the right amount of inventory at the right time is key to success.

There will always be areas for improvement. New people could bring ne and improved experiences with them. Don't get caught in the " That's how we have always done it" routine.

Reviewing and improving processes is a fundamental aspect of continuous improvement in any organization. you can systematically review and enhance your processes to drive efficiency, effectiveness, and overall organizational success.

Inventory accuracy, which reflects how well your physical inventory aligns with your records, is fundamental for successful inventory management. It influences customer satisfaction, order fulfillment, cash flow, and operational costs. While regular audits, barcoding, staff training, and optimized layout are key, I advocate for integrating real-time data analysis. Real-time data allows you to promptly identify discrepancies, correct errors, and respond to demand fluctuations more effectively. By embracing real-time data, businesses can be more agile and responsive.

Beside my colleagues wise advices, I would add that seeking a better understanding of root causes for inventory inaccuracies might reduce their future frequency and amplitude. My experience shows that an detailed inquiry after each inventory count, led by non-logistic clercs and detailed reporting to management following each of such inquiry can help focuse and in taking the right correcting actions

IRA = daily inventory record accuracy measurement plus public display of the measure. Things to consider: a) the ones who can affect the measure shoild be the ones measuring but, more importantly, explaining the results on daily base, b) cyclic counts should be done following an ABC approach: you will want to measure frequently the SKUs with more value AND movement (would be the A's) -should be 15% to 20% of SKUs, to then B's 25% to 35% and C's would be the rest.

Audit and accurate reading of inventory through a barcode system are essential action points in direction of inventory hygiene but more crucial to the same are few points which might not seem directly linked to inventory control but prove key enablers:- -Strong MDM processes and SOPs which ensure correct data entry in all documents while minimising human intervention. - Robust accounting and material handling system well oiled and synced real time which leaves no room for manual entries and wrong entries. Material is money and money is material, only when the system is fully apprised and sensitised to this attribute will the system work in the desired fashion.

O ERP em nuvem é a ferramenta mais robusta para o controle de estoque. O primeiro grande benefício é ter um sistema que pode ser acessado pelo smartphone, além, é claro, da integra??o com as atividades de todos os setores da empresa, incluindo financeiro e gest?o de pessoas.