Warehouse inventory and inventory procedure for goods in the warehouse, accounting of balances
The warehouse inventory and warehouse balances reflect the “health” of the company as a whole. The warehouse is intended for storing goods and performing warehouse operations, and in case of inefficient organization of processes, the company will suffer significant losses. In our project experience, we have met companies where the level of losses due to inefficient warehouse processes was 15-20%. Agree, this is a good increase in the company’s profits if you build warehouse management processes correctly.
Conducting an inventory of the warehouse
Conducting a warehouse inventory allows you to obtain accurate data on surplus and shortages of goods. There are several ways to conduct an inventory of goods: selective/full (warehouse-wide) inventory, scheduled/unscheduled inventory of warehouse products.
Warehouse inventory procedure
Algorithm for conducting a general warehouse inventory:
- Before taking an inventory in the warehouse, you must appoint an inventory commission.
- Suspend the shipment and acceptance of goods.
- Preparation of inventory sheets with data on goods (name, article, quantity, storage address).
- Reconciliation of the actual availability of goods and the availability according to the list.
- If a discrepancy or defect is detected, a pallet is set up for recalculation of the goods.
A partial inventory can be carried out in case of discrepancies in accounting data without stopping warehouse processes.
Algorithm for partial inventory:
- Preparation of a list with the addresses of goods.
- Checking the actual availability of goods at the addresses.
- Data is checked against the accounting system.
- Reconciliation with the accounting system data.
It is desirable to keep track of warehouse balances, observing expiration dates, storage conditions, quality of goods, as well as to carry out control measurements and weighing.
The main effects of the WMS implementation at the Zhzhuk warehouse are warehouse inventory without stopping warehouse operations, processing of inspection results in automatic mode. Read more about how the warehouse efficiency has increased by 30% in the customers section on the ABM Cloud website.
How to take an inventory of goods in a warehouse: manually or automatically?
Manual warehouse inventory is a long and tedious process that requires a warehouse shutdown. The human factor also plays a significant role – the slightest inattention and the results are in doubt.
Automated inventory of goods in the warehouse – is carried out using a data collection terminal (DCT), quickly and accurately, and does not require stopping the warehouse. The program for warehouse inventory reduces data distortion and the possibility of falsification by 99.9%.
Table comparing manual warehouse inventory and automated warehouse inventory:
|
| Manual inventory of the warehouse | Automated accounting of warehouse stocks |
For which warehouses is it suitable | For processing warehouses with a small number of goods. | Medium and large warehouses with an addressable storage system. |
Impact on warehouse processes | High – many employees are involved, and the movement of goods is “paralyzed” during the inspection. | No: accounting and reconciliation are performed without downtime. |
How the human factor affects | The impact is high, both unintentional (fatigue, inattention) and intentional (errors in calculations, “fitting” to credentials). | Minimal: the warehouse staff does not affect the counting and summarizing of data. |
Challenges | Inventory of goods may take longer than planned. If the person responsible for the inventory resigns, the data is lost. | If the movement of goods was not recorded, then shortages or data discrepancies may occur. |
The procedure for conducting a warehouse inventory | 1. Preparatory: the necessary order in the warehouse, free access to goods. 2. Documentary: all actions must be documented. 3. Stopping all warehouse processes. 4. Personnel: warehouse personnel are separated from their immediate duties. 5. The inspection data is reconciled with the database of goods in the warehouse in the accounting system. | 1. A database of the composition of the nomenclature and its quantity is created. 2. The data is collected and calculated using the data logger. 3. From the TCD, the data is automatically uploaded to the accounting system. 4. The results are analyzed automatically. |
Factors of effective automated inventory of warehouse products
Automated inventory of warehouse products requires financial and human investments, and some nuances must be considered to recoup costs:
- Select how to label the goods (barcode, RFID tag).
- Select a data collection terminal (DCT).
- Organize a rational system of storage addresses for goods in the warehouse (dynamic, static).
- Control the workload of warehouse personnel, keep billing of resources.
Results of automating the warehouse inventory process
- Significant increase in the speed of staff work.
- Reduction of the application processing time by 2 times.
- Quick analytics on the warehouse and the ability to quickly respond to problem situations.
