How to run a physical inventory count
Counting stock is nobody's favorite job. It involves a clipboard, a cold stockroom and the very real possibility of finding out you were wrong. That last part is also the point.
A good count takes less time than a bad one. The secret is mostly preparation and a few rules about the order you do things in.
Before you start
Decide what you are counting: one location, one aisle, or a list of items. A count you can finish in a morning beats a full count that drags across three days while stock keeps moving.
- Pick the area and the date, and tell the people who pick and receive.
- Finish or set aside receipts and picks for that area so the numbers stay still.
- Prepare a count sheet with item, location and a blank for the quantity.
- Count in pairs if you can: one counts, the other writes.
Count first, compare after
Write down what is on the shelf before you look at what the system says. Counting toward a number you already know tends to find that number. Count every unit, including opened packs and anything sitting in a staging area.
- 1PreparePick an area, pause movements
- 2CountBlind, in pairs
- 3CompareAgainst the system
- 4RecountOnly the differences
- 5PostOne correction, with a reason
The recount step is where most of the apparent loss turns out to be counting slips.
What you find
Counting toward the system
The number you expected
Counting blind
What is on the shelf
Slips noticed
Counting toward the system
Rarely
Counting blind
More often
What you learn
Counting toward the system
Little
Counting blind
The real gap
| Counting toward the system | Counting blind | |
|---|---|---|
| What you find | The number you expected | What is on the shelf |
| Slips noticed | Rarely | More often |
| What you learn | Little | The real gap |
Recount the differences
Once the counts are in, compare them with the system and recount every item that differs. Many differences disappear on the second look. They were counting slips: a stack of boxes counted twice, a box missed behind another.
Deck Screws 3in Box: system 40, counted 36, recount 36. Difference -4.
Wood Glue 16oz: system 31, counted 29, recount 31. A counting slip, so no difference.
Contractor Tape 2in: system 18, counted 18. Matches.
Post the correction
Once the counts are final, correct the system with a single adjustment and note the reason. Do not quietly overwrite the old numbers. The point of a count is to learn something, and what you learn is the size and the cause of the gap.
After the count
Spend ten minutes asking why. Which items had the biggest gaps? Do they share a supplier, a shelf or a person? A count that only fixes numbers is a chore. A count that changes how you receive or pick is an investment. For counting a little at a time, see Cycle counting: count a little, all year.
Common snags on count day
- Stock moves mid-count. Someone picks an order from a shelf you have already counted. Agree a freeze, or record movements separately until the count is done.
- Mixed bins. Two items share a bin, and the count of one includes the other. Tape off or relabel first.
- Opened packs. A box of 100 with 63 left counts as 63, not 1. Decide a rule for partial packs and write it on the sheet.
- Items in the wrong place. Count where you find them, then note the move, since the location may need fixing.
- Tired counters. Mistakes rise after two hours. Break the area into chunks of about an hour.
None of these is hard. They are the five things that turn a morning's work into a two-day argument, and a few minutes of planning removes all of them.