Stocktaking
Full or partial counts with automatic adjustment of differences against theoretical stock, without stopping operations.
The all-day annual stocktake has two problems: it costs a working day, and when a discrepancy appears there is no way of knowing when it happened. Counting in parts (by family, by zone or by turnover) lets you repeat the fast-moving items every few weeks and catch the mismatch close to when it occurred.
The system compares what was counted against theoretical stock and shows the difference product by product, with its valuation. The adjustment leaves its trail: what was corrected, by how much, who did it and why.
That history is what turns a discrepancy into usable information (where shrinkage happens, which items never match, which zone needs review) instead of a number that gets corrected and forgotten until next year.
Counting in parts
The Saturday annual stocktake has two problems
The first is obvious: it costs a whole working day, sometimes with the company shut and with people counting things they do not know.
The second is less visible and worse. When a thirty-unit discrepancy shows up in January, there is no way to tell whether it happened in March, in August or last week. And without knowing when, you cannot work out why.
Partial counts solve both. You count by family, by zone or by turnover, in spare moments and without closing the warehouse, repeating the fast-moving items every few weeks. The mismatch is then caught close to when it happened, which is while somebody still remembers what went on that day.
The adjustment
Adjusting is easy; what you need is the trail
The system compares the count against theoretical stock and shows the difference product by product, with its quantity and valuation. Any program does that much.
What makes the difference is what remains after the adjustment: what was corrected, by how much, who did it, when and why. Without that record, an adjustment is a button that makes the problem disappear, and with it, any chance of understanding it.
With the history you can look at what actually matters: whether differences concentrate on certain items, in one warehouse zone, on one shift or in one period. A discrepancy that repeats in the same place is almost never chance.
What you learn
Shrinkage has causes, and most of them are fixable
When discrepancies build up as history instead of being corrected one by one, patterns start to appear that explain where the missing money goes:
- Material consumed and never recorded, typical of small, constantly used items.
- Receiving errors repeated with one specific supplier who under-delivers or ships similar-looking items.
- Breakages and expiries nobody writes off, which the system keeps counting as available.
- Confusion between similar items, which produces two symmetrical differences: one over, one short.
That last case is the easiest to fix and the most common. It is only spotted when differences are looked at together, never when each is adjusted separately.
Clearing things up
Frequently asked questions
Answers to what we get asked most.
Do I have to stop operations to take stock?
No. Counts can be partial (by family, by zone or by turnover) so you count in spare moments without closing the warehouse and repeat the fast-moving items every few weeks. The all-day annual stocktake stops being necessary.
Why is counting in parts better?
Because a discrepancy found in January on an annual count does not tell you when it happened, and without knowing when you cannot work out why. Counting in parts catches the mismatch close to when it occurred, while somebody still remembers what went on that day.
Are adjustments recorded?
Yes: what was corrected, by how much, who did it, when and why. Without that trail, an adjustment is a button that makes the problem disappear, and with it any chance of understanding it.
What causes of discrepancy usually show up?
Material consumed and never recorded, receiving errors repeated with one supplier, breakages and expiries nobody writes off, and confusion between similar items, which produces two symmetrical differences: one over, one short. That last one is only spotted by looking at differences together.
Warehouses, stock and manufacturing
Real-time multi-warehouse stock, locations, stock counts, transfers and traceability by batch or serial number, connected to purchasing and sales.
Warehouse Management
Define your warehouses and check at any moment what sits in each one, with stock updated by every real movement rather than by a count somebody keys in when they get a chance.
View moduleWarehouse Locations
Organise each warehouse by locations (aisle, rack, bin) and know exactly where each product is and how much sits in each place.
Transfers
Goods movements between warehouses with their own document: what left, from where, to where, who moved it and when it was received.
Product Batches
Full batch traceability: which supplier and which purchase each one came in on, which warehouse it sits in, which customers it went to and what stock is left, with its expiry date.
View moduleSerial Numbers
Individual tracking of each unit by its serial number, from goods receipt until it is sold or installed at a customer.
Production
Planning and tracking of plant production: what is manufactured, in what order, with which resources and in which building, with input and output records for each process.
View module