A physical count is the periodic counting of all inventories in your warehouse.
This process involves the inspecting and counting of every inventory item in a warehouse and/or storage rooms.
Most businesses dread this manual count process; it can be time-consuming and costly. A significant amount of manpower is required for manual counts to be completed in a timely and efficient manner. In addition, normal warehouse operations could be put on hold until the completion of the count.
Inventory management is an extremely important part of every businesses operation. Maintaining and storing inventory can be costly. Companies that have learned to efficiently manage their inventory have gained a distinct advantage over competitors. Inventory can be managed on paper and kept track of by hand, however modern technology and the use of custom software can monitor and maintain inventory counts throughout your entire company.
Take a look at the five benefits your company could achieve from electronic inventory versus manual counting management:
- Faster results. Many companies rely on printed forms and manual entries to record inventory numbers. You can save a significant amount of time by using a specifically designed program or electronic method. Instead of scheduling days to complete the physical count, companies using an electronic inventory system can complete the manual count process in several hours.
- Increased accuracy. A manual inventory system can result in human error. People might forget to record a transaction or simply miscount the number of items. Accurate inventory data is important; it can lead to significant under stocks and overstocks. Mistakes in orders increase the company’s inventory carrying costs and use up precious storage space. These errors are significantly less with the use of electronic inventory programs.
- Reduction of out-of-stock/inventory imbalances. Inaccurate physical counts could also result in not ordering enough of a product, meaning your business could run out of a crucial item at the wrong time. Incorporating electronic inventory into your company will eliminate costly errors or miscalculations and increases accuracy of reports.
- Simplified management of inventory. Your product(s) might be spread out in multiple states, across many storage units or several back room locations. Gathering all the data on “like-items” will take up valuable time and can be extremely tedious work. Investing in software that tracks inventory more efficiently and helps monitor use simplifies the overall process in comparison with manually counting up what have been used. The software also contains business logic that will take into account things that manual counting would never even consider.
- Labor-Intensive. A manual inventory system can be highly labor-intensive to operate. Continuous monitoring is required to ensure that each transaction is accounted for and that products are maintained according to appropriate stocking levels. The time spent monitoring inventory levels could be used on more productive activities for the business. Use of a program customized for your business reduces the labor cost compared with manual/physical counts. In addition information is able to be shared throughout the business faster and more efficiently.
“Little codes solve big problems”, according to Chris Higgins at Future Link IT. Businesses can waste time and see increased errors when they are constantly reentering data throughout the day. A personalized app can track your data and inventory; essentially doing the work for you. Whether you’re tracking from multiple bins or converting from rolls to sheets, an app makes keeping your data accurate and easy while saving you time and headaches.