Warehouse inventory is a crucial component for effectively managing the supply chain. It allows businesses to track stock levels, pinpoint fast-moving items, and make informed decisions regarding when and how much to reorder. Core tasks typically conducted in a logistics facility—receiving, storing, and shipping goods—are centered around warehouse inventory.
What is Warehouse Inventory?
Warehouse inventory refers to the process of overseeing goods by recording and monitoring the stock and materials present within a specific facility at any given time. This collection of raw materials or products can either be utilized in manufacturing or kept stored until delivery to a shop, buyer, or end customer.
This comprehensive listing generally includes:
- Quantity of each item
- Location within the warehouse
- Additional details such as product acquisition cost, retail price, and description
How to Set Up a Warehouse Inventory
There are various methods to efficiently track products within your facility. First, determine the scope of your inventory, which can be either partial—covering a specific area (like a location, rack, or zone)—or full, providing a complete overview of your facility's current state and available stock. However, without a Warehouse Management System (WMS) or inventory management software, this task can become tedious and may take several days.
Next, consider the level of information your staff has before starting the inventory. Based on this knowledge, stocktaking can be categorized into three models:
- Blind Count: Inventory is conducted without prior knowledge of the goods, relying solely on a list of locations. Without a WMS, this could involve reviewing large volumes of data, which may take hours or even days.
- Non-Blind Count: The warehouse operator possesses all necessary information, enabling them to verify the list’s accuracy and identify discrepancies.
- Semi-Blind Count: The location and SKU of each product are provided, but not the quantity, requiring the operator to physically count the items. This is usually the most common method.
Types of Warehouse Inventory
Inventory types can be classified in various ways, but one common classification is based on frequency:
- Cycle Counting: Counting SKUs sequentially without halting warehouse operations, typically performed during off-peak hours to minimize disruption.
- Periodic Inventory: Manual counting of locations that necessitates a complete stop in operations, often conducted once a year, commonly at the beginning of January, though it can occur multiple times throughout the year.
- Perpetual Inventory: A WMS like Mecalux’s Easy WMS enables real-time monitoring and optimization of all processes and resources, tracking every stock movement along with the RF scanners used by operators.
Conducting a Warehouse Inventory
Knowing how to perform warehouse inventory counting is essential for organizing, tracking, and controlling the movement and flow of goods within your facility. Optimizing available space and its usage is critical to effective warehouse management.
Here are some tips for conducting inventory, whether manually or through automation. Remember, digitization generally leads to improved order fulfillment:
- Define the Frequency: Establish how often inventory will be taken, particularly if you lack a WMS that updates this information in real time.
- Classify by Type and Zone: Segmenting the warehouse into designated areas based on product type, origin, or final destination can streamline inventory monitoring.
- Review the Data: Analyzing data collected during inventory counts allows for smarter business decisions and helps identify high-performing items versus those that are seldom used.
How to Optimize Inventory Management
In addition to digitizing logistics operations with a WMS, several best practices can enhance stock control:
- Train Your Staff: Providing operators with tools that aid in counting improves accuracy and streamlines processes. Companies often prefer intuitive, user-friendly warehouse inventory systems.
- Forecast Demand: Anticipating how many products customers will need helps you plan inventory levels and meet demand. Predictive analytics relies on inputs like historical data.
- Go Digital: Utilizing specialized software like Easy WMS for managing and optimizing warehouse processes and resources boosts productivity and efficiency.