How to Improve Inventory Accuracy In Warehousing?

Answer 1

Warehousing is, perhaps, the most important aspect of any business. Every business deals with a warehouse in one form or another. Inventory accuracy is critical for planning and for shipping. The key component to this is quality control, which very few warehouses take seriously.

Quality control, or QC, starts with developing processes for maintaining the inventory. These processes are critical as they let the employees who are handling the material know exactly what is expected of them. Without a firm set of processes, each employee makes judgment calls that may adversely affect the inventory and, thus, the ability of the warehouse to ship orders properly.

For many warehouses, quality control starts with the shipping department. It is not until an ordered is pulled that errors in inventory are found. This is exactly the wrong place to start. QC should start when goods are received. Whether all incoming goods are inspected or just a random sampling, some form of QC needs to start here. Not only must the product be inspected and counted, it must be put away in the correct location. Daily location checks can save hours of time spent finding a misplaced product. If a product is misplaced, the employee who put it away is more likely to remember where he put it within a couple of days than he will two weeks down the road.

Regular cycle counts can weed out problems before they reach the shipping department. Parts will be lost, damage, miscounted, or misplaced during the course of normal operations. A cycle count can confirm that what is listed in inventory is what is actually there.

Empowering the employee is important. Make every employee responsible for the inventory at all times. When an error is found, make the employee feel good about reporting it rather than just letting it go. Employees that have a stake in the QC process are more likely to take it seriously. Surrounding oneself with employees that are responsible and intelligent will go a long way toward improving the QC process and the inventory accuracy. Employees who have an I don’t care attitude should be replaced with those who take pride in their work. No matter how good your QC processes are, they are only as good as the people who work for you.