Fixed Point of Sale for Retail Stores
Mobile Point of Sale & Line Busting App
Dashboard and Analytics Mobile App
Free Inventory Management App
Full Service Inventory Management App
Order Management Solution
House Accounts and Invoicing
Premium Suites Catering & Pre Order Management
Centralized Management Platform
Workforce Empowerment App
Hospitality Point of Sale App
E-Commerce Solution Platform
Table Mangement for Restaurants via Mobile or Tablet
Kitchen Display System
Seamless Sales Across All Channels
Elevating Sports & Entertainment Transactions Effortlessly
Streamlining Retail Transactions for Seamless Shopping
Optimizing Transactions for Vibrant Festival Experiences
Transforming Hospitality & Suite Service Management
Smart Inventory Management with RFID
Building Relationships, Rewarding Loyal Customers
Insights-Driven Decisions for Business Growth
Now that you have set yourself up for success by following all of the recommendations from Day 1 and Day 2, it is onto Day 3. Today you will begin the counting process, one of the most important steps of a successful inventory. Following these simple steps will help you in completing your inventory correctly and efficiently. Make sure you schedule a time to do this when the store is slow or closed – if doing it while closed, it’s best to section off areas as they are being counted – so you are not selling items from the counted inventory.
What to do on Day 3
Using the mInventory app you will need to go to Inventory counts and start a new project. It is best practice to name the project based on the locations you are counting.
Once you have created the project it is time to start scanning. The scanning can be done two ways. The first method is to scan every item individually, this will be the most accurate way to scan as it will make sure you are counting similar items as the correct UPC. The second method would be to scan the item once and then type in the total count for that item. If you do have similar items with different UPC you will need to make sure that you separate them before attempting to scan your inventory with this method.
Once your whole section is counted you will export the project and email it to your manager.
The manager will receive all exported project files which will contain the details of who counted each section and what was counted.
After all projects have been consolidated, the manager will compare these counts to the current quantity on hand using an IBR from the CAS Portal to find any large discrepancies.
These large discrepancies will then need to be recounted to verify that all pieces have been accounted for.
As a best practice, you can randomly select products and recount them – assuming there is no variance, you can be confident of the counts. If you see substantial variances, you may want to determine if the errors were with one counter or section and expand the recounts accordingly. Some stores keep counting until all items have been verified (the same count appears twice). The comfort you have with inventory counts is not decided in the annual count – it’s typically achieved in periodic cycle counts.
Review all the adjustment reports and confirm the count once you are satisfied that you have an accurate count.
In the next blog, we will discuss best practices in analyzing your inventory and maintaining accuracy of your stock levels throughout the year. For more details on Key Performance Indicators you can read our blog post on Retail Math.
Hopefully you have had a chance to get through all the Day 1 Activities, to review here is a list; don’t be tempted to skip through the steps in the interest of saving time today as it will result in a lot of extra time being spent on the count day to reconcile the inventory. You will be pleased to know that Day 2 is much easier than Day 1, but equally important to a smooth count.
What to do on Day 2
Have your team download and familiarize themselves with mInventory, especially the section on Inventory Counts. Make sure that each team member has their own user name and password and can log into the app; if passwords need to be reset or user created you should do so now using nGauge or the CAS Portal
On Day 1, your team would have organized the product and checked for damages, during the course of doing that they might have run across items that did not have barcode labels, this would be a good time to print those and resticker the product; if you are using CAS to print the labels you can use roll or Avery labels on your laser printer (money saving tip) or you can use Label.It for more printing styles and options.
Tomorrow is day 3, we will go through the best counting practices.Don’t forget to share your feedback and don’t forget to subscribe so you can see the next post, or you can join us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
It’s that time of the year!
No, I am not talking about New Year’s resolutions – I am talking about getting your inventory done and putting in some best practices to keep your investment in inventory efficient year round.
I will be posting 5 blogs that will get you ready for your annual inventory counts – the first 3 will be to break down the activities you do to prepare for the counts and the last 2 will be on the best practices that you can implement to keep inventory managed year round. You may have already had a chance to read about how to do ABC Cycle Counts by Justin McCollom from our Major Market Team, which discusses the importance of having good inventory management to support your Online Ordering/eCommerce sites. My approach over the next 3 posts is to take you through a more granular list based process. So don’t forget to subscribe to new blog posts over on the right panel.
So let’s get into the tasks – this is really meant to be a checklist that you can share with your team, and since many of you reading this will be retailcloud customers, I will occasionally refer to specific processes within the CAS Portal.
What to do on Day 1
Almost done!
From the back of the house perspective you have accomplished a lot today, and built a foundation of success for your full inventory count.
Start organizing the inventory in the store so that it will be easy to count, have your team prepare a floor map by Department or Category of where the product is and to begin to place it. If your store is not organized and ready to be counted, then this is a good place to start getting it prepped for inventory and gather like items together.
While organizing, take some time and look out for damaged items, these should be inspected and discounted or adjusted out of inventory as needed. Good luck, please share your feedback and don’t forget to subscribe so you can see the next post – if you don’t want to subscribe, you can join us on Facebook or Twitter.
Inventory counting is the process of systematically tracking and verifying the quantities of products or materials on hand within a business. With the start of the new year upon us what better time than now to start thinking about inventory?. Year-end inventories can be a thing of the past if you incorporate cycle counts into your operation. Utilizing the tools we provide at retailcloud you can have more accurate records year-round instead of waiting until the end of the year to do the typical tedious full year-end inventory. With a multitude of backend reporting, innovative and completely free inventory management apps we will help you through the process. Whether it’s running analytics like real time inventory tracking system, nGauge or utilizing retail inventory software, mInventory for all of their inventory needs, we got you covered. Users can use our apps to scan inventory for your cycle counts using the camera on your phone and complete inventory adjustments all from the palm of your hand.
An inventory count, also referred to as a stocktake or physical inventory, is the process of manually verifying and counting the items or materials a business holds in its inventory at a particular point in time. This procedure is carried out to confirm that the actual stock matches the recorded inventory levels and to detect any discrepancies.
Performing an inventory count allows businesses to evaluate their stock levels, identify any problems like overstocking, understocking, or inventory shrinkage, and uncover potential weaknesses in their inventory management system, ultimately helping to improve operational efficiency.
There are four main types of inventory counts, each serving a specific purpose to ensure accurate tracking of stock levels:
Periodic Inventory Count: This method involves counting the entire inventory at regular intervals, such as annually, quarterly, or monthly. It is commonly used by smaller businesses that do not have the resources for continuous tracking. After each count, inventory records are updated based on the physical count.
Perpetual Inventory Count: This system involves continuous tracking of inventory in real-time using technology like barcode scanners or RFID. As goods are sold or received, the inventory count is automatically updated. It provides a more accurate and up-to-date view of stock levels, making it ideal for businesses with high turnover or large inventories.
Cycle Count: A cycle count involves counting a portion of the inventory on a regular basis rather than all items at once. This method allows businesses to keep inventory levels accurate without disrupting operations. The items are counted in cycles, often on a rotating schedule, ensuring that every item is counted periodically throughout the year.
Spot Inventory Count: This is an ad-hoc count where specific items or categories are counted randomly or in response to a particular issue, such as suspected theft or discrepancies in inventory. It is usually a targeted approach used to verify specific parts of inventory rather than a full count.
Each of these methods offers a different approach to inventory management, and businesses choose the type that best suits their needs and resources.
There are many benefits that come along with cycle counting as opposed to doing the full end of the year inventory including:
ABC analysis is an inventory categorization technique, that divides an inventory into three categories. These categories will be cycle counted throughout the year based on the rules set by ABC. Putting your focus on the higher valued items first.
When determining your ABC categorization, it is important to factor in these 5 key pieces of data to give an overall idea of the value of each item. Once you have all these factors determined you will be able to assign them to the ABC categories based on their ranking in each field.
Once you have your ABC analysis completed you will be able to sort your inventory based on these factors and determine which items you need to focus on first. Your A inventory items will be counted more often and can even be added into your warehouse staff’s day to day operations. Once you complete all of your A inventory items you can move on to the B category which should be counted semiannually, and then onto the C category, with the least effect on your business these items can be counted annually. Utilizing your own staff is best practice as they will have a vested interest in the inventory and the accuracy of their counts. They will also be familiar with the many tools retailcloud offers to make these tasks simple.
Streamline your inventory counting with retailcloud’s powerful tools! Using mInventory and nGauge, you can simplify and accelerate your inventory management. With mInventory, manage your inventory directly from your mobile device, making stock counting and adjustments quick and efficient. nGauge, retailcloud’s integrated analytics platform, provides you with real-time insights and actionable data to optimize your inventory management. Don’t let inventory take over your valuable time—use retailcloud’s solutions to gain control, reduce discrepancies, and make smarter, data-driven decisions. Start using mInventory and nguage today and transform the way you handle inventory!
A full annual inventory can seem like a very daunting task as a whole. However, prep planning will break down the steps and make the full process less overwhelming. These steps will increase your count accuracy, reduce the time you spend counting, and lead you to a successful inventory overall.
Who & When In planning for your prep, schedule your inventory day far enough in advance that you give yourself plenty of time to prep. A good practice is to have 30-45 days to prep. It is ideal to schedule your count at a time that will not be busy in your location.
Plan the team that will be doing the prep and counting. When selecting counters, choose seasoned employees as well as those who can provide fresh eyes. A key part of planning your staff, is communicating with them the importance of their role in the overall success of the inventory. Share with your team the tasks they are assigned, and create a centralized location for tracking progress of the prep.
Organize
A majority of your prep work, will be organizing your product. Make a map your that includes dates that each section is expected to be ready to count. Assign members of the team that will prep and count each section. If you have a warehouse, it is best to start there, as your team will be able to maintain the prep work once it is done. If you have freezer/refrigerators or off-site inventory, don’t forget these in your map and timelines.
Identify
Identify what it will take to organize your product for counting day. Locate items without barcodes and decide if you will generate and affix barcodes, or prep them on a manual count sheet. Designate a space or sign that will clearly identify items that will not be counted. Any defective or obsolete product should be disposed off and removed from the count area and written off from the system quantity. It is important that any receivings/transfers are frozen and staged in an area that has been designated to not be counted inventory day.
How will you count
Establish with your team how you will conduct your inventory count. Traditionally, physical counts are done with pen and paper. While this can get the job done, it requires an extra step for someone to enter all the data. Using a scanner app, will make counting your inventory a breeze. The app will sync completed counts with your POS so once you’re done counting, you can easily update your stock levels.
Using an Inventory application or device
Using an inventory application or device enables you to complete your inventory count from a handheld device, sometimes even using your phone & its camera to scan. This saves you the time of working with manual counting sheets. This process will require the use of a fully charged device or maybe a wifi connected phone. When planning your prep, you’ll want to include the set up of your device. It is also a good idea to practice with the device or app prior to count day, and review the steps and best practices with your team.
Food and Drinks for your team
You’ll want to keep your team happy and efficient on inventory day. It is a tedious process, so keeping them on top of their game will be an important part of your planning. Have water, coffee, maybe some pizza or snacks on hand. This will also boost their morale and increase their attention to detail on this important task.
Day of the count
Pre-designate a person that will oversee the flow of the count. Making notations on sections as they are complete is a great way to avoid double counting. Double checking and auditing counts as sections are complete, will be a good idea before updating stock levels. Avoid postponing inventory checks, as the best time to do it, is while everything is fresh in mind.
After the count
Pull up your inventory reports and analyze the data to see what can be done to improve your business. Use this information to identify high risk zones, and adjust standard practices to minimize losses in these areas. A good practice to adopt would be to have frequent cycle counts of areas or items that show significant discrepancies. This will help you in identifying trends within your business.
Smooth and painless inventory days are no accident. Details planned well in advance will help you be prepared and have a more accurate count, and with less stress. Making sure you have the right tools, the right people, and the right plan will help you have a successful day.
If you liked this blog you might be interested in our previous article on this topics as well
It is that time of the year, the dreaded full inventory count. This blog lays out 10 steps to simplify the process, increase your accuracy and reduce the amount of time spent on this task
The prep planning is the key to a successful and accurate count, most of the prep work can be done during regular business hours and will both reduce the time you spend counting as well as minimize recounts. Remember, an inaccurate count affects at least two years or stock levels and KPI analysis.
Schedule the date far enough in advance so that all involved have time to prepare for it. Plan for a date/time that is less busy. Ideal timing is right after an inventory clearing sales event before the new merchandise is received into stock.
Best practice tip: Give yourself at least 30 days to plan
Assign a specific role in the process to each person and make sure that they understand the role is fixed. Explain the need for accuracy. Of course, consider your staff for the task, with thought given to checks and balances. If internal theft is a consideration, you cannot depend on an accurate count. You may want to assign personnel to areas which they do not have a direct associate with or other stores. Using an outside service provides an alternative, with the downside is that they can be costly and they do not have the same knowledge of the merchandise and stock locations that your team does.
Best practice tip: Use experienced team members in key roles, who have an understanding of the product and the count plan
A fixture map is a physical layout of the store with all stock locations. Each display, rack, stock location should be assigned a fixture map code that will be used for counting. When doing the physical counts, include the fixture code on the count sheets so you are able to tell which areas are not counts and where the merchandise was, if a recount is needed. The fixture map will also encourage all team members to use the terms in describing the completed work.
This will provide a critical map to a well planned wall to wall inventory count that assures that all product is counted.
Best practice tip: Organize fixtures so that the product is not varied, and the counts can be done systematically. Once counted they should easily be tagged as completed.
Before the count date, visit your inventory to understand the layout of the store and look for obsolete and damaged items. Make sure that the inventory areas are clean and organized; product are in their proper places and not mixed up. Make sure all items have barcodes if applicable. Look for areas that may not have been considered in the fixture map, such as hold/layaway or merchandise that has fallen behind the display. Review all merchandise that needs to be returned to your vendors. Complete RMA’s and ship back or identify these items for the count. Consider products that you may want to markdown prior to the count to reduce the inventory. You can run category and attribute analysis reports and review Stock Days, Turnover and Return on Inventory Investment numbers to identify products that should be targeted for markdowns.
Best practice tip: Organize product on the shelves, removing damaged items and use discounts and promotions to clear obsolete ones.
To get an accurate count, all sales and movement of inventory must cease. Make sure that all store/warehouse transfers are completed and merchandise has been received into the system. New shipments received should be frozen, and seals should not be broken. Review Open Transfers and Adjustments and make sure they are committed or errored out as appropriate.
Best practice tip: If you can’t freeze receiving, then clearly define a physical not to be counted area for items that have not been received into the inventory.
There are a number of methods available and selecting the one that will work best for your business depends both on your type of inventory and how your merchandise and store are laid out.
Manual count sheets are simply forms to enter the product ID (SKU) and quantity. This method is effective for wall to wall counts using count teams, with one person calling out the SKU, price and count and the other recording the data. This allows you to pair an experienced person as the counter with the less experienced employee to record the information and helps less experienced personnel learn the inventory. The downfall is that there is room for mis-recorded SKU’s and it’s a manual process so more time consuming.
Preprint the count sheet from your POS System and use this for recording the count. The biggest problem is that the form will not follow the logical flow of your merchandise layout. To much time can be spend flipping through pages searching for items. If some items are not included, you are more likely to miss them altogether. However, system generated count sheets are useful in narrower spot counts or warehouse locations where the inventory is well organized. Run an inventory balance report and download it to a CSV file so that you can sort it and prepare the count sheets. Your final count sheets can be imported into the system to adjust your inventory balances; this will generate write-off amounts for you to review before you commit the counts.
Using a portable inventory device can be the most efficient way to take inventory when all items are barcoded. You will not need the two person count team and merchandise can be counted quicker. These devices also automate the reconciliation process so that the store can complete the count quicker and be ready to unfreeze the inventory in less time. The primary hurdle is the expense of the devices. There are two options here; you can use Portable Inventory scanners or any Android phone to scan and count the inventory. The Inventory Manager application can be used to load the data into the system automatically or the data from Multiple devices can be combined into one count using mInventory, mobile inventory management software.
Best practice tip: Use digital tools whenever possible, organize counts in smaller groupings so you can easily recount, if necessary.
Designate a responsible person to monitor and control the distribution and return of the count sheets. If you are using electronic counting, designate one person to monitor and coordinate activities. Use the fixture map to describe the counts.
Best practice tip: Have one person in charge, who is managing the process. Everyone follows their plan.
For accuracy, enough time needs to be available to take the count, complete the count audits and recount as needed. If possible, start early in the day, while all employees are fresh and alert.
Although such a major inventory count is disruptive, resist the urge to focus on speed. The primary goal should be accuracy. Speed will come in time, but an inaccurate count does not provide any value to the store
Best practice tip: With proper planning you have plenty of time, however planning will not eliminate errors from exhaustion.
Even your best counter can make mistakes so instead of blindly adjusting inventory based on a single person’s count, steps can be taken. Have two separate teams conduct the count separately and compare the numbers to determine discrepancies and areas to look further into. Recount all items where discrepancies exist.
Best practice tip: Double count all items, and triple the count the discrepancies
Depending on device/method used, determine that all inventory has been included. Investigate discrepancies and recount as needed. Document explanations. Determine the adjustment amounts. Make necessary system adjustments based on the physical count.
Deeper research into discrepancies can always be completed at a later date – in fact several weeks or months later, but the only time a physical count can be accurately verified is at the time all movement is frozen. So take the time, while you have the staff in place and focused on the inventory count to resolve any count discrepancies.
Once all data has been uploaded into retailcloud, review the potential write-offs and recount any items where the variances are outside the acceptable differences. Check storage areas again for overlooked product.
Best practice tip: Get the count rights, resist getting involved in reconciliation or adjustments until later.
A well planned and organized physical count is the basis of determining and analyzing shrinkage. Without a reliable physical count, analysis of the results will be unproductive. It takes a bit of work to initiate the implementation of the physical count. But, in the end, when inventory is accurate and operations are running smoothly, the attention to detail will be well worth it.
Click here to subscribe to my next post on Cycle Counts
Also See 5 WAYS TO MAKE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT EASY
Why do companies do it?
Reducing inventory costs is mostly based on reducing carrying costs. The carrying costs occur when your predicted sales are not in line with the reality and there are too many products left on the shelves in your store. There are simply too much costs related to inventory from costs of capital, to expired costs and handling, storage and counting inventory damage costs. Also costs for rent and electricity must be included as well.
The Well-Known Notion
The notion that in order to keep your inventory costs low, you need to keep your inventory count low as well is a well-known notion. It seems quite logical, but in reality, with use of a POS software and smart, feature-rich inventory management software you can manage to do it.
How lower Inventory and inventory costs
The first and most useful tip is to make an efficient plan. Then a strategic plan to move your slow mowing inventory is a must. Using the best inventory software can be of great help in achieving this.
Another way to lower costs is to not liquidate all of the items or to plan the liquidation better.
Liquidation is not always the best option as it can decrease revenues significantly.
Of course the most effective way in reducing inventory costs is establishing and effect inventory systems like just in time inventory. But this is not possible for all businesses. The businesses that can assure quick orders from their vendors, can significantly reduce inventory costs and keep the inventory count high.
Another interesting option is used by several popular entrepreneurs. Their companies is keeping the inventory count high and if they have many leftovers they don’t do liquidations, but instead donate the products to different charities. They later use that for creating good PR and public image, and are also doing a good deed.
Using POS software you can easily track and manage your inventory. So, at last, you can always have high inventory count when you expect huge number of sales, when you achieve a slower period, you can easily manage the inventory with your inventory management software and reduce costs.
Final Thoughts
No matter the POS software you are using, having all possible features for inventory management can be of great help. Simply, you need to find out what works best for your business. Whether it is a JIT system, or managing your inventory in various ways during different periods of the year. One thing is certain, reducing the inventory costs while keeping your inventory count high will increase your profits, because your costs will be lower and your sales will be higher.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience, analyze our traffic, and personalize our marketing. By continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies.