Keeping the warehouse running during a count
A full stop for a stock count is expensive. Orders wait, customers are disappointed and staff are paid to stand still. For many businesses, a large part of that cost can be avoided with careful planning.
Count by zone
Divide the warehouse into zones and count one zone at a time. While a zone is being counted, nothing is picked from it, and the other zones continue to work. Mark counted areas clearly so that no goods are moved from a counted area to an uncounted one by mistake.
Choose the right time
Evenings, weekends and quiet periods allow counts with little impact on orders. If your sales have seasonal peaks, avoid them. Agree the timing with sales and logistics early, so that customer promises can be adjusted.
Prepare the fast movers in advance
Identify the goods that sell fastest and either count them first or set aside enough stock before the count. This lets you fulfil urgent orders without touching areas that are being counted.
Control movements during the count
- Record receipts and shipments with the time they happened.
- Keep goods that arrive during the count in a separate, marked area.
- Use a clear cut-off, so everything before it is in the count and everything after it is not.
Use technology
Barcode scanners and mobile terminals speed up counting a great deal and reduce errors from manual entry. They also make it easier to compare results with the system during the count.
Consider cycle counting
If a full stop is too expensive, move towards cycle counting. Counting small parts all year removes the need for a large shutdown.
Communicate
An example plan
A distribution centre with six zones counts two zones each evening over three evenings. Before the first evening, urgent orders for the next days are picked and staged. During the count, picking continues from the other zones. Each morning, the counted zones are released and the next zones are locked for the evening.
What to watch
Make sure that the warehouse system can show which zones are locked, so that pickers do not go to a counted area. If it cannot, use clear physical markers and a simple board in the control room.
Tell customers, suppliers and internal teams in advance what will happen and when. Most problems come from surprises, not from the count itself.