Better inventory, better business

Winter is on its way. And for many of our customers, that means it’s time to dust off the scanners and start taking counts! Read on to learn how to keep your inventory accurate with cycle counts.

Cycle counts are an important part of your inventory maintenance and help make full store inventories a lot less painful. They also allow your staff to become comfortable with the counting and reconciliation process, which is critical during a full store inventory.

Spot Check: Cycle counts are quick and easy because they allow you to choose a single category at a time. During a cycle count you should:

• Count one or more categories before or after hours according to a set schedule
• Count every single sellable product in the category under review, regardless of location (sections don’t matter for these!)
• Skip physical counts – those won’t be needed until your yearly full store inventory

Plan It Out: Cycle counts take a little planning, so they can be easy to “forget” about. But they’re worth remembering! Setting up a regular schedule can really help you and your team plan for them throughout the year. They can also help reinforce accountability for your staff. To create your cycle count schedule:

• Appoint one or two key staff to “own” the cycle count process
• Perform cycle counts 4 or 5 days per week every few weeks
• Count each category at least quarterly, but remember that it might be a good idea to count certain categories more often depending on value or turnover rate
• Determine which categories to count most frequently
• Post the cycle count schedule in a highly visible location
• Review and update your cycle count schedule regularly

Grab Your Scanner: Once you’ve identified your categories, created a schedule, and prepped your team, it’s time to jump in. All you need is an inventory scanner (or two)! Simply:

• Load your Handheld Device Product File
• Delete previous scan results
• Enter a section number
• Scan the barcode or SKU of your individual products for your chosen category

Reconcile: After you’re done scanning your products, it’s time to import your results and reconcile your inventory to update your database with any changes and keep it up-to-date. All you have to do is:

• Import your files from the scanner to Ascend
• Select the categories you scanned
• Analyze your results
• Resolve any discrepancies
• Reconcile your count results

Make sure you stay on top of your inventory by performing regularly scheduled cycle counts multiple times a year and a full store physical inventory at least once a year. You’ll be glad you did once those holiday sales start.

And if you need a few extra scanners to help make your counts go faster, click here to learn more about our rental service! Arm your entire staff and get free delivery when you reserve your scanners today.

We also have a helpful set of videos to help you along the way. Find them on Ascend University. Or check out our online help topic for assistance on solving discrepancies. If you need a little more information or have a question about how to perform your counts, give us a call at (877) 875-8663 or submit a ticket online.

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Tags: full store inventory, Inventory, inventory counts, Inventory Prep, inventory scanner, MC2180, physical inventory