As brands continue to grapple with an unpredictable supply chain, there’s a renewed focus on optimizing the fulfillment steps that can actually be controlled. While carrier delays and raw materials suppliers might only be manageable up to a point, providing accurate and up-to-date inventory information in your warehouse is one way to ensure your fulfillment operations are running smoothly.
When inventory estimates are off, it can cause a cascade of issues. In addition to delaying fulfillment and frustrating customers, you could wind up paying excessive carrying costs on unnecessary products crowding up your warehouse.
When running a warehouse, reliable inventory management is central to efficient shipping. That’s why so many eCommerce brands are taking a fresh look at how their inventory is tracked and prioritizing cost-effective strategies like cycle counting.
What is cycle counting?
Cycle counting is when warehouse staff periodically count a portion of the overall inventory, eventually counting everything in stock over a set period of time (i.e. month, quarter, biannually, etc.).
Rather than conducting a full audit every once in a while, cycle counting is done every day, usually as part of a staffer’s day-to-day responsibilities. Typically, brands prioritize what to count most often, based on price, location or SKU.
Advantages of Cycle Counting
One reason why cycle counting is so effective is the low-impact it has on regular warehousing operations. With only a small portion of your stock being counted on a given day, the rest of the fulfillment center can function as usual. Rather than using a physical count, which involves counting everything in the warehouse all at once, cycle counts take up far less staff bandwidth and won’t disrupt anyone else’s work.
Another advantage of cycle counting is how it can highlight unseen issues in your fulfillment process. With inventory counts happening continuously, you’ll be able to identify issues like supply shortages and overstocking before they worsen and impact the customer experience.
ShipHero & Cycle Counting
ShipHero’s enhanced cycle counting feature puts control and flexibility back in the hands of brands. Now, you can maintain visibility over your inventory management on your own schedule and at your own pace, which is essential for fulfillment success in the modern supply chain.
Rolling out later this summer, this updated, user-friendly feature brings all the advantages of cycle counting to your warehouse. With this upgraded functionality, you can schedule custom counts as you need them, prioritize counts based on SKU or location, and automatically alert staff when recounts are required. You can also assign specific warehouse staff to counting duties all on a streamlined dashboard. The easy-to-use dashboard will also offer advanced reporting options, allowing you to truly measure the impact of cycle counting and inventory discrepancies on your operations.
To find out more about how ShipHero Software and cycle counting can take your inventory management to the next level, schedule a call with one of our software experts today.
Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO
About the author: Aaron Rubin is the Founder & CEO of ShipHero. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. Rubin’s greatest strengths are leadership, change management, strategic planning and a passion for progression. He is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, his entrepreneurial spirit, and keen business acumen. His leadership of ShipHero is grounded in providing excellent customer service that drives improved business operations. His passion for ShipHero comes from the culture and his ability to have an impact on the lives of employees, customers, partners, and investors.
