Your system says you have twelve. You go to the location and there are nine.
Or perhaps the stock is there, but it is sitting in a completely different part of the warehouse.
If this happens occasionally, it is frustrating.
If it happens every day, you have a stock accuracy problem.
And once warehouse stock becomes unreliable, the consequences spread far beyond the stock file itself.
You may start overselling products, delaying orders, wasting time searching for missing stock and carrying out constant manual adjustments.
The important question is not simply:
“Why is my stock wrong?”
It is:
“Where is my warehouse process allowing the stock to become wrong?”
Stock problems usually start with a process
Stock discrepancies rarely appear by themselves.
Something has normally happened earlier in the journey.
A product may have been:
- Received incorrectly
- Put into the wrong location
- Picked without being recorded
- Picked in the wrong quantity
- Returned to stock incorrectly
- Moved without updating the system
- Damaged or written off without being recorded
- Manually adjusted to make the numbers balance
The stock discrepancy is often just the symptom.
The real job is identifying the process that created it.
Is your goods-in process accurate?
Stock accuracy starts at the warehouse door.
If you receive 48 units but accidentally book in 50, your inventory is wrong before those products have even reached a picking location.
The same applies if goods are received correctly but then placed in the wrong location.
A reliable goods-in process should make it clear:
- What has arrived
- What quantity has been received
- Whether the correct product has been received
- Where that stock has been placed
- When it becomes available for orders
If receiving relies heavily on handwritten notes, memory or information being entered later, mistakes can easily creep in.
Are people putting stock wherever there is space?
This is particularly common in growing warehouses.
The correct location is full, so somebody places the stock somewhere else.
They intend to update the system later.
Then the phone rings.
An urgent order needs dealing with.
Nobody remembers.
The stock physically exists, but nobody knows where it is.
Good warehouse location management should ensure the physical stock and the system location remain aligned.
If they do not, employees spend valuable time searching rather than picking.
Are picking errors affecting your stock?
A mispick does not only affect the customer.
It can affect your inventory too.
Imagine an order requires one red product, but the operative picks an almost identical blue product.
The system reduces the red product by one.
Physically, the blue product has left the warehouse.
You now have two inventory discrepancies from one picking error.
The red product appears short in the system.
The blue product appears to exist when it no longer does.
This is one reason barcode validation can have such a significant impact on warehouse accuracy.
Are stock movements being recorded?
Warehouses constantly move stock.
Products are replenished.
Locations are reorganised.
Damaged goods are quarantined.
Returns come back.
Stock gets consolidated.
If physical stock moves but your system does not move with it, inventory accuracy deteriorates.
The warehouse needs a clear process for recording stock movements when they happen, rather than relying on somebody updating a spreadsheet or system later.
Are returns causing stock discrepancies?
Returns are another common source of inventory problems.
A returned product may physically arrive back at the warehouse, but that does not necessarily mean it should immediately become available for sale.
It may need checking for:
- Damage
- Missing components
- Incorrect packaging
- Signs of use
- Product condition
Returned stock should follow a controlled process before it re-enters available inventory.
Otherwise, your system can show stock that cannot actually fulfil an order.
Are you adjusting stock instead of fixing the cause?
This is one of the biggest warning signs.
Someone reports that five units are missing.
The system is adjusted from 25 to 20.
Problem solved.
Except it is not.
You have corrected the number, but you have not established why the five units disappeared.
If the underlying process remains unchanged, the same problem will happen again.
Stock adjustments are sometimes necessary, but repeated adjustments should be treated as evidence that something else needs investigating.
Cycle counting can help, but it is not the whole answer
Regular stock counting is important.
Many warehouses use cycle counting rather than relying entirely on one large annual stocktake.
This can help identify discrepancies earlier and focus attention on high-value or fast-moving products.
But counting alone does not create inventory accuracy.
If you count a product today, correct the quantity and continue using the same faulty processes tomorrow, the discrepancy will simply return.
The goal should be to understand why your physical and system stock became different in the first place.
Paper processes can make stock accuracy harder
Paper-based warehouses can operate successfully, particularly at lower order volumes.
But as the business grows, it becomes more difficult to maintain an accurate real-time picture of inventory.
A stock movement may happen physically several minutes or hours before somebody updates the system.
During that gap, the system and warehouse disagree.
Barcode scanning and digital warehouse processes can reduce that delay by recording activity as it happens.
[Read: How to move from paper picking to barcode scanning]
Would a WMS improve stock accuracy?
Possibly.
A warehouse management system can provide stronger controls over receiving, locations, picking, replenishment and other inventory movements.
But simply installing a WMS does not guarantee accurate stock.
The processes behind it still need to be designed correctly and followed consistently.
If your warehouse is experiencing repeated discrepancies, growing order volumes and increasing dependence on spreadsheets or manual processes, it may be worth considering whether your current systems still meet the needs of the operation.
[Read: When does an eCommerce business need a WMS?]
How accurate should warehouse stock be?
The goal should not be to accept inaccurate inventory as an unavoidable part of warehouse life.
Occasional discrepancies will happen.
People make mistakes, products become damaged and unexpected situations occur.
But if your team has become accustomed to hearing:
“The system says we have it, but nobody can find it.”
that should not be considered normal.
Repeated stock discrepancies usually mean there is an opportunity to improve the underlying process.
Stop chasing stock and start finding the cause
If your stock figures cannot be trusted, repeatedly counting the warehouse will only take you so far.
You need to understand where accuracy is being lost.
I specialise in reviewing practical warehouse operations, particularly businesses that still rely heavily on paper, spreadsheets or manual processes.
I can visit your warehouse, speak with your team and follow stock through the operation from goods-in and storage through to picking, packing, despatch and returns.
The aim is to identify where discrepancies are being created and recommend practical improvements that make the warehouse more accurate, efficient and easier to control.
That may involve changes to your processes, barcode scanning, better system controls or, where appropriate, consideration of a WMS such as StoreFeeder.
Where StoreFeeder may form part of the solution, I will always make that connection clear.