User Guide - Wasp Barcode

Chapter 5: Auditing Your Inventory
What is an Audit
Sometimes referred to as “taking inventory”, Auditing is the process used to
physically count the inventory you have in your warehouse, store, vehicle, etc.
and comparing those counts to what you have recorded in InventoryControl.
Auditing means you will have people in your sites and locations manually
counting or scanning each piece of inventory. One of the many benefits of using
a mobile device with barcode scanning capabilities is that you can speed up the
sometimes arduous counting process and help reduce errors. Rather than
having to write down counts, you or your employees can quickly scan the label,
enter the quantity and move on.
After you have your counts, you can send the data back to the PC where
InventoryControl compares the numbers to the inventory counts in the database.
You are notified of discrepancies and provided with options to resolve any errors.
Why Audit
As many business owners know, keeping accurate counts of inventory is a
critical part of maintaining a well-run business. For instance, if an inventory item
is listed in the system as having met its reorder point, but the quantity in the
system is based on an inaccurate count, your business could end up wasting
money on reordering inventory that was not in danger of being depleted. On the
other hand, if your system lists plenty of inventory for an item that is actually at or
below the minimum stock level, you could be faced with too little inventory on
hand to fulfill orders, creating a costly back-order situation. Many business
owners also know that getting accurate counts can be a time-consuming task.
With these issues in mind, InventoryControl was designed with a built-in audit
mode that allows you to conveniently conduct audits at the PC and on one or
more mobile devices while preventing access to such features as Remove and
Add so that you can be confident you are getting accurate count comparisons.
Auditing Best Practices
Getting a good audit of your inventory is more than just sending your employees
out armed with a mobile device or an inventory report. Accurate counts delivered
timely and in an organized way depends on the amount of planning and training
done before the audit ever starts. Though planning and training may sound timeconsuming
and does require a commitment of time and effort from you and your
employees, it more than makes up for the effort by ensuring a quick and accurate
count that minimizes the disruption to your organization.
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