Your inventory is one of your largest assets, and, as a result, making sure that you keep it organized and well managed throughout the year will ensure your company can maximize profits.

Come year-end, many parts departments begin to agonize over the annual physical parts inventory count - not only is it time-consuming and tedious, but to ensure it is done correctly, everyone must play a role. 

Getting everyone organized can be difficult to say the least. Not to mention staying late to count or, if you choose to do it during working hours, the disruption it causes for not only the parts department but service and admin as well.

While counting inventory can seem straight forward, there is a lot that can go wrong during the process that can leave you with a less organized record of inventory than when you started. Especially if your count team is not properly trained or engaged during the inventory count.

Some common errors that can occur include, but are not limited to:

• Incorrect unit count – miss counting the number of parts; often a result of multiple storage locations for a single part, poor bin organization, missing or incorrect labels or multiple counts in a single package.
• Incorrect unit measures – parts are counted using a unit different to that which is used in the system, i.e. inches vs. feet; often seen with hoses, wire, freon, oil, etc.
• Incorrect part number – part is counted and recorded under a different part number; often a result of mislabeled parts, poor bin management, or misreading the label.
• Cycle counting adjustment error – making an adjustment in the system that was already made but not posted.
• Prepaid or prebilled parts – failing to exclude parts that were prebilled but have not yet been removed from inventory.
• Improper cut-offs – new inventory is counted during the physical count but has not yet been entered into the system.
• WIP parts – failing to count parts that have been installed but not yet associated with the job, i.e. written on the service order.

To ensure your year-end parts count is done correctly and with minimal interruption to your regular business operations, it can be beneficial to hire an inventory management professional, such as Pro Count West.

A professional can ensure that your parts are properly accounted for, that values are appropriately assigned and that the parts department is organized effectively.

They will be able to provide you with advice for maintaining your inventory accuracy throughout the year and also have the skills and expertise to ensure that the inventory is completed in a timely and efficient manner, without disrupting your parts, service or administrative staff.

In addition, the cost of hiring a third-party professional will be offset by the fact that your employees can continue to focus on income-generating tasks.

So, take the stress out of your annual parts inventory count and consider hiring a team of inventory professionals to get your inventory in order and ensure your records are as accurate as possible.

What’s included in Pro Count West’s annual inventory count service:

1. Dedicated Account Manager
2. Initial Consultation
3. Pre-Inventory Preparation
4. 24/7 Support
5. Parts Professionals performing the physical count
6. Data Entry Review and Correction of Variance
7. Complete Financial Report
8. Post Inventory Recap/Consultation
9. Suggestions, Solutions and Recommendations
10. Yearly Free Consultation

If you have any questions or would like a quote, contact us today.