The Methodologies and Technologies Models for Performing Physical Inventory Counts - Review Ali kamali I. A BSTRA CT Inventory management is considered the high management's responsibility and the main concern for managers in all types of businesses , especially in the manufacturing industry, and controlling of inventory is a key issue experienced by many sectors of the economy. This paper will rev iew and examine best practices and technologies that can be used by firms to control inventory through imp lementing different physical inventory methodologies for cost saving and better customer services. However, in current business, the availability of informat ion systems can allow business to make a great improvement for effective and efficient control of inventory and physical counting. The paper reviews the literature and previous studies to discuss the best effects for performing an inventory cycle and physical counting, and review the new technologies that are proposed to enhance the process. The paper also discussed potential areas for research.
II. KEYWORDS Materials Management (MM), Inventory Control, Cycle counting, Information System, New Technologies.
III. INTRODUCTION aterials management (MM) is an essential business activity responsible to maintain a flow of materials and other stock items (inventory) used in an organization, and deals with other functions in the supply chain management, such as the planning, acquisition, and supply of overall material flows throughout the whole supply chain [27]. One of the key roles of MM is Inventory control. The main reason that an organization holds inventories is to ensure to satisfy customers' demands on the right time [11]. To this end, providing a better customer service is related directly to a function of inventory control and hence making a decision on
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the inventory management policy has to be decided based on some factors, especially inventory and holding costs. In other words, the inventory which being decided to keep in stock must be reasonable, that will not lead to increase costs by keeping too much and at the same not too little wh ich could affect on the customer service level. Inventory control is then is a must as the accountability aspect for tracking the inventories in the warehouse either through a manual or computerized basis. The process is known as physical inventory counting that allows to ensure stock accuracy and determine any mistakes might affect on the accuracy of inventories in s tock. Moreover, the physical inventory counting is the activity of counting inventories held in stock to ensure the stocks on-hand reflect the stock record's balance on-hand [9], and it is an ideal method to enable a firm to effectively support customers by ensuring that the required inventories on-hand. Also, the physical counting process is the relationship between daily transactions conducted in the warehouse and imbalances might exist, and in case any imbalance found by a cycle counter the on-hand balance is corrected to match the recorded balance. In other words, the physical counts are compared to inventory records and if necessary, the records get corrected through following a specific procedure implemented by each firm. The physical counting process is conducted throughout the year as per the procedures set up by management in a firm, and the main goal is to ensure 100 percent stock is tallied. The physical counting process has proved the ideal method to maintain stock accuracy according to many studies conducted. For example, [32] indicated the advantage of this methodology after conducting a study at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center (WPM C) Supply Activity. They found the high level of inventory accuracy resulted after implementing the physical counting that used to be conducted annually. [25] stated some success stories in their review paper, they quoted a survey conducted by Springsteel which indicated 20% of co mpanies could achieve an inventory accuracy of higher 98%,
and 60% of co mpanies could achieve between 60% to 97% of stock accuracy after imp lementing the physical counting. On the other hand, companies that not implementing the physical counting faced major issues that affect their supply chain performance. For example, [14] indicated the major issues that affected the supply chain performance because inventory records found to be inaccurate by 65% in the items stored at a publicly traded retailer. With growing of technology, different types of informat ion systems (IS) are currently used for providing informat ion to support operations, management and the decision making function in a firm, and inventory control is an important component in any IS offered by IT providers. Basically, the inventory system is imp lemented to help firms manage, control, and make sure the goods in stock are well managed and organized [35]. Also, the main ro le of the inventory system is to avoid the uncertainty of inventories , whether over-or under the required stock level that should be available in the warehouse.The physical counting process is normally designated to a permanent staff known as a cycle counter to take responsibility for maintaining a high level of inventory accuracy and integrity within a firm. His/her duty is to monitor inventory levels and product movement, along with performing daily cycle counts, and that depends if a firm uses the perpetual counting system. There are some requirements are considered in s electing an employee to take such responsibility. This paper will review different types of physical cycle counting methods used practically by firms, and review literature of previous studies conducted in the field. Finally, the paper will conclude with some future work related to the topic.
IV. RELATED WORK According to [42], inventory control is to ensure availability of stock items to the customers.The control of inventories is coordinated between more than one function in a firm, warehouse, purchasing, manufacturing and finance, and inventory management should not be an isolated function throughout the supply chain management [29]. The term inventory is meant different types of items such as the supply of trade items, materials, consumables; spare parts, obsolescent items and all other supplies [42]. [9] defined Inventory as any items that a company holds on-hand to support its operational needs, and thus they need to be managed and controlled by the management. There are different
type of inventories that are used throughout a firm’s production and logistics channel such as stockpiles of raw materials, components, work in process, and fin ished goods. Many studies discussed the role of inventory in a firm, and most of papers agreed upon one concept that the sustainability of a business depends on an efficient method that can be used to control the existing inventory. [20] stated that any decision related to inventory management must be a compro mise between the costs of supplying inventory, inventory-holding costs and costs resulting fro m insufficient inventories, for that reason management must hold inventories that not increase costs and at the same time not affect ongoing operations in the firm. [41] stated that holding stock must be based on a suitable balance between service level and storing costs, and that should be a goal to be targeted by a firm. [10] described some specific reasons that a firm should hold inventories in his book. He stated that for holding inventories a firm must have procedures in place that are adhered by all functions involved. He added, inventories must not be overstocked or understocked, and that should be through a coordination between all functions by providing real t ime informat ion to control all aspects of inventories through the system being used. [17] defined in his paper that the only reason a firm must keep inventories is to satisfy customer demands and manage it effectively, and the same objective mentioned by [29]. For effective inventory control, management is responsible to ensure stock records are accurate all the time by tracking the inventory on hand, and for that reason the physical counting role has occurred within most business organizations, especially in the manufacturing industry. [12] defined physical inventory counting the most important: to indicate the value of stores in stock; ” It is important to make provision for obsolescence accounts, redundant accounts, and for surplus and loss accounts". The physical inventory counting is an important process conducted either periodically or perpetually [33]. [31] defined the physical inventory counting is an added value to a firm to ensure time and money are not wasted within MM. [4] described the physical inventory counting as the process to reduce errors that might occur due to mistakes made on a day to day activities in the warehouse, and it should be expanded throughout the supply chain. Normally, the warehouse takes the responsibility of inventory counting as most stock items are stored there, and thus warehousing is well familiar about each item stored. Furthermore, the key principle of physical inventory system is to know where inventories are and everything about them, and thus errors can be
discovered easily by the warehouse as they monitor and measure inventory after each action and transaction [4]. [38] in their study found that the warehouse is the right function that could handle the responsibility of inventory's monitoring and counting, and any inaccuracy of stock records as daily transactions are carried out by them, and for that reason they discovered if the role is handled by other functions it could bring poor inventory management. The physical inventory counting system is conducted according to the procedure agreed by management in each firm [30]. So me firms conduct the physical counting periodically based on a fixed time decided by management and others as continuous review through daily perpetual stocktake. As defined by [33], based on the periodic system, inventories are counted at weekly, monthly, quarterly, o r annual basis. The advantages of the periodic review system is to review the inventories at fixed time intervals, and that is happening through a predefined time in the system by inventory management for controlling the replenishment system in case any variation found in the existing inventory [30]. Moreover, through the periodic system the existing inventories are not examined frequently to make the inventory system more reluctant towards changes. On the other hand, the continuous system is set to control the existing inventory on daily or perpetual basis, and to keep track of removals fro m the inventory on a continual basis [33]. Furthermore, the system is set to monitor the inventories after daily transactions carried out by the warehouse as the informat ion can be provided on time for the current level of inventory, and thus warehousing is able to react quickly to find out any errors, pilferage, spoilage, and other factors that may distort the records [33]. However, some firms conduct the two systems together in order to integrate the objectives of the physical inventory process for more protection of inventories. [29] stated the continuous system can react agilely to change, but the periodic system enables the management to review the inventories for re-order-point (ROP) and replenishment needs, so combining them will add more value to inventory control. Firms are using different types of informat ion technology and systems to control inventories and hence makes the physical inventory system more easier to perform. [37], in his master thesis stated that without the information system stock items are difficult to control and hence achieve the accuracy in recording inventory levels. He added, the informat ion system is an impo rtant tool for controlling inventories in a firm, and only through the IS the physical inventory system can be implemented. Furthermore, after each task carried out by a stock counter the
inventory can be crossed checked either based on the continuous review or the periodic review, and ERP is a good examp le in this regard. The author of this study has published full functionality and advantages of ERP in a recent paper published by CiiT International journal [1]. There are d ifferent types of technologies offered to facilitate the role of the physical counting system in a firm, and most of them have been proved their functionality to meet the firm's requirements. [24] stated that one of an effective technology proved its functionality is bar coding. They added that bar coding is used to simp lify inventory control through increasing the performance in stock management. The system is used to track the existing inventory with auto featured function. Furthermore, bar coding is used in an automatic routing, scheduling, sorting and packaging, and it is processed in the warehouse constantly for updating the item records. [24]. [16] provided a more accurate description about bar coding functionality, they described it as a method of tracking inventory for controlling the level of inventory and reorder situation, and that enables to avoid any errors in terms of stock outages or overstocking. Furthermo re, when a stock counter scans any stock item through the Barcoding system, the information is recorded in real time in the system for cross checking with the on-hand inventories in later stage. Another advanced technology is used for the physical inventory counting is radio-frequency identificat ion (RFID). As defined by [13], the RFID technology is the system that used to obtain information about a certain stock item. Moreover, the system works through the rapid transmission of data, and it is used to avoid any overstocked or understocked in the warehouse. [19] proved the reliab ility of RFID through a case study conducted in the automotive industry, the inventory found accurate all the t ime. To th is end, using info rmat ion systems is important to control inventories through the physical inventory role, however, the mentioned IT devices must be integrated to a WMS that is used by a firm. [15] stated that an integrated system enables a firm to make timely and effective decisions for inventory controlling and planning, as data are recorded in real time to plan for M RP, MRPII, inventory reorder levels, and correcting of any stock variat ions, and ERP is the system used by most firms to manage such operations. The information that is used in the physical inventory process is divided into three categories as defined by [4]. The three categories are: fixed information, variable information and derived informat ion, and each category included specific info rmation that needs to be investigated and audited. For examp le, Fixed informat ion includes product code, description,
size and weight. Variab le info rmation includes location of each unit, movement of each picked item and load status. Derived information is movement rate, stock discrepancies and space utilizat ion.
V. PHYSICA L CYCLE COUNTING METHODOLOGIES The ideal methodologies can make the physical counting effective must be based on inventories and techniques to test all inventory integrations for selected number of items that are counted periodically or perpetually. As mentioned in the previous section that physical counting can be performed by stock keeping unit (SKU) or by stock location. Ho wever, there are some approaches must be considered by a stock counter when conducting the physical inventory counting as defined by [33]. He stated that the process shoud be classified into three categories, namely very important (A), moderately important (B), and least important (C). [7] explained that the ABC analysis is made the job easy as the firm concentrates on the high value and more consuming stock items rather than all items which could consume time and money for unreliable results. The analysis is based on the Pareto law through the 80-20 concept as defined by [5]. In other words, items with the top 20 percent are classified A items, the next 30 percent classified B items, and the remainder classified C items. He added, one of advantageous to classify items in three categories is to differentiate the level of logistics treatment in order to focus more on availab ility of stock that are more demanding by customers, avoid any stock inaccuracy in the system, and to draw managers’ attention to the A items which are considered critical, and not on the trivial many like C items. However, some firms classify stock items based on price and quality in order to maintain corporate's image rather than just consuming items. For example, Albert Heijn is imp lementing such the strategy as the corporate strategy for the sake of customer intimacy. According to [42], the company has classified stock based on the product price and its quality in inventory management to ensure customers ' loyalty. When the physical counting is conducted the classification of items helps the counter to manage and control items according to their contribution to the annual profit and cost of the entire inventory system. One of good examp le in this regard is the inventory policy that was conducted by Lorman Technology pvt. Ltd. Bangalore, as discussed in a paper publish by [40], after the company classified raw materials into three categories the efficiency of
the company imp roved as costs of non-active materials decreased, and it was the beneficiary of the company after reducing non-active item. Another technique that is used in the physical inventory counting is critical value analysis (CVA ). The technique is opposite to the ABC analysis by paying more attention to C items rather than A items. As stated by [5], CVA is an analysis conducted based on stockout rates. The stockout situation as defined by [39] is a stock item or product is missing from the warehouse and not available to meet customer demands.Furthermo re, stcockout is considered as disturbance and it is an inverse to lean inventories, as described by [2]. Furthermore, the stockout situation is the main cause to the financial costs for a firm if it continues to occur, as noted by [34]. To this end, stockout is considered in the CVA analysis when conducting the physical inventory counting, and based on the analysis a stock item is categorized as follows according to [22]: 1. Top priority: crit ical item, and no stockouts are permitted. 2. High priority: essential item, but limited stockouts is permitted. 3. Medium priority: necessary item, but occasionally stockout permitted. 4. Lo w priority: desirable item, but stockouts is allowed. 5. Lo west priority: needed item, but stockouts is permitted on a wide basis. After that the stockout rates are assigned subjectively to each category. Top priority items might have zero stockouts, high priority items a 3 percent stockout rate, mediu m priority a rate of 6 percent, low priority 10 percent, and the lowest priority 15 percent [22]. The product-based and location-based technique is another physical inventory counting model that is implemented by firms. The technique either uses location or stock item as a base for counting and auditing, and it depends on the physical counting policy decided by inventory management in each firm [3]. The system works through counting a group of items located in one area in the warehouse, or based on stock categories that could be located in different areas in the warehouse. Furthermore, the stock counter is responsible to decide items that need to be counted through printing out the list of stocks and count each one either based on the product-based or location-based, or the combination of both. [8] suggested a technique to count stock items based on SKU method. The method is built upon the examination of SKUs that are convenient to count. The method depends on the inventory records for each SKU at each bin location in the warehouse. Furthermore, the method is used by a stock counter through counting and checking the parts that can be
easily counted in every location, and then he/she makes adjustments necessary as overages or shortages are discovered. For the parts that not easy to count, the counter checks the part identification, location, and order size, and then “eye balls” or estimates the number of parts in the bin location to compare randomly to the number of parts recorded in the system. If there is a large discrepancy between the numbers of parts in the bin compared to what the recorded inventory shows , then a precise count is attained and an adjustment is made. [8] stated that the method helps to count 10-20 times the part numbers in a given time period with no extra cost, but its disadvantage is to count items that “easy to count”. The last technique that is discussed in this paper is Statistical Process Control (SPC), and it was suggested in various studies. The method as a tool for achieving the process stability and imp roving capability through the reduction of variability [28]. [21] used this tool to monitor stock adjustment through an analytical model. He was able to integrate SPC as a means to improve inventory control and management as stated in his book. Furthermore, he suggested the C-chart is a reasonable approach to monitor inventory adjustments for sample sizes, and it is likely effect ive in real world applications. VI. IMPROVING THE PHYSICA L INVENTORY COUNTING USING NEW TECHNOLOGIES The key question that is raised by researchers: are the current methodologies and techniques are possible to let firms to achieve their objectives regarding the physical inventories counting? According to many studies, many firms yet able to achieve the objectives due to some weaknesses in the inventory control process. According to [6], inventories are still affecting for both the financial and the economic performance of the company; therefore firms should find better ways to deal with such imp lications to achieve higher profitability levels. Furthermore, in a study conducted by [6], they found that 65% of 370,000 inventory records in 37 different stores were inaccurate, even with conducting the physical counting annually in their stores. To this end, researchers are thinking to propose different methodologies to improve the physical inventory counting for better inventory control by management, and justifying that inventory management of the nearand far-future won’t look anything like it does today because of technology has made the life easier for firms to think rationally to achieve their objectives. [26] stated in her report published in April 2018 that
there is a continued march of progress and methodologies in inventory management throughout the supply chain that firms need to take into account to imp rove inventory control, including the physical counting process. One of imp roving process that she proposed and able to make the physical counting process easier and accurate is the "Pick-to-Light and Put-to-Light Systems and Voice Tasking", which is a straightforward process as she explained. The system works through direct interacting with inventory in bin locations. She added, each bin in the rack contains a light that visually directs the counter to the right location and the bin has an acknowledge button which enable h im/her to reg ister their interaction with the bin and create a record of stock “touches.” The system is able to improve the process through avoiding error and track down problems. Another technique which has been recently proposed for improving the physical inventory counting process as part of inventory control is the "Blockchain" technology. According to [18], the system is used to keep track of all online transactions securely and anonymously, and keep all actions made recorded by all co mputers in concerned functions that are connected into the Blockchain. Furthermore, the system can be utilized in the physical counting process through tracking inventory and documenting the counted inventories and hence creating an indestructible history of the inventories for agility updating in the system. The technology enables radically to reduce time delays and human interventions error that plagues transactions through the traditional inventory systems. For examp le, when the stock counter conducts a physical counting then he/she creates a “transaction block”, which is then shown to everyone in the network. When the transaction is approved, the block is then added to the other blocks that other functions can view it and ensure the proper counting has been made for inventories. The blocks create a long chain, therefore getting the name “Blockchain. The robot is a new technology that is considered in new business, and it is a new technology designates the modern way of evolution of society and development of automated systems. As the inventory control is the crucial part of business, that raises the need for using the robot technology to solve problems of inventory control in the organizations. As stated by [23], a robotic system can be utilized inside the warehouse using computerized barcode stickers, which is used for guidance to stock bin locations positioning on the floor of the facility. To this point, the physical inventory process can be implemented by the robotic system instead of human
as it is the most cost-effective, quality, productivity, and flexibility way to achieve the accuracy of stock records. Furthermore, the system at the warehouse can work through a laser pointer, picking lights, computer monitor and barcode scanner, and the counter just needs to select the required items for the robot to count [36].
VII. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the paper is focused on physical inventory process in order to achieve inventory control optimization for cost saving and better customer service. As elaborated in this paper, the optimal management of inventories is a key objective for the firms and its implication on both the financial and the economic performance of firms. The paper discussed in details the role of inventory control to maximize the productivity of holding inventories in a firm, and to meet customers ' demands. The most important topic discussed in this paper was about the physical inventory counting process as the key process of inventory control, and discussed different methodologies and techniques associated with physical inventory currently imp lemented for optimizing the inventory control by firms, using reliable sources and studies conducted in recent years. Furthermore, the existing physical inventory methodologies, as concluded in many studies, proved to some extent their contribution to optimizing the current inventory structure, eliminating non-active stocks, and improving the availab ility of stock items. However, there are still some issues with stock inaccuracy in some firms even with the existing physical inventory procedures. For that reason, the paper discussed the new technologies that can be considered by firms to imp rove the physical inventory process, and hence achieving better control of inventories. Moreover, the new technologies have been proven through many studies their efficiency as new trends to improve the physical inventory counting for better inventory control. The paper also discussed the importance of information systems for integrating the systems used for performing a physical counting with the ERP that is used by all functions to keep track of the inventory records in real t ime. For future work, the research completed in this paper basically considered the previous works conducted by researchers in the field of supply chain, and as aforementioned, the existing and new technologies have proved the usefulness of methodologies of the physical counting process, however, firms should
think wisely and strategically regarding imp roving the inventory control process, and a particular emphasis must be considered for the purpose of reaching the objectives. Data analytics is a new trend that helps firms making the use of data in inventory management. The analysis relies on the digital technology for having access and visibility into more useful data about the efficiency of inventory management. Furthermo re, the method is used analytical insights that can help automatically to identify best practice improvements for inventory control [6]. Just-in-time (JIT) is another inventory management philosophy that should be considered for more efficient and cost saving. The fundamental principles of JIT are to eliminating of waste, continuous quality improvement and encouragement of worker part icipations planning and execution. This author of this paper has recently published a full functionality and advantages of JIT, and discussed how it can improve inventory control in a firm.
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AUT HOR BIOGRAPHY
Ali Kamali is a Bahraini cit izen and he is a researcher in the supply chain management studies. He has a PhD in Business Information System fro m London South Bank University in the UK. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) in the UK. His research and publication interests include Information Systems and studies for improving the supply chain systems in firms working in Bahrain. Email:
[email protected] LinkedIn :www.lin kedin.co m/dr-ali-kamali-25604450
