Cycle counts

Operate, then Cycle counts. A cycle count is a counting session: it snapshots what the system expects, you count the shelf, and closing the session posts every variance as a stock movement with a reason.

Why not just fix the numbers

Because "just fixing" a count destroys the only thing that makes stock explainable. A cycle count corrects reality and leaves a record of what was wrong and by how much, which is what tells you where your shrinkage actually is.

Running one

1. Create a session and pick the SKUs, usually one section of racking rather than the whole shop.
2. The session snapshots expected quantities at that moment.
3. Count the shelf. Enter counts by keyboard, or scan the barcoded shelf labels at the scan station, which feeds the open session directly and records an increment per scan.
4. Review the variances.
5. Close the session. Every variance posts through the stock service, so the movement ledger explains each correction.

Closed counts are immutable. If you closed one in error, run another rather than trying to edit it.

A counting routine that works

Counting everything once a year is worse than counting a bit every week, because a yearly count finds a year-old problem.

Frequency	What to count
Weekly	One rack, or your top 20 SKUs
Monthly	Everything that moves fast
Quarterly	The long tail

Two people, one scanning and one moving stock, counts a rack in minutes.

Reading the variances

Pattern	Usually means
Consistently short on one size	Misprints not being written off
Short across a whole style	Deliveries received in the system but not physically checked
Long on a SKU	A return restocked twice, or a PO received twice
Random small variances	Normal. Note them and move on

A repeated pattern is worth chasing. A one-off is worth correcting and forgetting.