A smooth physical inventory is not luck. It is the result of a handful of things done in the right order, starting weeks before the count team arrives. Here is a timeline you can put on the wall.
8 WEEKS OUT: Lock in your date and clean up your data. Confirm the inventory date with your inventory company, your controller, and your service manager. Run your negative on-hand report and fix the procedure behind each one, not just the quantity.
6 WEEKS OUT: Return what you can. Pull your obsolescence report and submit every manufacturer return still inside its eligibility window. Parts that leave on a return authorization never need to be counted or written off.
4 WEEKS OUT: Clean house. Verify bin locations, assign locations to anything sitting without one, and resolve your special order shelf. Return, bill, or document every aging order.
2 WEEKS OUT: Check your accuracy. Run bin checks on your highest-value sections and correct discrepancies now, while there is still time to find out why. Start a list of every pending return and core credit you are waiting on. You will need it at reconciliation.
1 WEEK OUT: Get the paperwork current. Receive everything on the dock, bill everything that has left, and close completed repair orders. Brief your counter staff and service advisors on the cutoff procedure.
1 DAY OUT: Final prep. Stage in-process orders, separate and tag anything in transit, being returned, or on display, and make sure every aisle is accessible and well lit.
COUNT DAY: Be available. Have someone who knows the department on site to answer questions. Follow the cutoff plan and write down every transaction that happens during the count.
AFTER THE COUNT: Reconcile with care. Account for posting timing, unposted repair orders, and pending credits before anyone declares a variance. Investigate large differences while memories are fresh.
None of this is complicated. It just has to start before the calendar makes it urgent. If your inventory is not on the schedule yet, now is the time. Visit www.precisioninv.com to learn more.