A full (or physical) inventory count is an inventory auditing procedure where a business physically counts its entire inventory. A full inventory count contrasts with a cycle count in that it requires a break in operation at a facility while all items are counted at one time. To prevent unintended consequences, please make sure no other activity is occurring in the system while a full inventory is being performed.

To see a list of full inventory counts: Navigate to the Full Inventory screen, click Warehouse, Cycle Count, then Full Inventory. Fill out the desired parameters and press Submit to run the report.

To initiate a new full inventory count: Click Create New Inventory. This will open a new header area. Choose the warehouse location and enter the number of parts each user will be responsible for counting (Number of Parts Per User). You can also exclude parts whose total value is too low to count by entering Minimum Part Value (the default value is $100), and/or limit the Full Inventory to include only finished goods (FIG Only), only raw material, or only a certain assigned ABC (usage value) code grouping.

Cetec ERP will take these parameters and values, and break up the full inventory into units of tasks assignable to each user. For instance, one unit may involve counting 25 parts which are located in 31 different bins. After defining the parameters, click Start Full Inventory to initiate the process.

Once you start a full inventory count, you can view and search across all inventory assignments. You can also change the user that a particular unit is assigned to by selecting their user name in this Assigned To drop-down menu and clicking Submit.

To open an assignment and begin counting inventory, click on the assignment ID. The inventory assignment page displays all assigned PRC parts, whether or not they are designated as BOMs, their bin and receipt information, and the various bin quantities.

Total Bin Quantity refers to the total quantity of a part associated with a specific bin location. This includes both materials that are present in the physical bin (Shelf Quantity) and materials picked on work orders (WIP Quantity) and thus missing from the physical bin. Note: A picked part is included in the WIP (work in progress) quantity, and thus still counts towards the total bin quantity, until it is relieved at the time its order is invoiced.

Use the bin location to locate the physical bin. If you follow Cetec’s recommended bin naming convention of “xxx-xxx-xxx” (aisle number, section number, bin number), which we did partially in this example, Cetec ERP will create inventory assignments by grouping bins according to their physical proximity, making the full inventory count process as efficient as possible.

As you proceed through the full inventory count, you’ll be entering actual shelf quantities along with a reason code for each quantity entered. As you work through each line, count the actual number of parts in the bin and enter that number in the Actual Shelf Quantity field. If you have designated a reason code* to be used for times when there is no change in inventory, that reason code will auto-populate any time you enter an Actual Shelf Quantity value that matches the Shelf Quantity value.

To save your changes on a line, click the orange Set button. The row will turn dark gray to indicate that it has been counted and updated. Alternatively, you can enter the quantities and reason codes on every line of the page and then scroll to the column header row and click the Set All orange button to save your changes for all of the lines at once.

If you prefer to perform your full inventory count using paper, use the blue Print link on each line to print out its information. The printout is a form that the user can fill in as they perform the count.

If a part has pieces and serials, an orange Pieces/Serials button will appear on that line. Click it and fill out the pop-up window that appears. After clicking the Set button next to each line of data to save your changes, close out of the pop-up window using the X at the bottom right of the window.

After you have counted every part belonging to the inventory assignment, click the blue Close button in the header area of the screen. You’re taken to the main screen for the full inventory count you’re working on. The progress bar at the top will be updated to show how many bins have been counted so far.

You’ll see completed inventory assignments marked in dark gray, and displaying how many of the assigned bins and parts were “changed” (counted).

When all inventory assignments have been completed, click Close on this main screen to complete the full inventory count.

*To set up reason codes for use in your full inventory counts (if you have the Admin user role): Go to Admin, then Maintenance, then Data Maintenance. Find the InvShortageReason data maintenance table and click into it.

You have the ability to create a reason code that will indicate that the actual counted shelf quantity of a part matches the quantity Cetec already had recorded. To designate a reason code in this way, first give it a name and description and then click the checkbox under “No Inv Change.”