This guide will teach you the basics of creating and managing Cycle Counts in the ShipHero web app.
How to Create a New Cycle Count
Recounts and How to Manage Them
How to Create a New Cycle Count
From the ShipHero Dashboard, navigate to Inventory > Cycle Count.
Choose the type of Cycle Count you want to create. Your choices are:
- Locations
- Items
- Items flagged for recount
Next, select your filters for the Cycle Count. The filters will vary depending on the type of Cycle Count you choose.
Once you have selected the necessary filters, click the Create button. ShipHero will create a new Cycle Count for you based on your selected criteria.
Locations Cycle Counts
For Locations Cycle Counts, filters and fields include:
- Assigned to
- Due Date
- Sort Options
- Exclusions
You can also choose specific location parameters to even further narrow down or expand the scope of the Cycle Count.
Items Cycle Counts
For Items Cycle Counts, filters and fields include:
- Assigned to
- Due Date
- Sort Options
- Exclusions
For Items Cycle Counts, instead of specific location parameters, you can choose to select a specific client. This is especially helpful if a client is disputing an inventory count or looking for an audit.
For Items Flagged for Recount Cycle Counts, filters and fields are more limited. For this type of count, the most important fields are listed under Item Parameters, which allows you to input a specific SKU to be recounted. Or you can choose to recount all the items that have been flagged.
Managing your Cycle Counts
You can track all of your Cycle Counts from the dashboard. At a glance, you can see if their status is Pending, In Progress, or Closed. You can also track important details such as the due date, the assigned user, the progress percentage, and any discrepancies.
NOTE: The type of cycle count is listed beneath the name in the Cycle Count column. Selecting a specific count will display slightly different information based on the cycle type.
For example, if you click on an Item type cycle count, you will see which SKUs are part of this cycle:
You can add items to the cycle and remove items that have not been counted yet. Once an item is assigned to a counter, the item cannot be removed from the cycle.
NOTE: An Items flagged for recount cycle will look similar to an Item cycle, but it will also show the user that counted last so that you can assign a different user.
You can edit details such as the name and due date for the cycle:
You can also choose to end the cycle count at any time.
What if a batch does not close? Perform the following:
In some instances, a cycle count will not close. Please view the batch and check to see if some of the locations are locked (The locations will be grayed out):
If so, then check the boxes of the locations that are locked and click remove lock:
Other details include:
- Expected quantities
- Counted quantities
- Which user counted the item
- Time tracked
When you click on a Locations type cycle count, you will see which locations are part of this cycle. You will also see all the SKUs in the bin:
Note: The Export CSV button allows you to download these details as a CSV file so that you can use the data to make strategic business decisions.
Recounts and How to Manage Them
A recount is when another user counts an SKU to confirm the discrepancy from a previous count.
By default, variances are not required to be recounted by another user. If you want a recount enabled, you can change this setting to flag discrepancies for a recount for additional accuracy.
Recounts are flagged until 2 consecutive counts confirm the discrepancy.
For example, assume that the expected amount is 10, but the counter counts 8. A few are picked from that location, so the new expected is 8. If the counter counts 6, ShipHero will close the recount and update the on-hand to 6.
The SKU will be flagged for another recount if the discrepancy does not match.
Auto-generated Recounts
Recounts can also be set to generate automatically as soon as the initial count is marked as closed. In order to enable this setting, go to settings and enable "auto generate recounts"
Types of Recounts
Unit Discrepancy
When the expected amount (what ShipHero thinks we have in that location) does not match what the counter inputs during the count.
Unexpected SKU in Location
When counting by location, the user must count all items in that location. If there is an unexpected item, we will flag that item for a recount and have a counter check all the sites with that SKU to see where there was a mistake.
When counting by SKU, we do not check for unexpected SKUs in the location since we only care about the specific SKU for that cycle. If an SKU not part of the cycle is scanned, we return an error and tell the user to scan a different SKU.
Lot Discrepancy
When the lot ShipHero has in that location does not match the lot that the counter identifies to be in that location. Lots will be flagged and have a discrepancy icon, but will not show to be recounted.
This is because the location cannot have more than one lot, so ShipHero cannot automatically update the lot based on a recount. Instead, the system will flag that SKU and show the lot discrepancy icon in the UI, but it will be up to the manager to check the lot and transfer out the incorrect lot as necessary.