What is warehouse management and how is it done?
The four processes of warehouse management from goods receiving to shipping, how it differs from stock tracking, the warehouse management system and the four numbers to measure.
Guides
Warehouse stock tracking rests on five habits: give every product a unique code, give every shelf an address, record every receipt and issue on the day it happens, set a low stock level for every product, and compare the record with reality through regular counts. The guides below explain these steps independent of any software; you can apply them either in Excel or with the warehouse tracking software. If you are just getting started, the what is warehouse management guide gives the whole picture.
Warehouse stock tracking guides
There are 15 guides in this section; new ones will be listed here as they are added.
How to track warehouse inventory
The five steps of warehouse stock tracking, from assigning product codes to shelf addressing, from calculating the low stock level to cycle counting.
How to do a warehouse stock count
Preparing for count day, the blind count sheet, finding differences and writing down their cause: the six steps of an inventory count and how to calculate the accuracy rate.
What is the low stock level and how is it calculated?
The formula that sets the reorder point, how to calculate it in four steps, safety stock, and a sample table for different product profiles.
What is inventory turnover and how is it calculated?
The formula that finds how many times a year stock turns over and how many days it sits on the shelf, how to calculate it in four steps, and a sample table by industry.
How is warehouse shelf addressing done?
Setting up the aisle-shelf-bay address layout, address format examples, the difference between fixed and dynamic addresses, labeling and ABC placement.
How to do barcode stock tracking
Which products already have a barcode, how to generate barcodes for those that don’t, multiple barcodes, choosing a scanner, and scanning during goods receiving, sales and counts.
What is dead stock and how do you clear it?
How many months of inactivity make a product dead stock, building the list from the last issue date, the dead stock ratio, and five ways to clear goods sitting on the shelf.
What is inventory management and how is it done?
Deciding which product to stock, how much and when: ABC analysis, reorder point, safety stock, order quantity and four measures.
What is a stock card and how do you create one?
The fields a product’s card should have, the stock coding scheme, a sample stock card and creating a card in six steps.
What is waste (shrinkage) and how do you keep a waste record?
Types of waste, a sample waste log for a store, the fields a waste record should contain, how it differs from a count difference and a six-step waste procedure.
How do you assign stock codes?
Six rules of a good stock code, three coding schemes, stock code examples by industry, variant codes and an automatic code formula in Excel.
How is goods receiving done?
The seven steps of goods receiving in warehouses and stores, a checklist, what to do about short, excess or damaged deliveries, and the goods receipt record.
What is FIFO and how is it applied on the shelf?
The first in, first out rule: shelf organization in warehouses and stores, the difference between FEFO and LIFO, six steps to apply it, and a cost example using the FIFO method.
What is a dispatch note (irsaliye) and who issues it?
What a dispatch note (irsaliye, Turkey’s delivery note for goods in transit) is for, who issues it, the information on it, how it differs from an invoice and from a transport waybill, and the seven steps of shipping from the warehouse with a dispatch note.
Where to put the guides into practice
You can see how the shelf, low stock level and count steps in the guides are handled in the software on the features page, and for working on a phone in the warehouse, look at the mobile and web versions.