Overview

Cloud Retailer has expanded on the ways users can track and count inventory.  This article will help you understand the options and when you'd use each. 

NOTE: This documentation reflects options available in version 4.6 (or later) of Cloud Retailer. For documentation on earlier versions see here.

Procedure

The way different retailers approach inventory management can be varied.  In an attempt to meet these varied needs, Cloud Retailer has created four related but distinct workflows we call Inventory Count Types.

1. Inventory Check-in
2. Spot Check
3. Quick Adjust
4. Complete Audit

Inventory Check-in

A very lightweight inventory process that is more focused on if a Product is present at a given location, rather than specific quantities.

This process was created for those retailers that see the value in knowing that a product is on hand, but may not be ready yet to commit to a full inventory count.

When to use Inventory Check-in

• When knowing that a product exists at a location is more important than knowing the quantity of the product.
• When you see the value in knowing the products in your system, but a full inventory count seems daunting.

When not to use Inventory Check-in

• When you wish to have an accurate inventory count.
• When you want to understand your inventory value (accurate inventory count x product cost).

Spot Check

Starts with a blank Inventory Count and updates only the Products you've manually added.

When to use Spot Check

• When you want only to count a "handful" of Products.
• When you don't wish to build a count list before scanning Products.

When not to use Spot Check

• When you want to check "all" of something (Store, Department, Supplier, etc.)
• When you want to "zero out" uncounted Products.

Quick Adjust

Defaults the Quantity counted to the Quantity expected for given Products, then provides an interface to quickly adjust values. 

With this method, you can either select all produced in a location (Entire store) or use a Custom filter to narrow down the scope of the Products to count.

When to use Quick Adjust

• When you prefer to manually tweak values quickly without scanning each Product.
• When performing offline counting without import.

When not to use Quick Adjust

• When you want to make use of scanning-optimized tools for data entry.
• When you want to "zero out" uncounted Products.

Complete Audit

A more traditional "full inventory" where all given Products are expected to be scanned and counted.

With this method, you can either select all produced in a location (Entire store) or use a Custom filter to narrow down the scope of the Products to count.

When to use Complete Audit

• When you want to make use of scanning-optimized tools for data entry.
• When you want to "zero out" uncounted Products.
• When you want to continue using the Inventory Count feature as it was prior to version 4.6 of Cloud Retailer.

When not to use Complete Audit

• When you prefer to manually tweak values quickly without scanning each Product.
• When performing offline counting without import.

References

• Overview of Inventory Counting in Cloud Retailer