Cycle Counts

A cycle count is an auditing method for estimating the inventory of a warehouse without counting every single object inside. It’s a sampling technique that involves counting some items and using those numbers to calculate how many items there are in the whole warehouse. Cycle count systems may save time and avoid plant closures for full inventory counts. There are several methods for cycle counting that are appropriate in different situations.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Since a cycle count IS NOT an exact count, the estimate of total inventory may be stronger or weaker according to the process used to perform the cycle count. If the cycle count is erroneous, the estimate of the entire inventory may be incorrect as well.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Methods include (but not limited to) counting the top percentage of items that are “movers,” (aka ABC method) or top percentage of higher dollar value items.