Tracking your inventoried line items can be handled in two ways.
- Wall-to-wall count - Auditing all inventoried items at one time.
- Cycle count - Dividing inventoried items into sets (e.g. cycle A, cycle B, etc.) which are each counted periodically. Cycle counting is typically more manageable, with any given product being counted every few months.
Cycle Counting in aACE
Fields for managing a cycle count schedule are in the Line Item Codes module, on an inventoried item's detail view:
- Cycle - Used for organizing your various inventoried items into scheduled sets. (See below for batch update tools.)
- Last Count - Shows the last time this inventoried item was counted. (Note: This field must be set manually, as various organizations run inventory counts on various schedules. See below for batch update tools.)
After organizing your inventory cycles, you can use the Advanced Search tool to quickly find all line items in a specific set.
Batch Updates for Cycle Counting
You can update the cycle counting fields for multiple inventoried items at one time. On the LIC module list view, the Actions menu provides easy options to use:
To leverage these batch updates, first use the Quick Search bar or the Advanced Search tool to display the items you want to update. Then select an option from the Actions menu:
- Update Inventory Count Cycle for LICs in List - At the dialog, enter an abbreviation for this group and click Update. (Note: The field width easily fits up to seven characters.)
- Update Last Cycle Count Date for LICs in List - At the dialog, enter the count date and click Update. (Note: You can use 2- or 4-digit years in a mm/dd/yyyy format.)
Inventory Printouts and Adjustments
To assist in the actual count, you can generate a printout of current inventory. Navigate to Order Setup > Line Item Codes > menu bar Print icon > Open Report Selector. Then select Actual Inventory Count by Type.
This printout lists inventoried line items by category, providing item name, item code, current system balance, and blank lines for the counted quantity and the required adjustment. (Note: With this report, the hands-on count will not have the rigor of a blind count, since the system balance is shown.)
After a count, you can make an inventory adjustment to update your system. (Note: Some organizations find it easier to conduct inventory counting right on the Inventory Adjustment module.)