Introduction
The Stock Take function in PVX enables you to take a blind count of items held within particular containers or locations. There are a number of steps in this process:
When a stock take is started, the location concerned is locked for the duration of the stock take in order for items in that location to be recorded accurately (shown in the mobile app by
). While a location is locked, you cannot pick, move or remove items from that location. However, you can still use Adjustments in the web app, so we recommend that this is avoided during stock taking.
The stock take item and quantity information is then compared to the information in the system for that location using a variance report. This report must be either accepted or rejected. The location concerned will continue to be locked until the stock take is accepted or rejected.
Accepting the variance report will result in the system updating the item quantity in the location to reflect the stock take quantity. Rejecting the variance report will result in the system maintaining the current quantity of the item.
The location is unlocked and the inventory is again available for picking, moving, etc.
Counting stock
The stock take itself must be carried out using the mobile app. The variance report can be accepted or rejected using either the web app or the mobile app.
To perform a stock take using the mobile app:
Open the side menu in the Android app and select Stock Take.
Tap the Items option.
Scan the barcode for the first item you want to count. All inventory in a location should be physically removed when performing a stock take, and then each item is scanned as it is placed back in the location.
Adjust or enter the counted quantity for that item in the location. You can also scan the items individually.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for all the other items in the location.
Scan or enter the location barcode.
Tap STOCK TAKE.
Tip: At least one item is needed to do a stock take. Use ‘Clear location’ to show an empty location. This will also show on the variance report and need to be reviewed
Counting containers
You can also stock take the containers in a location, which involves confirming which containers are present (it does not involve counting the items inside each container):
Open the side menu in the Android app and select Stock Take.
Tap the Containers option.
Scan or enter the barcodes for the container(s) and the location where it is stored.
Tap STOCK TAKE.
Clearing locations/containers
The mobile app also allows you to record locations or containers as being empty of inventory.
Note: You cannot enter a value of zero in a stock take.
Open the side menu in the Android app and select Stock Take.
Tap Clear Locations/Containers.
Scan or enter the barcode for the location(s) or container(s) you want to clear, and then tap CLEAR.
Review and accept the variance report in the same way as for a normal stock take (see above). The system inventory will be updated to show the location or container as holding no inventory.
Stock taking large quantities of items
We recommend that you do not use the Stock Take function if there are more than approximately 180 items in a location. This is because most devices will struggle to process more scans than this in a single operation. If this is unavoidable, use the following method instead:
Create a register reason called ‘Stock take’.
Use the Clear Locations option under Stock Take in the mobile app to empty the location of its items in the WMS.
Accept this change on the variance report in the web app as for normal stock takes.
Use the new register reason to register all the inventory back into the location. This operation can be tracked on a report such as ‘Item movement history’.
Note: Lower powered devices can affect the max number of items that can be scanned in a stock take. If you find problems occur when scanning quantities of items then you should consider upgrading your mobile devices.
Approving/rejecting the variance report
Reviewing & approving stock take variance reports should be done via the web-application.
Note: We highly recommend progressively approving variation reports during the stocktake period. Large backlogs of stocktake variance reports to approve can take time to process. Keeping the backlog down to <100 locations will help maintain performance. Avoid accepting variances for multiple locations that share the same item as this can cause a conflict. If you store the same sku in multiple locations it can be safer it approve variance reports one at a time.
Go to the Stock Take tab in the Warehouse module. The tab displays a list of locations where ongoing stock takes have been performed.
Tick the Select checkbox for the location you want to analyse and then click Variance Report. The report will be displayed. The Stock take quantity is the quantity registered as physically being in the location when the stock take was performed. The Current quantity is the quantity the system has recorded as currently being held in that location.
Click the Accept or Reject option for each item in the location, and then click Save. The system inventory for each item is updated with the stock take quantity (if the variance report was accepted) or remains at the current quantity (if the variance report was rejected). The locations are also unlocked.
You can also view details of past stock takes by ticking the Show past stock takes checkbox. You can then select a stock take and click Variance Report to view the results.
Tip: Use ‘Search for’ in the Stocktake tab to approve variation reports faster. It can be faster to search for individual locations to review than working through the full list. You can get a list of variation reports required to accept by viewing 100 items on a page (this may take some time to load if you have a lot). You can then open a new tab and search for each location in the ‘Stocktake’ tab to accept the variance report.
Reporting
The Stock take approval report lists all approvals and rejections showing results of both stock take and review.