Post-count review: setting and tracking actions

When the difference list has been cleared and the record signed, everybody breathes a sigh of relief, and the count is regarded as done. Yet this is where the work with the greatest benefit begins: the differences have causes, and anyone who does not remove them will meet them again next year. A short post-count review with an action list, owners and dates makes the next count easier.

Preparing the review

Set the date within two weeks of completion, while memories are fresh. Sixty to ninety minutes are enough. Those taking part should be the count leader, warehouse management, accounting or controlling and one or two representatives of the count teams.

Bring along the difference list with cause groups, the actual time sequence of the count and the teams' feedback, which you collected beforehand with a short questionnaire.

Three questions are enough

1. What went well and should stay as it is?
2. What was disruptive, and what was the cause?
3. What are we changing before the next count?

Stick to facts. "In 41 differences the unit was mixed up" is a statement about the process. "X counted sloppily" is an attribution of blame which improves nothing and leads next time to mistakes being concealed.

For the second question the "five whys" method helps: you keep asking for the cause until the answer points to a process and not to a person. An illustrative example: Why was the quantity wrong? Because the count was in cartons instead of pieces. Why? Because no unit was shown at the bin. Why? Because when the bins were set up only the number was assigned. Now the action is found, and it is not "pay more attention" but "add the unit at the bin".

From figure to action (illustrative example)

Suppose the difference list contains 96 entries. Grouped by cause: 41 unit mix-ups, 23 timing gaps, 19 wrong postings, 8 counting errors and 5 unresolved (41 + 23 + 19 + 8 + 5 = 96). The largest group is the unit mix-ups at just under 43 per cent.

The team suspects that at the bins it was not recognisable whether the count was in pieces or in cartons. The action: mark the unit at the bin. The warehouse manager is responsible, the date is six weeks away, and photos and a spot check serve as evidence. For the 23 timing-gap cases, a document cut-off is included in next year's count instructions. This turns figures into a sequence of priorities.

The action list

Each action gets a number, the finding, the suspected cause, the action itself, an owner, a date, the evidence and a status. Keep the list short: five to seven actions that can be implemented achieve more than twenty that nobody works on. Sort by impact, that is by the frequency and value of the differences concerned. Word every action so that it can be ticked off: "unit marked at all bins of zones A to C" can be checked, "improve marking" cannot.

Following up

• A short monthly status round of 15 minutes based on the list.
• Actions not completed move on with a new date and a reason. They do not disappear.
• Effectiveness is checked at the next count or at an interim count.
• Actions that are meant to last go into the count instructions or the work instructions of the warehouse.

The minutes of the review go into the count documentation: participants, date, findings, actions decided. They show the auditor and head office that differences are not only posted but also worked on at the cause. Whether and how the actions feed into the accounts, you discuss with your auditor if required.

In short

The review turns a count into a learning step. In a warehouse audit AuditMaster delivers an action list with prioritised weak points and concrete proposals that you can work through with your team.