Cycle counting

To undertake the Stock-take process through out the year based on the ABC Classification.

Overview
In cycle counting, the periodic counting of individual items through out the course of year to ensure the accuracy of inventory quantities and values. Items of higher value are counted more frequently than items of lower value. Accurate on-hand quantities are essential for maintaining high service levels. Cycle counting can be performed instead of taking complete physical inventory or both techniques can be used side by side to verify the inventory quantities and values. The system and physical count may have a variance on account of various reasons. Some of the most common reasons are: Lack of discipline in receiving and / or issuing items. Items may be issued / received without entering transaction details in the system. Wrong transaction quantity may be entered into the system. Pilferage or theft etc. Wrong identification of items and entering wrong data into the system.

Cycle Counting Process

Define a cycle count header. Each cycle count header needs to be given a name. The
nomenclature of (Store Name_Month &Year_Running Number) may be followed in defining the physical inventory. E.g. ALG_DEC04_1.

In Cycle count header initialize the cycle count items, specify count frequencies, enter the
automatic scheduling parameters, cycle count header, count entry controls.

On running the perform the full cycle count program, Items are scheduled as well as count
requests and count lists are generated

Enter the cycle counts and complete the process of counting The discrepancies / variances will be analyzed by management using Cycle counts pending
approval Report.

After all the variances have been analyzed and reconciled, they will be approved by the
management.

Subsequent to the approval, adjustments will be done to update inventory for the adjustment
quantities and pass the relevant accounting entries. The various details to be entered in different screens along with the navigation is provided below: Step 1: Defining Cycle Count Navigation: Counting Cycle counting Cycle counts New Screen: Cycle counts Screen Shot Cycle Counts (Control and Scope) 1. Navigate to the Cycle Count Summary folder window by selecting Cycle Counts on the menu and choose New to open the Cycle Counts window. 2. Enter a unique name for the cycle count. 3. Enter the workday calendar to use for this cycle count. Inventory uses this calendar to determine the days on which to automatically schedule cycle counts. 4. Enter the general ledger account to charge for cycle count adjustments. To enter control and scope information for your cycle count: 1. Select the Control, Scope tabbed region. 2. Enter the Count Controls: Optionally, enter the date on which the cycle count becomes inactive. As of this date, you cannot generate schedules or perform any counting activities for this cycle count. Enter the number of workdays that can pass after the date the count request was generated, before a scheduled count becomes a late count. Enter the sequence number to use as the starting number in the next count request generator. The count sequence number uniquely identifies a particular count and is used in ordering the cycle count listing.

Determine whether you can enter counts for items not scheduled to be counted (Unscheduled Entries). Determine whether to display system onhand quantities during count entry. 3. Determine whether Inventory automatically assigns a status of Recount to out oftolerance counts and includes them in the next cycle count listing. If you turn this option on, navigate to the Maximum field and enter the maximum number of times Inventory can generate an automatic recount request. Once this number is reached the adjustment must be approved or rejected. 4. Determine the subinventories to include in the cycle count. If you choose Specific subinventories, you can navigate to the Subinventory region and select the subinventories to include in the cycle count. Screen Shot Cycle Counts (Serial and Schedule) To enter serial number control and auto schedule information: 1. Navigate to the Serial Control, Schedule tabbed region. 2. Select the count option to determine whether to exclude serialized items from the cycle count (Not Allowed), create one count request for each serial number (One Per Request), or create multiple serial details in a count request (Multiple Per Request). 3. Select the detail option: Quantity and Serial Numbers: Serial number and quantity are required and are validated when entering adjustments. Quantity Only: Serial number entry is optional if the count quantity matches the system quantity, regardless of whether the serial numbers match. If you do not enter serial numbers, the count is marked as completed, and no adjustments are performed. If you do enter serial numbers, both quantity and serial numbers are validated when determining whether adjustments are required. 4. Select the adjustment option: Adjust if Possible: If a discrepancy exists between the count quantity and system quantity or if the entered serial numbers do not correspond to the serial numbers already in the specified location, then the system will attempt to make adjustments if the adjustment variance and value are within tolerances. These adjustments consist of receipts and issues of the appropriate serial numbers to and from the specified location and are applicable only to instances in which new serial numbers or shipped serial numbers are counted. Review All Adjustments: No automatic adjustments are attempted. 5. Select the discrepancy option to indicate whether an adjustment is attempted when a count includes a serial number already assigned to the same item elsewhere in the system. 6. Determine whether to automatically schedule this cycle count. If you turn automatic scheduling on, enter the following information: Frequency: Indicate whether to schedule cycle counts Daily, Weekly, or By period. Inventory uses this information, along with the count frequency of each cycle count class, when performing automatic cycle count scheduling. The value you enter here dictates the window of time within which you can enter counts against a schedule bucket. Last Date: Inventory displays the last date this cycle count was automatically scheduled. Next Date: Inventory displays the first workday for the next schedule interval when this cycle count is scheduled. You can enter a later date in this field if you want to override the automatic schedule and skip one or more intervals. If your schedule interval is Weekly or By period, the date you enter must be the first workday of the period for which you want to generate schedule requests. 7. Optionally, determine whether to automatically generate requests to count items with an on hand quantity of zero. Screen Shot Cycle Counts (Adjustments and ABC) To define adjustments and ABC information: 1. Navigate to the Adjustments, ABC tabbed region. 2. Determine when approval is required for adjustments: Never: Inventory automatically posts adjustment transactions where entered counts differ from system balances. If out of tolerance: Inventory does not automatically post adjustment transactions for counts outside a specified approval tolerance. You must approve such adjustments before posting. Always: You must approve all cycle count adjustments, regardless of tolerance levels, before Inventory can post any of them.

3. If you choose to require approval for adjustments If out of tolerance, enter positive and
negative tolerances. Qty Variance: Enter the percentage variances of count quantity to onhand quantity beyond which adjustments are held for approval. Adjustment Value: Enter the adjustment values beyond which adjustments are held for approval. Hit/Miss Analysis: Enter the percentage variances of count quantity to onhand quantity beyond which Inventory considers a count entry a miss for hit/miss reporting. 4. Optionally, enter ABC initialization or update information: Group: Enter the ABC group name on which to base the cycle count item initialization or update. Option: Choose one of the following options: None: Do not change to the list of cycle count items. (Re) initialize: Use the ABC group you specified to load all items and their ABC assignments into the list of items to include in your cycle count. If you already had items defined for your cycle count, this action deletes existing information and reloads the items from the ABC group. Update: Use the ABC group, you specified to insert new cycle count items. If you chose the update option: Indicate whether to update classes. If an items ABC class assignment in the ABC group you specified is different from the cycle count class this item is assigned, Inventory updates the cycle count class for the item with the ABC assignment in the specified ABC group. Indicate whether to delete unused item assignments that are no longer referenced in the specified ABC group. 5. Save your work. To enter ABC classes to include in your cycle count: Choose the Classes button. Defining Cycle Count Classes You can enter ABC classes to include in your cycle count. You can also enter approval and hit/miss tolerances for your cycle count classes. Screen Shot Cycle Count Classes To define cycle count classes: 1. Navigate to the Cycle Count Summary folder window. 2. Select a cycle count and choose Open. 3. In the Cycle Counts window choose Classes. The Cycle Count Classes window appears. 4. Enter the name of the ABC class to use to define your cycle count classes. 5. Enter the number of times per year you want to count each item in this class. 6. Optionally, enter positive and negative tolerances. If you do not enter tolerances, Inventory uses the values you entered in the Cycle Counts window. Quantity %: Enter the percentage variances of count quantity to on hand quantity beyond which adjustments are held for approval. Adjustment Value: Enter the adjustment values beyond which adjustments are held for approval. Hit/Miss %: Enter the percentage variances of count quantity to on hand quantity beyond which Inventory considers a count entry a miss for hit/miss reporting. Note that the hit/miss percentage is based on the first count of an item not recounts. 7. Save your work. Perform Cycle Counting 1. To perform cycle counting go to cycle counts menu, open the cycle count go to tools and Select Perform Full Cycle Count. Screen Shot Perform Full Cycle Count 2. Enter the cycle count name in the Parameters of Generate Automatic Schedule Requests, Generate cycle count request, Cycle Count listing 3. Click on Schedule, Select to Run the Job periodically and give the time frame. Also click increment date parameters in each run. Screen Shot Schedule 4. Submit the Request Cycle Count Scheduling Automatic Scheduling Oracle Inventory uses the number of items in each cycle count class, the count frequency of each

class, and the workday calendar of your organization to determine how many and which items you need to count during the scheduling frequency. In order for Inventory to perform automatic scheduling you must: Set the Cycle Count Enabled item attribute to Yes for the items you want to include in the cycle count. Enable automatic scheduling when you define your cycle count. Request the schedule using the Generate Automatic Schedule Requests window. Each time the auto scheduler runs, it schedules counts only for the schedule interval you defined for the cycle count header. So if your schedule interval is weeks, Inventory schedules all items that need to be counted on all of the workdays in the current week. If your schedule interval is days, then Inventory only schedules those items that are due for counting on the current date. Manual Scheduling You can manually schedule counts in addition to, or instead of those generated with automatic scheduling. You can request counts for specific subinventories, locators, and items, and set the count for any inventory date. For example, you could enter a request to count item A wherever it can be found in subinventory X. Or you could request to count all item quantities in subinventory Y, locator B100. Since manually scheduled counts have no impact on automatically scheduled counts, you can potentially count some items more frequently than you had initially planned. Entering Manual Schedule Requests You can schedule an item or location for cycle counting at any time. You may manually schedule cycle counts to supplement your automatic schedules. You use this feature to achieve item based or locationbased cycle counting. To manually schedule cycle count requests: Screen Shot Manual Schedule Requests 1. Navigate to the Manual Schedule Requests window or choose the Schedule button on the Cycle Counts Summary folder window. 2. Enter the cycle count name you are scheduling. 3. Select the item or location (subinventory) for counting. You can manually schedule specific items by entering values in different combinations of the item, revision, lot, serial number, subinventory, and locator fields. If you do not enter an item, you must enter a subinventory. Inventory schedules a count of all items stocked in this subinventory. If you enter an item and a subinventory, Inventory schedules the item to be counted only in this subinventory. 4. Enter the date on which Inventory is to schedule the count you have specified. The date you enter cannot be before todays date and must be a va lid workday as defined by the workday calendar for your cycle count. 5. Indicate whether to generate count requests for this item, revision, lot, serial number, subinventory, or locator combination even if the system onhand quantity is zero. This may be useful in performing exceptionbased counting to verify that the actual onhand quantity is indeed zero. 6. Save your work. Step 2: Enter cycle counts Navigation: Counting Cycle Counting Cycle Count Entries Screen: Cycle Count Entries Screen Shot Cycle Count Entries You can use the same window to enter counts of items requested via automatic or manual cycle count scheduling. If unscheduled count entries are allowed for your cycle counts, you can enter those also. Oracle Inventory automatically queries up all count requests for which you have not yet entered a count. You can use flexible search criteria to specify the group of count requests for which you want counts entered to speed up the count entry process. For example, you can specify a range of count request sequences assigned to one person so they can be entered in the same order they were printed on the count sheet. To select the cycle count to use: 1. Navigate to the Cycle Count Entries window from the menu or choose Counts from the Cycle Counts Summary folder window. 2. Enter the name of the cycle count for which to enter counts. This information is provided if you navigate from the Cycle Counts Summary folder window, and the Find button is not available

3. Enter the date the cycle count was performed. 4. Enter the name of the employee who performed the cycle count. 5. Enter the general ledger account to which to charge adjustments from this cycle count. The default is the adjustment account you entered while defining your cycle count. Inventory performs a cycle count adjustment by creating a material transaction for the quantity and sign (plus or minus) of the adjustment. The transaction debits or credits the adjustment account depending on the direction of the transaction. 6. Display the count requests you want to enter. You can choose the Find button to query all open count requests. If you choose not to query all open requests, you can either: Enter counts individually by entering existing sequence numbers. When you enter an existing sequence number the details for that request display. You only need to enter the quantity counted. Use the find feature on the Query menu to query a subset of count requests matching the search criteria you enter. You can search by any combination of count sequences, item, revision, subinventory, locator, or lot. You can also indicate whether to include recounts. To enter scheduled counts: 1. Select the Count tabbed region. 2. Enter the quantity that you counted for your item. Inventory uses this quantity with the specified unit of measure to determine the value of the cycle count adjustment. 3. Save your work. To enter unscheduled counts: 1. Navigate to the Cycle Count Entries window from the menu. 2. Choose the Find button and select No. This enables you to enter items and counts manually. 3. Enter the item for which you are entering counts. 4. If your item is under revision control, enter the revision for which you are entering counts. 5. Enter the subinventory for which you are entering counts. You can enter only subinventories that track quantity on hand. 6. If this item is under locator control, enter the locator for which you are entering counts. 7. If the item is under lot control, enter the lot for which you are entering counts. 8. For serial control items, enter the serial number. If you specified Multiple Per Request as the Count option and Quantity and Serial Numbers as the Detail option in the Cycle Counts window, you must enter serial number information in the Cycle Count Serial Number Details window as described in the next task below. If you selected Quantity Only as the Detail option, you must use the Cycle Count Serial Number Details window only if there is a quantity mismatch. 9. Enter the unit of measure that you used to count your item. Inventory displays the primary unit of measure for the item as the default. 10. Enter the quantity that you counted for your item. Inventory uses this quantity with the specified unit of measure to determine the value of the cycle count adjustment. Attention: You may receive a warning message stating, Zero count, no adjustment performed. You can and should enter the quantity for reporting purposes, but no adjustment to on hand quantity is performed. To make the adjustment enter an unscheduled count using either this window or the Count Adjustment Approvals Summary window. 11. Save your work. All Missing buttons to set the Present checkboxes globally, or you can check or uncheck the Present checkboxes. You also can enter additional serial numbers, but the total number of serial numbers checked present must equal the count quantity. The Cancel button clears all your entries in this window and returns you to the Cycle Count Entries window. When you have completed your entries, select the Done button to record your entries and return to the Cycle Count Entries window. To enter optional count reference information: 1. Select the Count Reference tabbed region. 2. Enter a transaction reason for the cycle count transaction. 3. Enter any further reference details pertaining to this count record. 4. Enter the name of the employee who performed the cycle count, if it is different from the one entered in the Count Defaults region. 5. Enter the date and time the cycle count was performed, if it is different from the one entered in the Count Defaults region. To view current item adjustment information:

1. Select the Adjustments tabbed region. 2. View information for UOM, count quantity, system quantity, variance quantity, variance value, and variance percentage. This region is available only if you turned the Display System Quantity option on when you defined your cycle count header. The System Quantity field displays the quantity on hand, and the Variance Qty field displays the proposed adjustment quantity based on the actual count quantity you enter. If you choose not to display system quantities, you enter and save your counts not knowing whether you are generating any adjustments, and if so, whether the counts are out of tolerance. To enter serial number detail information: 1. Select the Serial button to open the Cycle Count Serial Number Details window. If you specified Multiple Per Request as the Count option and Quantity and Serial Numbers as the Detail option in the Cycle Counts window, you must use this window to enter serial detail information. You must also use this window if you selected Quantity Only as the Detail option and there is a quantity mismatch. This window displays the serial numbers on hand for the current count sequence from the Cycle Count Entries window, with checkboxes to indicate whether the serial number is present in this count and present in the system. You can use the All Present and All Missing buttons to set the Present checkboxes globally, or you can check or uncheck the present checkboxes. You also can enter additional serial numbers, but the total number of serial numbers checked present must equal the count quantity. The Cancel button clears all your entries in this window and returns you to the Cycle Count Entries window. 2. When you have completed your entries, select the Done button to record your entries and return to the Cycle Count Entries window. Step 3: Enter cycle counts Navigation: Counting Cycle Counting Approve Counts Screen Shot Count Adjustments Approval Summary To select the cycle count for which to approve adjustments: 1. Navigate to the Count Adjustment Approvals Summary window by selecting Approve Counts on the menu, or by choosing the Approvals button in the Cycle Counts Summary folder window. 2. Enter the name of the cycle count for which to approve or enter counts. This information is provided if you navigate from the Cycle Counts Summary folder window. 3. Optionally change information in the Approval Defaults region. Inventory provides default values for the Date, Approver, and the Adjustment Account that will be used when you later enter approval actions and adjustments. 4. Query item information for the selected count: If you navigated from the menu, select the Find button to query records. You are prompted to either query all records or query only counts pending approval. If you have navigated from the Cycle Counts Summary folder window, you can use the Find feature on the Query menu to open the Find Approvals window, where you can query a subset of counts matching the search criteria you enter. You can search by any combination of count sequences, item, revision, subinventory, locator, or lot. You can also search for counts with a particular status including uncounted, pending approval, recount, rejected, or completed. Viewing Cycle Count Information You can view a variety of current item information to help determine whether to approve an adjustment. Select from the following tabbed regions:

Adjustment: View information for the count adjustment UOM, variance quantity,
variance value, variance percentage, and system quantity.

Rev, Subinventory, Locator: View information for revision, subinventory, locator, unit of
measure, and adjustment quantity.

Lot: View information for lot number, unit of measure, adjustment quantity, and serial
number.

Reason, Reference: View or update the transaction reason and reference information.
You can also view the unit of measure and adjustment quantity.

Count: View information for UOM, count quantity, counter, and count date. Count Status, Class: View information for the sequence number, count status, and cycle

count class.

Approval: View information for date approved and approver.

Approval Actions and Adjustments For items appearing in the Approval Actions, Adjustments region, you can approve, request a recount, or reject cycle count entries that are pending approval. You can also approve or reject any count for which a recount has already been requested. You can reject any cycle count request that has not yet been counted. Finally, you can display count history information or open the Count Adjustment Approvals window. To approve a count check: Select Approved to approve the selected count entry and pot the adjustment to the transaction manager for processing. To reject a count check: Select Rejected to reject the selected count record. An adjustment is not posted. No further processing of this count entry takes place. To request a recount check: Select Recount to process a recount request for the selected count request. An adjustment is not posted. To display count history information: Select the Count History button to open the Count History window for the current item. For the current item, this window displays count and variance information for the current, prior, and first counts. To open the Count Adjustment Approvals window: Select the Open button to open the Count Adjustment Approvals window for the current line. This window is a combination block that you can use to view and enter approval and adjustment information for the current line instead of using the Count Adjustment Approvals Summary window.