Cycle Counting

A cycle count is an inventory auditing procedure in which a small portion of the inventory is counted on a particular day. Cycle counts contrast with traditional physical inventory counts in that a full count may stop operation at a store or distribution center while all items are counted at once. Cycle counts are less disruptive to daily operations, provide an ongoing measure of inventory accuracy and procedure execution, and can be tailored to focus on items with higher value, higher movement volume, or critical to business processes. The purpose of cycle counting is to verify inventory accuracy to identify the root causes of inventory errors.