Cycle Counting

What Does Cycle Counting Look Like in Practice?

Instead of waiting until the end of the year to count all inventory at once, the warehouse is divided into sections or product groups, which are then counted on a rotating schedule throughout the year. These counts can take place daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on the size and needs of the business.

The goal is to ensure that the stock data in your system matches the actual physical inventory — and to catch errors, shrinkage, or missing entries quickly before they escalate. It’s a method that strengthens daily inventory management and helps optimize operations across the business.

Why Is Cycle Counting a Good Idea?

There are many benefits to implementing cycle counting — whether you’re a large or small business:

Improved inventory accuracy:

By performing ongoing counts, discrepancies are discovered and corrected early, before they affect order management or purchasing management.

Less operational disruption:

A full yearly inventory count often requires partial or complete shutdown of operations. With cycle counting, business can continue as usual — which is especially beneficial for companies using dedicated warehouse management systems (WMS) or those relying on continuous logistics flow.

Better planning and visibility:

Accurate and up-to-date inventory data makes it easier to plan purchases, avoid overstocking or stockouts, and make more informed decisions.

When Does It Make Sense to Use Cycle Counting?

Cycle counting is especially useful for companies with:

• A large product assortment

• High inventory turnover

• A need for highly accurate stock data

• A desire to minimize downtime and inefficiencies

Cycle Counting and Rackbeat

While Rackbeat doesn’t offer a dedicated cycle counting feature, our inventory management system gives you all the tools you need to build your own cycle counting routines. You can easily set up and perform ongoing inventory counts tailored to your products, warehouse locations, or time intervals — structured exactly the way your business needs it.

Once your counts are registered in Rackbeat, you can quickly generate detailed reports showing discrepancies between your physical inventory and the data in your system. This makes it easier to streamline workflows and create a more efficient approach to inventory control, purchasing, and order fulfillment.

Whether you’re using scanners, tablets, or other inventory hardware, Rackbeat can be adapted to fit your company’s setup and workflows — and integrates easily with other systems for an even more flexible solution.

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Want more practical tips on inventory management, automation, and improving your day-to-day operations? Then sign up for our monthly newsletter!

We share inspiration, how-to guides, and feature updates — all with a focus on making your warehouse operations smarter and more efficient.