Inventory Survey and Review

Periodically most facility require some form of physical review of inventory on shelves to ensure that items match the configuration within the warehouse management system. Over time, due to human error, theft, or other losses, material may be removed and the system not properly updated. These review processes ensure that updates may be made and discrepancies identified for review.

TVA supports inventory review processes spaning one or more locations, and allow automation to simplify and streamline the process where possible. To start a new inventory review process a user would select Start Inventory Review from the warehouse menu. An example screen is shown below.

In this example, a place, building, and area have been selected as the only filtering attributes, although other fields may be used as additional constraints. Fields on this screen allow a review to be limited to particular areas within the facility, based on location and inventory characteristics, and to limit how many locations are selected in the search.

On the screen above, three storage locations were found meeting this criteria, and the option to start a new inventory review is provided.

Executing a Review

From the selection above, a new review ticket is created and may be assigned to a team member for execution. This assignment may be changed if the team member is unable to complete the review.

An example of an inventory review ticket, in the middle of processing a task assignment, is shown below.

The dialog box shows the assignment of the user, while the background of the screen shows the three locations from the previous search screen. The ticket is not yet started, and once assigned, the user may start and execute the review.

During the review, the user will be asked to review and confirm item quantities, serial numbers, and lot numbers. This review process is guided and incremental, and may be supported by automation technology such as RFID scanning if available.

An example of the review of one location is shown below.

This review shows a pending confirmation of a single item at the location, and notes that there are no exceptions found. If the user found unexpected items at the location they could be added at this time, while missing items may also be flagged.

In the screen below, an inventory exception can be seen where the expected quantity of material was not on the shelf. The user is prompted to enter the actual quantity and any information about the change in quantity. The change may be due to a variety of factors, such as material having been damaged while in storage, and should be indicated in the form.

When all locations have been completed, the inventory review ticket is automatically completed and retained for archive purposes. All inventory reviews will update the inventory record with the time and date of the last review, as can be shown by navigating to an inventory list for an item.

In the above list, the item in the storage location has a last verified date, while items in the receiving area have not been validated. As those items are processed and stored, they would come into scope of future inventory reviews.

Finally, unusual events in the inventroy process are considered exceptions and are specifically tracked. In the following screen, the exception created from the inventory quantity discrepancy above is shown and audited.

As TVA requires accountabiltiy for all inventory vhanges, this event flags the unusual change and shows the message entered at the inventory review time period. Warehouse managers may review inventory exceptions to better understand issues that may exist within a facility.