A revision-ready warehouse: a checklist

A week before the revision committee is due, the warehouse manager asks: "Are we ready?" In most warehouses the answer is "I don't know", because readiness is measured not by feeling but by concrete signs. Below are seven simple questions. If you can honestly answer "yes" to them, a revision holds no fear: it will not uncover new problems, it will confirm the order you already have. Each "no" shows exactly what needs fixing.

Seven questions

1. Does every item have its own address? The rack, row and shelf number is written on the label; there is no such thing as "somewhere on the right". Test: pick five random positions from the list and try to find them in ten minutes. Goods without an address eat time both in counting and in order picking, and raise the risk of double counting.
2. Are name and code the same everywhere? On the document, on the label and in the system, one item carries one name. There should not be two cards for the same product. Otherwise one item shows as a shortage on one card and a surplus on the other.
3. Is every movement in the last seven days documented? Receipts, issues, returns and transfers are entered the same day, not put off. A late document produces a false shortage at count time.
4. Is there any stock with no owner? Returned, defective, sample and "temporarily" left items should have a marked place of their own and a list. Everyone sees ownerless goods but nobody keeps them in the books, so they cause the most disputes.
5. Is the person responsible for each zone clear? A name is given and the handover document is signed. In a zone with no responsible person a shortage will not find an owner either.
6. Were the twenty most expensive positions counted in the last month? A short mini-count is enough; what matters is that its date and result are written down. An error on expensive goods costs the most, so a regular look at them is cheap insurance.
7. Can you show within an hour the last revision document, the list of open differences and the state of the actions on them? This question tests the discipline after a revision: the report exists, but were the actions carried out?

How to score it

• 7 "yes": the warehouse is ready. If the committee comes, no urgent work is needed.
• 5-6 "yes": most of it is in place; fix the weak spots within two weeks.
• 4 or fewer: it is better to delay the revision a little. First set up addressed storage, tidy the documents and begin a weekly mini-count. If you cannot delay, put the preparation into the plan as a separate item.

An example: a wholesale home-textile warehouse

In a warehouse in the Fergana Valley the manager tested himself. Of five positions from the list, three were found in ten minutes; the other two turned up in two places, since "quilt 160×220" was written on different cards (question 2: no). Four issue documents from the past week had not yet been entered (question 3: no). Returned towels lay at the edge of an aisle (question 4: no). In the end four of the seven got a "yes".

Over two weeks three staff spent an hour or two a day on it: the racks were numbered, duplicate cards were merged, a separate shelf was opened for returns, and entering documents each evening became a habit. On the retest six of seven were "yes"; the remaining one, the mini-count of the past month, was planned for the following week.

Where to start if the answer is "no"

Do not try to fix everything at once. The order is this: question 3 first (document discipline), because it stops daily errors; then 1 and 2 (address and names); then 4 and 5 (ownerless goods and responsibility); last 6 and 7, which appear as a result of the rest.

Conclusion

A ready warehouse is not one without shortages: it is an orderly warehouse where every difference can be explained. The seven questions check the main signs of that order. The test takes an hour, and defects fixed beforehand save hours of time and nerves when the committee arrives. The Reviziya team can help you draw up a checklist for your own warehouse.