Cycle Count

The Cycle Count feature lets you perform partial stock counts at specific intervals without disrupting daily operations.

This feature is designed to be used with the SYSPRO Scheduler to allow for the planning and scheduling of specific cycle-counts for particular areas in the warehouse.

A mission can be generated from a cycle count to assign counting tasks to the warehouse operation, which can then be completed using the Espresso Missions & Tasks application. The system is updated real time as the stock is counted and the task completed.

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Exploring

The programs related to this feature are accessed from the Program List of the SYSPRO menu:

  • Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System

This refers to an inventory auditing procedure whereby a small subset of inventory items (or specific locations) are designated to be counted on a specified cycle.

The information derived from the cycle count can be used to determine the accuracy of stock levels within the entire warehouse (e.g. if discrepancies are found between actual and system stock levels, similar variances may be expected in other areas of the warehouse).

This is the warehouse optionally configured to store variances arising during picking or cycle counting.

The quantity that is short is moved to the lost and found warehouse at the time the pick line or entire pick is completed and set to C - Picked.

Items can be retrieved from the L&F warehouse during cycle counting using the Lost and Found Warehouse Review program.

The lost and found warehouse is only enabled if a warehouse is defined at the Lost and found warehouse setup option and Process to lost and found warehouse is selected at the Accounting for shortages option (Warehouse Maintenance) .

A stock code is a number that uniquely identifies an inventory item that is bought or manufactured and which is typically stored in one or more warehouses.

All activity relating to the forecasting, purchasing, manufacturing, stocking and selling of a stocked item is tracked by means of the stock code.

A stock code can be linked to one or more lot numbers if the item is defined as lot traceable. If there is a warranty, the stock code can be defined as serialized and linked to one or more serial numbers.

Within SYSPRO, a warehouse represents an actual warehouse containing your inventory items (i.e. a physical warehouse) or a grouping of your inventory according to specific characteristics of the item (i.e. a logical warehouse).

For example:

You may want to split your inventory raw materials and finished goods into different logical warehouses even though they are located in the same physical warehouse.

You maintain warehouses using the Warehouse Maintenance program.

A mission can be created for inventory putaway, sales order pick or cycle count transactions. Once missions and tasks are assigned to the employee or team they can be serviced using the Missions & Tasks application in SYSPRO Espresso (where operators can then view their tasks from a mobile device) or the WHM Review Mission Tasks program.

The system is updated in real time as the stock is allocated, physically moved and the task completed. Once all tasks are done, the mission can be completed.

Setup programs

Warehouse Bins

Setup Options

Processing programs

Cycle Count Capture

Cycle Count Review and Confirm

Cycle Count Maintenance

Cycle Count Selection

WHM Review Mission Tasks

Browse programs

Browse on Cycle Counts

Query programs

Cycle Count Query

Cycle Count Captured Query

Cycle Count History Query

Period end programs

Cycle History Purge

Other programs

Maintain Schedules

Starting

To use this feature, the following module(s) must be installed according to the terms of your software license agreement:

  • Inventory Control

To use this feature, the following setup option(s) must be enabled:

Setup Options > Configuration > Distribution > Inventory

  • Fixed bins
  • Multiple bins
  • Associate serials by bin

  • Show Warehouses (hyperlink)

    • Accounting for shortages
  • WMS missions options
    • Enable for cycle counting

You can secure this feature by implementing a range of controls against the affected programs. Although not all these controls are applicable to each feature, they include the following:

  • You restrict operator access to activities within a program using the Operator Maintenance program.
  • You can restrict operator access to the fields within a program (configured using the Operator Maintenance program).
  • You can restrict operator access to functions within a program using passwords (configured using the Password Definition program). When defined, the password must be entered before you can access the function.
  • You can restrict access to the eSignature transactions within a program at operator, group, role or company level (configured using the eSignature Setup program). You can restrict access to the eSignature transactions within a program at operator, group, role or company level (configured using the Electronic Signature Configuration Setup program). Electronic Signatures provide security access, transaction logging and event triggering that gives you greater control over your system changes.
  • You can restrict operator access to programs by assigning them to groups and applying access control against the group (configured using the Operator Groups program).
  • You can restrict operator access to programs by assigning them to roles and applying access control against the role (configured using the Role Management program).

  • Multiple bins must be enabled for all warehouses that use cycle counting.

Solving

This message is displayed when you try to save a schedule without having configured the required setup options.

The program requires access to the credentials of a domain user with elevated permissions. This ensures that the Microsoft Windows tasks are created with the Run with highest privileges option enabled.

You need to configure the required credentials from the Reporting System Setup form of the Setup Options program (Setup Options > System Setup > Reporting):

Scheduler authentication

  • User name
  • User password

This message is displayed when you try to save a schedule without having configured the required setup options.

The program requires access to the credentials of a domain user with elevated permissions. This ensures that the Microsoft Windows tasks are created with the Run with highest privileges option enabled.

You need to configure the required credentials from the Reporting System Setup form of the Setup Options program (Setup Options > System Setup > Reporting):

Scheduler authentication

  • User name
  • User password

You can change the quantities for active cycle counts using the Cycle Count Capture program.

  • To replace the quantity that was originally captured, enter the recounted quantity and enable the Replace captured quantity option.
  • To supplement the original quantity, enter the quantity you want to add to the quantity that was originally captured.
  • To increase the original quantity captured, enter the difference with a preceding plus character (+).
  • To decrease the original quantity captured, enter the difference with a preceding minus character (-).

Using

The programs related to this feature are accessed from the Program List of the SYSPRO menu:

  • Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System
  1. Create the cycle count per warehouse section and include the items that must be counted using the Cycle Count Maintenance program.
  2. Schedule when the cycle count should be performed using Maintain Schedules program (accessed from within the Browse on Cycle Counts program).
  3. Select the cycle count to activate it (using the Functions column of the Browse on Cycle Counts program).

  4. Capture the actual stock quantities counted (including lots and serials) using the Cycle Count Capture program.

    • Cancel an activated cycle count, print cycle count forms and view quantity variances by clicking the Select link in the Functions column of the Browse on Cycle Counts program.
    • Edit the captured quantities if errors were made or recounts were done, using the Cycle Count Capture program.
    • Review discrepancies between the actual and original stock quantities per stock code using the Cycle Count Review and Confirm program.

    • Once reviewed, select to either accept or recount the stock.

      You are prompted to recount if the discrepancy exceeds the percentage specified at the Cycle count variance % field of the Warehouse Bins program.

      When performing a recount, the bin quantities are cleared and must be recaptured.

  5. Once recounted, capture the stock quantities using the Cycle Count Capture program.
  6. Review any differences between the recounted and original stock quantities per stock code using the Cycle Count Review and Confirm program.

  7. When you are satisfied with the numbers, accept the cycle count lines and confirm the cycle count using the Cycle Count Review and Confirm program.

    When the cycle count is confirmed, inventory can be updated and transactions posted to the ledger, depending on your selection at the Accounting for shortages field in the Warehouse Maintenance program.

    The Cycle Count Confirmation screen is displayed where you can view the cycle count messages.

  8. Once the cycle count is closed, you can view cycle count data and quantity variances using the Cycle Count Captured Query program.

    While the cycle count is active, you can view cycle count data using the Cycle Count Query program.

  9. Purge redundant cycle count data using the Cycle History Purge program.

The following indicates areas in the product that may be affected by implementing this feature:

Program List > Inventory > Warehouse Management > Setup

The Cycle count variance % field was added so that you can specify an acceptable variance percentage. This is used when the variance between counted quantities and system quantities is calculated.

Program List > Inventory > Warehouse Management > Missions and Tasks > Setup

This program lets you allocate a team to a mission.

Program List > Inventory > Warehouse Management > Missions and Tasks > Setup

This program lets you add and maintain the employees that form the teams to which missions can be allocated.

Program List > Inventory > Warehouse Management > Missions and Tasks > Setup

This program lets you add and maintain the teams that can be allocated to missions.

SYSPRO Ribbon bar > Setup > Operators

The Employee field lets you link the SYSPRO operator to an employee who can be part of a team that can be allocated to a mission.

This link is required to filter the list of tasks according to the SYSPRO operator, which in turn limits the tasks the logged on Espresso operator can perform.

Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System > Transaction Processing

This program lets you add, maintain and delete cycle counts, as well as select bins and stock items you want to include in the cycle count.

The Create Mission and tasks option lets you create a mission from the cycle count.

Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System > Transaction Processing

This program lets you capture the results of the cycle count per bin, lot and serial for each stock item included in the cycle count.

Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System > Transaction Processing

This program lets you confirm or recapture the counted quantities and confirm the cycle count.

Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System > Transaction Processing

This program lets you process the cycle count.

Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System > Transaction Processing

This program lets you review stock items that were placed in the lost and found warehouse during the picking process or cycle counting.

Once investigated, stock items can be adjusted or transferred to the warehouse from which it came or to another warehouse.

Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System > Transaction Processing

This program lets you delete inactive cycle counts that are no longer required.

Program List > Inventory > Warehouse Management > Missions and Tasks

This program lets you delete completed and canceled missions, i.e. remove the mission data from the WhmMission and WhmMissionTasks database tables.

Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System

This program lets you view the quantities there were captured for every stock item included in the cycle count.

Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System

This program lets you view historical cycle count data.

Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System

This program lets you view cycle count data of accepted and confirmed cycle counts.

Program List > Inventory > Warehouse Management > Missions and Tasks

This program lets you query mission and task information. The tasks associated with the mission are displayed in the list view.

Program List > Inventory > Warehouse Management > Missions and Tasks

This program lets you allocate a mission to an employee as well as review missions and tasks.

Program List > Inventory > Cycle Counting System > Transaction Processing

This program lets you activate, edit or cancel a cycle count, as well as schedule a cycle count using the SYSPRO Scheduler.

Program List > Inventory > Warehouse Management > Missions and Tasks > Browses

This program lets you browse the teams that can be allocated to missions.

Program List > Inventory > Warehouse Management > Missions and Tasks > Browses

This program lets you browse all missions and displays their statuses and sources (picking, cycle-counting or inventory putaway).

Program List > Inventory > Warehouse Management > Missions and Tasks > Browses

This program lets you view the employees that belong to a team.

The WHM Mission Team Maintenance business object lets you allocate a mission to a team.

This Inventory Cycle Count Querybusiness object lets you query cycle count data per bin and view variances between actual and counted stock quantities.

This Inventory Cycle Count Performancebusiness object lets you view cycle count quantities, variances and how often the quantities were edited because of recounts.

This Inventory Cycle Counts List Querybusiness object lets you view a list of all cycle counts, regardless of their status.

This Inventory Cycle Count Querybusiness object lets you query cycle count data of accepted and confirmed cycle counts.

This Inventory Cycle Count Capture Querybusiness object lets you query cycle count quantities.

The WHM Mission Query business object lets you query a mission, and the tasks associated with that mission, from the WhmMission table.

The WHM Completed Missions Query business object lets you query all completed missions and tasks.

The WHM In Progress Missions Query business object lets you query all missions from the WhmMission table that are still in progress (i.e. missions that are not canceled or completed).

The WHM Missions Query business object lets you query missions in the WhmMissionTasks and WhmMission tables and displays their status and source (i.e. picking, cycle counting or inventory putaway). It is called from the WHM Review Mission Tasks program and loads the results in the list view.

The Cycle Count Selection business object lets you select stock code items that will form part of the cycle count.

The Cycle Count Maintenance business object lets you add, maintain and delete cycle counts.

The Inventory Cycle Count Cancel business object lets you cancel or stop cycle counts.

The Inventory Cycle Count Capture Purge business object lets you delete cycle counts and the cycle count data.

The Inventory Cycle Count Confirmation business object that lets you confirm the entered stock code quantities for cycle counts.

The Inventory Cycle Count Capture business object lets you capture the stock code quantities that were counted during the cycle count.

The Cycle Count Confirmation Scheduler business object (run from the scheduler) prints cycle count forms according to the schedule.

The Teams Maintenance business object lets you add, change and delete teams that can be allocated to missions.

The WHM Mission Team Employee Maintenance business object lets you add, change or delete employees that form part of the teams to which missions can be allocated.