Physical Inventory Count in Dynamics 365 for F&O

Posted on: October 9, 2019 | By: Rosemary McAdams | Microsoft Dynamics AX/365

Many organizations struggle to come up with the best process to perform a physical inventory count using Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations.  If you have read one of our previous blogs, The Counting Journal Conundrum, you may be wondering if using a counting journal is the right way to go.  The best way to perform a physical inventory count really depends on how your warehouse is setup, how you are using locations in D365, and exactly how you want to conduct the count.

If you store product in your warehouses by location a counting journal may be the best answer for doing your physical inventory count.  To use the counting journal for your annual physical inventory, you may want to pre-populate a counting journal with your current, anticipated, on-hand inventory.  Once you have the journal populated you can begin your count around the warehouse by location.  You may enter counts directly into your counting journal, or use excel integration to populate the journal counts if preferred.

However, using a counting journal may not be the right fit for your business, here are a few reasons why a counting journal might not be the best option for you:

  • If I have the same item in multiple places around my warehouse. I do not want to overwrite a previous count.
  • If I want multiple users counting and inputting data simultaneously into the same journal.
  • If I use physical tags to count inventory and I want to store tag information somewhere in the journal, in case of later audits.
  • If I want to do a completely unguided count and add lines to my journal as I count.

If any of the above apply to your business, you may want to consider using a Tag Counting Journal for your annual physical inventory count instead of a Counting Journal.  A Tag Counting Journal ends up creating a Counting Journal for you as a result of posting, to allow you to do a final validation of variances prior to posting your counts.

Every company will have a unique process for doing a complete physical inventory count, determining which method is right for you really comes down to your specific requirements.  If you would like to use handheld devices and scanners for your count this adds another level of complexity that will require some creativity.  Logan Consulting can help you and your business come up with the best annual physical inventory count process that fits your exact needs.

Logan Consulting
www.loganconsulting.com