Inventory Observation Notes from a Multi-Site Count
Field notes on attending counts across two warehouses and a bonded storage unit during a manufacturing year-end.
Multi-site inventory observation starts with a map: which locations hold material balances, which hold scrap or consignment stock, and which can be covered by roll-forward testing if attendance is impractical. For one recent manufacturing client, two production warehouses and a bonded unit near the port each required different cut-off instructions.
On count day, auditors select test counts independently of the client's sheets. High-value SKUs, items near bin boundaries, and lots with mixed units of measure get priority. Differences are investigated while the floor team is still present—waiting until the next week usually means the stock has moved.
Goods in transit between sites need matching documents: dispatch notes, receiving logs, and the shipping cut-off time relative to the balance sheet date. A pallet that left Warehouse A on 31 March and arrived at Warehouse B on 1 April can be double-counted or omitted if both sites treat it inconsistently.
After the floor work, the observation file should hold count sheets, variance investigations, cut-off samples, and photographs of sealed areas where access was restricted. That file supports the inventory assertion when partner review happens weeks later.