SOPWAREHOUSESOP

Inventory Accuracy Program

The umbrella program that owns the facility inventory accuracy number, defining the accuracy metrics and their exact calculations, the targets by area, the measurement inputs that feed them, the root cause coding and Pareto review that turn adjustment data into improvement projects, the process controls that protect accuracy at every inventory touch, and the monthly accuracy review that routes actions into the corrective action system.

Audience
Inventory control managers and supervisors, operations managers, finance partners, continuous improvement leads, and account managers who report accuracy to 3PL clients
Review cycle
annual
Last reviewed
2026-08-17
Revision
1

What is in the procedure

9 sections. Regulatory language is fixed and passes through verbatim. Sections marked customized get rewritten around your facility, your equipment, and your job titles.

  1. 01

    Purpose

    Fixed

    This program owns the inventory accuracy number for the facility: what it means, how it is measured, what target it is held to, and what happens when it misses.

  2. 02

    Scope

    Customized

    This program covers the definition and calculation of the facility accuracy metrics, the accuracy targets by area and by client, the measurement inputs that feed the metrics, root cause coding standards and the Pareto...

  3. 03

    Responsibilities

    Customized

    The program owner owns the accuracy number, chairs the monthly accuracy review, approves the metric definitions and targets, and is accountable for the improvement projects the Pareto review generates.

  4. 04

    Accuracy Metrics and Their Exact Definitions

    Fixed

    An accuracy number without a stated definition is not a metric, it is a negotiation.

  5. 05

    Targets by Area and the Measurement Inputs

    Customized

    Targets are set by area and by client, not as a single building number, because a blended average lets a failing area hide behind a strong one.

  6. 06

    Process Controls at Every Inventory Touch

    Fixed

    Accuracy is not produced by the count program; it is produced at each point where inventory is touched, and this program requires a verification control at every one of them.

  7. 07

    Root Cause Coding and the Pareto Review

    Fixed

    Every adjustment posted in the facility carries a root cause code, coded to the process that failed rather than to the count that found it, under the coding standard in the inventory adjustment and reconciliation...

  8. 08

    Adjustments Governance Boundary, Client Reporting, and the Monthly Accuracy Review

    Customized

    Governance boundary: the authority to approve and post an individual adjustment, including the evidence standard, the value tiers, and the separation of duties, lives entirely in the inventory adjustment and...

  9. 09

    References

    Fixed

    Facility daily cycle counting procedure.

Best practice

Inventory Accuracy Program: no regulation to cite

No public-domain regulation governs this procedure, so it cites nothing rather than inventing authority. It documents the process discipline customers, insurers, and auditors ask to see in writing.

Compliance checklist

What an inspector looks for

  • Every reported accuracy figure states its metric basis, population, period, and count coverage, and is measured on absolute variance from first count results

  • Accuracy targets are set and reported by area and by client, with client contract metrics honored where they exist

  • Every adjustment posted in the period carries a root cause code, and the unexplained code share is tracked and within its threshold

  • The monthly Pareto review ran, top causes are assigned to process owners, and persistent causes have open corrective actions with effectiveness measured in the accuracy data

  • Verification controls are in place and audited at receiving, putaway, picking, packing, replenishment, and returns

  • No negative balance workarounds or unlogged moves: blocked work raises an exception to inventory control instead of a workaround

  • Client accuracy reporting reconciles to the internal metrics and went out on the contractual cadence, with misses communicated with cause and corrective action

  • Adjustment approval authority stayed within the inventory adjustment and reconciliation procedure, with this program reviewing the pattern only

Waitlist

Generate this SOP for your facility

At launch you answer the facility questionnaire once and this template comes back with your equipment, your titles, and your sign-off sheet attached.

First access at launch, plus launch pricing locked for a year.

This page is informational and is not legal advice. Have a qualified safety professional review any procedure before it goes into service at your facility.