The system says 18. The shelf has 11.
That is evidence of a discrepancy. It is not yet evidence of who caused it — or even that seven units have left the building.
They may be in overstock, in another variant’s bin, waiting at packing, or removed for a demonstration that nobody recorded. Theft is one possible explanation. An investigation works better when it starts with the missing units rather than a suspected person.
Stabilize The Count
Identify the exact SKU, variant, unit of measure, location, and time of comparison. Check whether the expected number means total on-hand, available-to-sell, or stock at that location.
Arrange a controlled recount and account for movement during it. If five units are being picked while two people count, the comparison is already unstable.
Search the designated locations and nearby likely mistakes. Keep unresolved stock identifiable. Do not make an unexplained adjustment just to turn the number green.
Follow The Transaction Trail
Work from the last reliable count or receipt. Reconcile receipts, sales allocations, picks, transfers, returns, damaged units, samples, demonstrations, and giveaways.
Check both sides of each movement. A carton can physically move into active stock without the reserve location being reduced. A return can arrive at the desk without becoming sellable stock. Each unfinished step produces a different kind of discrepancy.
Hypothetical example: the record shows 60 units in reserve and 20 in the active location. A worker moves 12 units to active stock but updates only the destination.
| Location | Recorded After The Move | Physical After The Move |
|---|---|---|
| Reserve | 60 | 48 |
| Active | 32 | 32 |
| Total | 92 | 80 |
The apparent 12-unit shortage comes from an incomplete transfer record. No loss has been established.
This is why the location record matters even when the building’s total stock appears simple.
Classify The Cause You Can Support
Use specific categories: receiving shortage, identification error, unrecorded transfer, demonstration stock, return processing, damage, counting error, unexplained, or confirmed theft following an appropriate investigation.
“Employee error” is too broad to improve the process. What instruction, record, or handoff failed? Was the correct action practical during a busy shift?
Keep “unexplained” available. A forced answer is not better than an honest unresolved case. Preserve relevant evidence and restrict access to the people responsible for investigation.
Build Controls At The Moments Stock Changes Hands
Record who receives and checks a delivery. Give transfers a source, destination, quantity, and actor. Make samples and giveaways easy to record. Separate adjustment approval from routine editing where staffing allows, and have the owner review exceptions in a small team.
Use named accounts and appropriate access in whichever system you operate. Shared credentials make records less useful when you need to understand an event.
If considering workplace monitoring, review the actual purpose, access, retention, and local requirements before implementing it. A dummy camera creates no investigation record and should not substitute for a functioning inventory process. Avoid public accusations or treating a camera angle as a complete account of what happened.
Know What Your Tools Can Establish
The supplied SaleTrail platform guide describes inventory movement records with actors and reasons, and recordings associated with packing orders. Those can support investigation of recorded movements or a particular packed order. They do not automatically establish what happened elsewhere in the warehouse or prove theft.
The same standard applies to any tool: know what an event records, what it omits, and how it connects to the physical stock.
Close The Case With A Process Change
Record the approved correction and the evidence behind it. Then assign a preventive action: distinguish similar variants, fix a transfer step, change receiving checks, or coach an unclear procedure.
Review repeated discrepancies by product and process. A recurring shortage around one handoff may tell you more than a large monthly net adjustment.
Use this: inventory incident record
| Field | Record |
|---|---|
| Discovery | SKU / variant, location, date, reporter |
| Comparison | Expected basis, physical count, signed difference |
| Recount | Counter, time, movement controls |
| Trace | Last reliable count and subsequent movements |
| Evidence | Relevant records, locations searched, unresolved questions |
| Finding | Supported cause or unexplained |
| Correction | Quantity/value adjustment and approver |
| Prevention | Action, owner, completion and review date |
Read Next
- Sold Out on Camera. Still Somewhere in the Warehouse. — counting, condition and variance.
- Active Inventory vs. Overstock — replenishment records.
- Warehouse Manager Guide — who reviews exceptions.
Put tomorrow's shift on one page.
Get the huddle sheet, exception log, responsibility worksheet, and weekly scorecard.
- Daily warehouse huddle sheet
- Station-assignment sheet (blank roles)
- Exception log (blank)
- Owner–manager responsibilities worksheet
- Weekly warehouse scorecard (blank categories)
- A short example of how a manager might use the kit
Blank templates only. The kit sets no staffing ratios, targets or benchmarks — you fill in your own.
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