The creation of Tracula didn't come from a straightforward idea; it was sparked by a significant problem we were facing with our cycle counting processes. Our team was spending much of their time on cycle counts, only to achieve minimal adjustments, which was essentially a waste of resources. Originally, our process involved counting all inside SKUs at least twice a year and outside LBM SKUs every quarter, a method we soon realized was highly inefficient. We found ourselves with a mere 2-3% adjustment rate, meaning we were unnecessarily counting over 97% of SKUs. This misuse of staff time, we recognized, could be better spent on enhancing customer interactions and sales efforts.
The real start of our solution came from understanding that we needed to focus on counting only the SKUs that required attention, a task easier said than done. The breakthrough came when we realized that the necessary data was already at our fingertips, being collected daily across various metrics. By integrating these data points using a custom-developed algorithm and weighting system, we were able to pinpoint the SKUs with a high probability of needing a count. This strategic approach allowed us to improve our count to adjustment ratio from 2-3% to 18-20%, while cutting down on the time our staff spent on cycle counting by more than half, freeing them up to focus on more productive tasks.
Knowing the cycle count pain point is felt by everyone in our space and we wanted to offer our Fellow Do-It-Best members access to our solution.
