Moving crop protection products to cooperatives and farms just got easier and faster at CHS distribution warehouses.
A digital inventory count app recently developed and implemented at all 20 warehouses will improve efficiency and help ensure the right products are ready and waiting for busy seasons.
At CHS, warehouses shut down once a month to check inventory. Prior to using the app, the inventory process would take 20 to 24 hours, says Bruce Vettleson, who manages warehouse operations at the CHS facility in Fargo, N.D. Maintaining accuracy was a challenge when manually entering data on paper logs and spreadsheets and relaying it to the accounting team to reconcile inventory with sales records. Any discrepancies meant a recount, which delayed returning to full operation.
With the new digital inventory process, product counts are entered into the app, which automatically reconciles inventory to send to accounting for verification. If a count is off, it can be redone on the spot.
Inventory now takes half the time it used to, Vettleson reports, and miscounts have dropped to nearly zero. The app also helps warehouse employees locate products, identify similar products from different manufacturers and ensure needed inventory is always on hand.
“We took a very manual, labor-intensive process and streamlined it,” he says. “With the app, we have more time to receive and ship products, which helps avoid delays for our customers and growers.”
Check out the full Winter 2024 C magazine with this article and more.
