Cycle counting base date

[Former Member]

Hi

Cycle counting

I am refering to OSS note 518418 where it says the system uses the base date to determine when the inventory count will take place. What would I need to do for the system to use instead of the base date use the date the begining of the year 01.01.2018?

"OSS note 518418

In principle, the program calculates the planned date of physical

inventory according to the following formula:

planned date = base date + Interval (Trans.OMCO/Tab.XT159C-ININV)

Usually, the base date is the 'date of the last physical inventory'."

[fmuehlenkamp]

Hello Juergen,

What you are describing in your response is the exact precise issue we are facing right now. We look for an equal spread of counts over each day of the year to have the Cycle Counting propose us A items 4xYear, B items 2xYear, C items 1xYear. All the settings are in place, but we have no initial count date in the MARD records (no inventory was every executed for these items) and the materials are all older or have been loaded many years ago. So SAP MICN proposes to count everything now (20,000 mat/locs). With 240 work days, we would like to get 84 counts/day. What is the common / best practice solution to this issue? Do we need to run the list every day and just copy the first 90 items and create the counts for the first 90 items proposed on the list until we have done this for the entire year and then we can rely on SAP to make proper proposals next year? Our hope was that a more efficient solution is available. We would love to hear your thoughts!

Thank you!

[JL23]

you have basically 2 options.

Both would be prepared offline. You download your materials from table MARC to Excel. You have 20000 materials and 240 workdays which would be 84 counts per day, overall, but I guess you would want to count a mix of all CC indicators within one count, hence you should find out how much materials you have per CC indicator. You would then need to assign a different last count for your items (still in Excel). Eg. if you count A-items monthly, then you have basically 30 calendar days. Assuming you have 90 A-items then you would set the last count date for the first 3 A-items to today's date - 30, the next 3 A-items to today's date - 29 and so forth. Then you do the same for your B-items, since they are counted quarterly you have 90 days to play with. Total number of B-items divided by 90 and you know how many items share the same last count date and you assign this last count date again with the formula current date minus 90, then current date minus 89 and so on. And so you do it with C and D items.

Now you have the 2 options:

- you load those dates with a Z-report into your material master (can't be maintained manually, hence no LSMW or mass change possible)

- you do your cycle count semi-automatic in the first year, just based on the Excel file, by using the multiple selection button in the Cycle count selection screen and upload the material numbers to counted.

[fmuehlenkamp]

Thank you very much Juergen. This will put us on the right track. To ease process for the end-user, we will go with the Z-report option and calculate the last inventory dates out in Excel. We were thinking in that direction but did not want to miss any hidden functionality. Thank you for your re-assurance.

[JL23]

In case you would want to use a fixed date it would be better to use other inventory counting methods, if you don't want to manipulate standard tables with ABAP methods.

You would have to manipulate the last counting date in MARD table. And you would have to do this regularly since your new materials that are created within a year do not have this date, but you also would need to avoid to reset the last counting date for materials that have already been counted in this fiscal year.

The basic meaning of cycle count is to count every day or week or month a portion of your stock. And the most common problem which people have is the start with CC in a new SAP system, since all materials share the same creation date (migration date) and no old inventory documents exist.

Thus, assuming you count A items monthly, B items quarterly, C items 2 times a year and D items only once a year, you would get only A items to count in your January and February counts. A and B items in your March count, then again only A items in April and May, in June you would need to count A, B and C items on one day, then again only A items in July and August, while September will ask for A and B items. In December you have to count all material at once.

Exact such a scenario is usually not wanted. instead the count should be spread more equally for all materials over the year, so that you have almost the same number of items to count in each of your counts.