Measuring accuracy is an integral part of cycle counting. Accuracy is measured by:

• Actual part number

• Actual location

• Actual count in that location

as compared to

• Record of part number

• Record of location

• Record of balance in that location

There are tolerance levels that are generally accepted as minimum standards of acceptability, but the use of these levels is not necessarily synonymous with high performance. Many world-class organizations are going beyond the minimum definition of accuracy and completely eliminating tolerances for accuracy performance metrics. While the latter is desirable, many processes are not yet up to that no tolerance expectation.

Step one for organizations just starting to get serious about inventory record accuracy should focus first on Class A ERP minimum standards and move to world-class later.

High-performance organizations massage their stratification sorts according to the specific criticality of components in their environment.