Anyone wants to add anything elseStock Takes Made Easy: Schedule, Count & Reconcile with Helm

Helm Warehouse Management System (WMS) has introduced a suite of features designed to simplify stock management and empower businesses with full visibility and control over their inventory, ensuring accurate stock levels, efficient order fulfilment, and seamless warehouse operations.

This article explores the latest enhancements, focusing on stock warnings, replenishment, transfers, and stock takes: each aimed at helping businesses maintain optimal inventory levels and streamline fulfilment.

This comprehensive guide combines the latest features, practical walkthroughs, and actionable steps: making it ideal for both newcomers and seasoned users seeking to master Helm’s stock management tools.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Stock Features

2. Managing Stock Warnings

3. Replenishing Suggestions

4. Stock Transfers: Seamless Movement Across Warehouses

5. Scheduling and Executing Stock Takes

6. Exporting & Reconciling Stock Data

7. Best Practice Tips

1. Introduction to Stock Features

Helm WMS offers a unified stock management dashboard, accessible from the main menu. Here, you’ll find options for stock warnings, replenishments, transfers, and stock takes: all designed to give you real-time insights and actionable controls.

Stock Warnings: Global and Location Levels

The stock warnings feature in Helm enables users to monitor inventory at both global and location-specific levels. By selecting the desired view, managers can instantly see which products have triggered warnings due to low stock, either across the entire organisation or within individual locations. This visibility ensures timely replenishment or reordering from suppliers, minimising the risk of stockouts and missed orders.

2. Managing Stock Warnings

Stock warnings are essential for preventing shortages and ensuring orders are always fulfiled.

Step-by-Step

1. From the main menu, select Stock, then choose Stock Warnings.

2. Choose your view:

   • Global Level: See warnings across all warehouses.

   • Location Level: Focus on warnings for a specific site.

3. Review products that have triggered warnings.

   • Each warning is based on thresholds you set for individual products.

4. For each warning, decide whether to replenish from another location or reorder from your supplier.

5. Use the provided data to proactively manage stock and avoid missed orders.

3. Replenishment Suggestions

Helm’s replenishment tools empower users to effortlessly assess open orders and pickable locations. Should a pickable location reach zero stock, the system promptly highlights the precise number of units required to ensure all outstanding orders are duly fulfiled.

Users are invited to review movement options, enabling the seamless transfer of stock from bulk locations to pick faces. This guarantees that orders are completed efficiently and dispatched without unnecessary delay, thereby upholding the highest standards of service and operational excellence.

Replenishing Pick Locations

Ensuring pick locations are stocked is vital for smooth order processing.

Step-by-Step

1. Navigate to Stock Replenishments.

2. Review the list of products and their order quantities.

   • Products with zero stock in pickable locations will be highlighted.

3. Identify how many units are needed to fulfil current orders.

4. Locate available stock in bulk or reserve locations.

5. Initiate a stock movement:

   • Select the product and source location.

   • Choose the destination pick location.

   • Confirm the transfer to replenish the pick face.

6. Verify the pick location now shows the updated stock, ready for order picking.

4. Stock Transfers: Seamless Movement Across Warehouses

For businesses operating multiple warehouses, Helm’s stock transfer functionality is invaluable. Users can initiate and track stock transfers between different warehouses or bulk locations.

The system displays transfer statuses: including requested, shipped, received, and pending: giving users complete transactional visibility. Actions such as shipping or receiving stock are easily managed via intuitive controls, with the option to add destinations and notes for each transfer.

Transferring Stock Between Warehouses

Helm makes it simple to move inventory between multiple warehouses or bulk storage areas.

Step-by-Step

1. Go to Stock Transfers.

2. View existing transfers and their statuses (Requested, Shipped, Received, Pending, Delivered).

3. To create a new transfer:

   • Click Create Transfer.

   • Select the source and destination warehouses.

   • Enter the product(s) and quantity.

4. Track the transfer status:

   • Click the vehicle icon to mark as “Shipped”.

   • On arrival, click the tick icon to mark as “Received”.

   • Add any relevant notes or specify the destination within the warehouse.

5. Review completed transfers for full transaction visibility.

5. Stock Takes: Scheduling & Counting

Helm’s stock take module allows for flexible scheduling: whether one-off, daily, weekly, or monthly. Users can tailor stock takes by zone, location, or specific SKU, set tolerances, and define start times.

Scheduling and Executing Stock Takes

Regular stock takes are crucial for maintaining inventory accuracy and identifying discrepancies.

Step-by-Step

1. Access the Stock Takes module.

2. Click Schedules to create a new stock take.

3. Choose the type:

   • One-off, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.

4. Set parameters:

   • Name and description.

   • Start date and time.

   • Select by zone, location, or specific SKU.

   • Set tolerances if desired.

5. Save the schedule. It will activate at the specified time.

6. When the stock take begins, enter the counted quantities for each item.

7. Review results:

   • The system flags discrepancies between counted and recorded stock.

   • Export results as a CSV file for further analysis.

8. Investigate and reconcile any discrepancies.

6. Exporting & Reconciling Stock Data

Helm enables easy export of stock data for reporting and reconciliation. Once a stock take is executed, quantities are entered, and any discrepancies between counted and recorded stock are highlighted for reconciliation. The system supports CSV exports for further analysis and enables stock takes to be initiated directly from the dashboard.

Step-by-Step

Step 1:
After a stock take or review, use the Export function to download results as a CSV file.

Step 2:
Use the exported data for audits, compliance, or deeper analysis.

7. Best Practice Tips for Novices

• Schedule regular stock takes to maintain inventory accuracy.

• Set realistic warning thresholds to avoid unnecessary alerts.

• Document all transfers with detailed notes for audit trails.

• Use CSV exports for compliance and reporting.

• Train your team on Helm’s intuitive controls for faster onboarding.

Watch a video walkthrough

8. Conclusion

Helm WMS is engineered to simplify every aspect of warehouse stock management. By following these step-by-step instructions, even novices can confidently maintain accurate inventory, prevent stockouts, and optimise warehouse operations.

For further information or bespoke training, please contact the Helm Support team for expert guidance tailored to your operational needs.