One or two times a year, we at DANBRO Distributors stop almost everything to count inventory for a few days and reconcile our system. In the past, it has been done during the quiet time in late December. This past inventory was much more involved than the ones I have been a part of in the past. This year, DANBRO’s President, Frank D’Angelo, and I set out to not only count every single inventoried item but also to consolidate like items and rearrange the entire yard.
Over the past two and a half years that I have been with DANBRO, the yard has not always been properly maintained or kept very tidy. With entirely new warehouse employees, we wanted to give them a fresh start and set them up to be as successful as possible. That meant collecting all of the miscellaneous piles from the far reaching corners of the yard, sorting them, and putting those items where they belong. In addition to that, we found new permanent homes for many items as we successfully consolidated everything making new space throughout the yard.
The more we worked, the more we realized that there was a lot of work to be done. It wasn’t until the third day that we felt we had enough of the yard organized that Frank could start counting while I continued organizing and rearranging the rest of the yard. After three full days of moving everything and a full day of counting, we had still not completed our inventory! Frank, with the help of DANBRO’s Equipment Superintendent, Joe D’Angelo, came back on Saturday to finish counting the remaining inventory.
After completing the inventory, Frank and I learned how important it is to keep a well-organized, clean yard. We found many items far from their homes. Many of those items had been written off during the year because there had been less or none to be found.
I am hoping that this newly polished inventory can keep me away from the yard. In previous years, there were many times that I had to go out to the yard to locate material that our warehouse employees could not find. With everything neatly stacked where it belongs, it should be easy for anyone with limited knowledge of helical piers and our stocking locations to just walk out and fill any order of any size in a timely manner. It will be easier for me to walk over and point out when things are out of place and need to be returned to their homes. If we can spend a little bit of time helping to keep things tidy, it will go a long way to keeping an accurate inventory and save lots of time when it needs to be counted again!
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Kevin Knecht is the Distribution Manager for Danbro Distributors. He enjoys some good, old-fashioned steak and potatoes whilst ice fishing.
