Don’t stop the line.
Shutdown-free cycle counts for plants and industrial warehouses. Our crews count your stock zone by zone while production and picks continue. Then we reconcile each count to your stock records.
Get a written quote for a shutdown-free count
Tell us about the sites, the stock types and your count calendar. We send a written quote with the scope and the crew plan.
Dirty books. A line that can't stop.
Controllers need a clean count. Ops can't afford a multi-day shutdown. That tension is the problem — not a software feature list.
Books drift from the floor
Cycle after cycle, variance compounds. You know the ledger is stale — but a full wall-to-wall means parking the plant.
Production won't wait
Orders still ship. Picks still fire. Shutting down for a count isn't a planning preference — it's a revenue and service hit.
What the service includes
Keep Running Count is a cycle count service for industrial stock. We count your stock while your operation continues, and we reconcile the counts to your records.
- A count plan by zone, with a count calendar that agrees with your production schedule.
- Blind counts by item and location. The counter does not see the book quantity.
- Recounts where the first count and the records do not agree.
- Movement control during each zone count: we freeze or log receipts, issues and picks, as the cutoff rules say.
- Reconciliation of each zone to your stock ledger or WMS, with an exception list.
- A summary for the controller after each count cycle.
What we count and where
We count industrial stock at manufacturing plants, industrial warehouses and distribution centers.
- Raw materials and components
- Work in process, where it can be counted by location
- Finished goods
- Spare parts and MRO stores
We count one site or a group of sites with the same method. For fixed assets (machinery, equipment, IT), see our fixed asset inventory services.
How the service works
1.Scope inputs. You send the site list, the stock types (raw materials, WIP, finished goods, spare parts), an approximate count of item locations, your stock ledger or WMS extract and your production calendar.
2.Site plan. We divide each site into count zones and put each zone in a count calendar that agrees with your production and shipping schedule. We agree the cutoff rules for receipts, issues and picks.
3.Field method. Our crews do blind counts zone by zone with handheld scanners, while the rest of the site continues to work. Where your stock has RFID tags, we can use RFID reads. We recount each difference before we report it.
4.Deliverables. For each count cycle you receive: count files by item, location and quantity; the reconciliation to your stock ledger or WMS; an exception list with recount results; a method note (count plan, cutoff rules, recount rules); and the data in a file format that loads into your system.
5.What we need from you for a quote. The site list, the stock types, an approximate count of item locations, the hours each zone is accessible and your target count calendar.
6.Contact. Send these items with the form on this page. We scope the count and send a written quote with the crew plan.
Request a written quote
How the count stays live
Rolling cycle counts plus a method stack that works around active picks.
Rolling cycle counts
Count zones rotate through the plant on a continuous cadence so the ledger catches up without a single shutdown event.
Method stack
Handheld scanning, blind counts and recounts are the base method. Where it fits your stock, we add RFID reads and photo records. We choose the method for each zone during scoping.
Further reading
More on shutdown-free industrial cycle counts — method and ops context.
Two paths. One plant.
Wall-to-wall shutdown vs keep-running. Same need for a trustworthy count — different cost to the line.
Shutdown wall-to-wall
- Freeze picks and putaway
- Stage count teams across the plant
- Lost throughput while the plant is stopped
- Restart risk when books reopen
- Variance still waits until next freeze
Keep-running path
- Picks stay on schedule
- Zones count in rotation
- Method stack rides alongside activity
- Controllers see rolling reconciliation
- No “lights out” event to negotiate
Who this is for
Plant operations, materials managers and controllers who need a correct count but cannot stop production.
Plant ops / materials
Keep fulfillment moving while cycle counts proceed.
Controllers
Close the books gap without waiting for the next freeze.
COO
Protect service levels and throughput during the count.
CFO
Avoid the P&L hit of a multi-day production stop.
30+ years of experience · 2,500+ clients · Projects on every continent.
How we count while your site keeps running
We use four tools on each job. Each tool removes one cause of a bad count.
We count zone by zone, so your operation does not stop.
OCR tag reading
We read worn, faded or damaged asset tags with OCR. You get a correct record even when the barcode does not scan.
Mobile barcode scanning
Our teams scan barcodes on mobile devices at the asset. Each scan records the asset, its location and the time.
RFID
We read RFID tags without a line of sight. Assets in racks, ceilings and closed rooms go into the count.
RFID and AI-assisted fixed asset inventoryAI-assisted reconciliation
AI-assisted reconciliation matches the floor count to your fixed asset register. We show you each missing, extra or moved asset before we close the job.
Plan a count that does not stop the line.
Shutdown-free cycle counts for industrial stock. Tell us your sites and your count calendar, and we send a written quote.