Free course · Full count + SAP MI
Physical Inventory Count
Planning a full wall-to-wall count, freezing stock, count teams, tagging, recounts, posting differences and year-end audit evidence in SAP.
What you must take away
- A full count checks every item once, usually at year end, with movements frozen.
- Prepare first: cut-off time, clean locations, count sheets and trained two-person teams.
- Count blind — counters never see the system quantity.
- Recount big differences before posting; approve write-offs above a set value.
In the SAP process
- Create physical inventory documents (MI31 or MI01).
- Block postings / set the posting block and print count sheets (MI21).
- Enter counted quantities (MI04).
- Review the difference list (MI20) and recount where needed (MI11).
- Post differences (MI07) after approval.
Case study
The year-end count that finished a day early
Setting. A distribution warehouse with 6,500 SKUs and two shifts.
Problem. Last year's count took three days and still showed large unexplained differences.
How it was investigated
- Found goods received but not posted before cut-off.
- Counters were shown system quantities and copied them.
- Several bins held mixed items with no labels.
What was changed
- Fixed a cut-off: all receipts and issues posted by 18:00 the day before.
- Introduced blind count sheets and two-person teams per zone.
- Ran a 5S clean-up and labelled every bin a week before.
Outcome. The count finished in two days and the net difference fell to a small fraction of last year's.
Lesson: A good count is 70% preparation and 30% counting.
Illustrative composite of common shop-floor situations — no client names or confidential figures.
Practical template
Full count sheet
Record blind counts per bin and flag items for recount.
| Count doc | Bin | Material | Description | Unit | Counted qty | Counter / checker | Recount? (Y/N) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100000123 | A-01-02 | BLT-M10 | Bolt M10 x 40 | EA | 480 | RK / SM | N |
How to use it
- Print one sheet per zone with no system quantity shown.
- Two people count; one writes, one checks.
- Mark recount where the difference exceeds your tolerance.
Quick quiz — check your understanding
The quiz questions stay hidden until you have spent at least one minute reading this lesson — answer from what you learned, not from clues in the options.