Inventory control best practice: A real-world guide to smarter, simpler warehousing

Let’s be honest: "inventory control best practice" sounds like one of those dry topics that gets buried in a training manual.

But if you’re running, or responsible for, a warehouse, you know the reality is far from boring.

Inventory control is the pulse of your operation. It’s what makes the difference between a seamless, high-performing warehouse and one that constantly chases stock, misses SLAs, and eats into your margins. And in today’s unpredictable supply chain landscape, the stakes have never been higher.

So, instead of rehashing generic definitions or textbook advice, we’re going to walk you through what best practice really looks like, right now, in 2025, with insights drawn from live operations, automation, and data-led decision-making.

Whether you’re a 3PL, a manufacturer, or simply tired of hearing “we can’t find it,” this is for you.

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First, let’s reframe the question: What does good inventory control feel like?

It’s tempting to define best practice as a list of systems and SOPs. But here’s the truth, great inventory control isn’t just about ticking boxes. It feels different:

• Your team trusts the data in front of them.
• Your space is being used logically, not cluttered with guesswork.
• Your cycle counts don’t take three days and a forklift licence.
• When something goes missing, you know where to look (and why).
• You don’t dread the next audit.
  
  

If that doesn’t sound like your day-to-day yet, don’t worry. You're far from alone, and the good news is, there are clear, proven steps to get there.

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1. Make accuracy your non-negotiable (not just your KPI)

There’s a big difference between aiming for inventory accuracy and designing for it.

Most warehouses still rely heavily on periodic checks, error-prone manual entries, or even “good enough” estimates. But guesswork isn’t a strategy, especially when customers expect next-day delivery.

Here’s the truth: you can’t optimise what you can’t trust.

Best practice means making inventory accuracy part of your daily rhythm, not a monthly event. And not just accuracy at a macro level, but location-level integrity. Are your pick faces accurate? Are you double-counting returns? Are replenishments being logged in real time?

If this sounds like a tall order, it’s where automation can lend a serious hand. Autonomous inventory robots like ours at Dexory scan full facilities, floor to ceiling, without interrupting operations. No clipboards. No overtime. Just real-time data you can actually use.

5 strategies to improve inventory accuracy

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2. Design your process around data visibility, not habit

Here’s a challenge: map out your current inventory control process, and highlight which parts rely on:

• Manual verification
• Emails and spreadsheets
• “Local knowledge” (a.k.a. asking Jane in aisle 5)
  
  

You’d be surprised how many critical stock decisions are made in silos or based on outdated views of the warehouse.

Best practice means bringing live visibility to the centre of every decision, from space allocation to order picking to reconciliation.

A modern inventory control system doesn’t just tell you what’s where. It should alert you to discrepancies, track historical movement, and help you predict stock issues before they affect fulfilment.

At Dexory, we do this through a digital twin of your warehouse, constantly updated by autonomous robots. That means teams on-site and off-site get the same real-time view, from any device. You stop firefighting. You start managing.

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3. Fix it, log it, move on: your audit trail should work for you

We often hear teams say they’re “not afraid of audits.” But when the prep work involves halting operations, calling in temps, or frantically cross-checking locations, something’s off.

A truly audit-ready warehouse is one where every adjustment, movement, and resolution is tracked automatically, not scribbled on paper or lost in a spreadsheet.

Best practice means having a clean, searchable, and shareable inventory audit trail, always ready, no scrambling required.

For example, our platform automatically logs what was scanned, when, what changed, and which task was resolved. That’s not just useful for compliance, it’s a stress-free way to build trust with customers and internal teams.

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4. Shift from “how much?” to “how healthy?”

Inventory control isn’t just about stock levels. It’s about stock quality—location accuracy, frequency of errors, movement rates, and availability.

So rather than asking “how much inventory do we have?”, a better question is: Are we holding the right stock, in the right place, at the right time?

Best practice means moving from inventory counting to inventory health management.

This includes:

• Spotting and reducing overstocking (which eats up valuable space)
• Identifying dead stock and underused locations
• Proactively resolving recurring issues like misplaced SKUs or empty slots in high-demand areas
  
  

Think of it like a health check-up for your warehouse. The cleaner the system, the better it performs.

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5. Control comes from consistency, not intensity

Here’s a big misconception: Inventory control = big quarterly counts or massive audits.

The truth? You’ll get far better results from small, consistent actions that keep your data fresh.

Best practice is less about “doing more” and more about doing it often, and building your control habits into the flow of the workday.

This is where automation shines. For example, our robot scans thousands of locations per hour, flagging empty spots, misplaced pallets, or label issues. Your team sees what needs fixing, logs it on DexoryView, and gets back to high-value tasks.

It’s fast, light-touch, and, best of all, uninterrupted.

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Bonus: Avoid the 3 silent killers of inventory integrity

No blog on best practice would be complete without naming the common pitfalls. These are the things that quietly eat away at your accuracy and control:

1. Inventory lag – Waiting hours (or days) to reflect movements means your data is outdated before anyone acts on it.
2. Data silos – When WMS data, spreadsheets, and teams don’t talk to each other, discrepancies flourish.
3. Human fatigue – Manual cycle counts are exhausting.
   
   

The antidote? Real-time, autonomous, integrated systems that reduce effort, not just errors.

Explore how to avoid stock discrepancies: Why they happen and how to stop them

Inventory control is a team sport. Best practice makes it winnable.

At the end of the day, inventory control best practice isn’t about perfection. It’s about giving your teams better tools, better visibility, and better rhythm.

With smarter systems and automation in place, you can go from “we’re behind again” to “we’ve got this covered.”

At Dexory, we help companies do exactly that, across sectors, continents, and warehouse configurations. Our robots collect the data. Our DexoryView platform turns it into insight. And your team turns it into action.

So if you’re serious about levelling up your inventory control (and you’re done with spreadsheets), we’d love to show you what’s possible.

Book your personalised demo

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