Inventory Audit Compliance That Keeps Your Numbers Honest

Inventory audits usually begin after something feels off. A retailer questions a short shipment, finance flags a variance that keeps resurfacing, or a cycle count produces a number no one can tie back to what actually moved through the building. The audit itself is rarely the surprise; the surprise is how difficult it is to explain, step by step, how the inventory got to its current state.

That difficulty comes from motion. Inventory is received, picked, adjusted, returned, relabeled, and transferred under time pressure, often across systems that update at different speeds. An audit asks whether those movements were captured clearly enough to recreate what happened after the fact. When records fall short, the problem is not missing paperwork; it is that the operation cannot reliably trace its own actions.

If your inventory numbers are hard to stand behind when questioned, the problem is already shaping daily decisions. Teams slow down, add buffers, and double-check work because they do not trust what the system says, which is how small record-keeping gaps turn into delayed shipments, cautious replenishment, and planning that never quite settles.

Why inventory audit compliance matters for wholesale

Wholesale inventory is not just about counts. It is about traceability. Retailers expect every unit to be accounted for from receiving to palletizing. Finance teams expect clean records. Supply chain teams expect predictability. When inventory accuracy cracks, the entire operation wobbles.

Joel Malmquist, VP of Customer Experience at G10, put it bluntly. "If you do not do it right, you get those massive chargebacks." Missing units turn into missing margin.

Where audit compliance usually falls apart

Most issues surface because warehouses rely on partial scanning, manual counts, or outdated WMS systems that track inventory loosely. One missed scan or one incorrect adjustment can cascade into mismatches across ASNs, picks, and retailer shipments.

Connor Perkins, Director of Fulfillment, sees this pattern constantly. "One of the pain points our clients have experienced with previous 3PLs is inventory accuracy. Maybe their previous 3PL was not great at picking the orders accurately. So they were losing money by shipping wrong items or wrong quantities of items." Bad picks lead directly to bad audits.

Why D2C-first 3PLs struggle with wholesale audits

D2C operations track inventory at a lightweight level because shipments are smaller and errors create less financial impact. Wholesale requires unit-level accuracy, pallet-level tracking, and consistent auditing structures. D2C-first systems simply do not have the controls required to pass strict wholesale audit standards.

Bryan Wright, CTO and COO, explained the difference. "A bad WMS will not track inventory 100 percent. A good WMS tracks inventory through the warehouse at every point you touch it." Audit compliance depends on that visibility.

How communication delays worsen audit failures

When teams cannot get fast explanations for discrepancies, problems compound. Many 3PLs use ticket queues where audit inquiries sit unanswered for days. Meanwhile, retailer chargebacks accumulate, accounting reviews stall, and operations run blind.

Joel sees the consequences regularly. "At some 3PLs you get thrown into a ticketed queue, and you get different people replying every time. It can take days, if not weeks, to get a resolution." Audits cannot survive that kind of delay. At G10, clients get immediate access. "You call one person. That is it. And things get done," Joel said.

What strong inventory audit compliance looks like

A compliant inventory environment uses full scan integrity, cycle counts, variance investigations, real-time adjustments, and retailer-specific reporting. Every movement is documented. Every discrepancy is resolved. Every pallet follows the data trail cleanly from inbound to outbound.

Connor explained how compliance starts early. "When we onboard a client who sells into places like Amazon or Walmart, the process changes depending on where they are selling. We work through all of their routing guide requirements and make sure the warehouse is ready before the first order ever drops." Setup prevents downstream discrepancies.

Audit compliance under pressure

Audits become especially challenging during peak seasons, large promotions, or unexpected inbound surges. These are the moments when weak systems produce chaos and strong systems protect accuracy.

Joel shared an example from a late Target inbound. "Our supervisor, warehouse manager, and several employees worked the entire day into the night, then came back at 5 a.m. to make sure we had the routing completed." Accurate inventory allowed the operation to stay aligned despite the time crunch.

Another test came during a viral D2C spike. "The client asked, Can you help us? And we said, Yeah, we gotcha. Then we sent a truck to the carrier at midnight." Inventory stayed correct even as workloads exploded.

The bottom line for wholesale brands

Inventory audit compliance is not glamorous, but it is the backbone of accurate wholesale fulfillment. When your inventory is honest, your financials stay clean, your retailers trust you, and your operations run predictably.

If you want audit compliance that keeps your numbers straight and your headaches minimal, reach out to G10. You will get real-time accuracy, disciplined controls, and support that never leaves you guessing where your units went.