Inventory Scanning Tools: Why Scan-Based Workflows Protect Accuracy, Speed, and Customer Promises

Scanning is not busywork, it is the evidence your inventory needs

Inventory scanning tools matter because the warehouse is a high-speed environment where small mistakes turn into expensive outcomes. Research shows that inventory inaccuracies drive stockouts, oversells, late shipments, and customer support tickets. When inventory movement is not captured reliably, the system record drifts, and teams end up making decisions based on guesses.

Many brands come to G10 after discovering that their biggest inventory problem was not a lack of effort. It was a lack of proof. Inventory moved, but the system never saw the move. Picks happened, but the record did not update correctly. Adjustments appeared without context. Inventory scanning tools are how you create a single, consistent source of truth by capturing work as it happens.

As Maureen Milligan said, "Most of the customers who come to us from another 3PL, their challenges have always been access to their data, order accuracy and efficiency, and basically just meeting the committed requirements. So we've seen a lot of people come disillusioned by their last 3PL, where their orders weren't getting fulfilled in time, their inventory accuracy was not there, and they were not able to satisfy customer orders." Scanning tools directly address that inventory accuracy problem because they reduce silent errors.

Scan-based execution is the core of inventory accuracy

Inventory scanning tools work when scanning is built into every step: receiving, putaway, relocation, replenishment, picking, packing, and shipping. Research shows that accuracy improves when the process is designed so inventory cannot move without a scan because the system stays aligned with physical reality.

Connor Perkins put the point plainly when he said, "You want everything to be scanned in the warehouse, nothing done on paper. You can lose a lot of money in this industry by you know having people ship stuff wrong, or store it wrong, and now it's lost somewhere. So having a 3PL and WMS that is 100% scan-based is crucial." Inventory scanning tools are the enabling technology behind that scan-based discipline.

Connor also said, "One of the pain points our clients have experienced with previous 3PLSs is inventory accuracy; maybe their previous 3PL wasn't great at picking the orders accurately. So they were losing money by shipping wrong items or wrong quantities of items." Scanning tools reduce mispicks by validating item identity and quantity at the moment of work.

Receiving scans create the inventory baseline

Receiving is where inventory becomes real inside the system. If receiving is inaccurate, everything downstream is harder. Research shows that receiving variances are a common root cause of inventory inaccuracies because the warehouse builds on the receiving record.

Inventory scanning tools support better receiving by verifying SKUs, capturing quantities, and tying receipts to timestamps. This is where inventory truth begins. Without a reliable receiving scan, you can end up counting errors repeatedly instead of fixing them once.

Putaway and relocation scans keep locations truthful

Inventory often becomes hard to find not because it is missing, but because it moved. Putaway and relocation scans keep locations accurate so pickers do not waste time searching. Research shows that location accuracy improves pick speed and reduces labor waste because searching is pure overhead.

Inventory scanning tools should enforce location validation so inventory cannot be placed in an unapproved or mismatched location. When locations stay accurate, the warehouse moves faster, and order cutoffs are easier to hit.

Replenishment scans prevent pick faces from going dry

Replenishment is a hidden driver of order speed. If replenishment is late or incorrect, pick faces run empty even when inventory exists in bulk. Research shows that pick efficiency suffers when replenishment is not tracked tightly, especially during peaks.

Inventory scanning tools support replenishment by capturing the movement from bulk storage to pick locations and by updating availability immediately. That keeps pickers working instead of waiting.

Pick and pack scans protect customer promises

Picking and packing are where accuracy meets customer experience. If the wrong SKU ships, the customer pays with time, and the brand pays with refunds and reships. Research shows that wrong-item shipments are costly because they trigger reverse logistics, support contacts, and repeat labor.

Inventory scanning tools reduce these errors by validating the item at pick and validating the contents at pack. They also improve traceability by tying scans to orders and labels so issues can be investigated quickly.

Bryan Wright described the kind of scan-backed timeline that supports visibility when he said, "Absolutely. We have portals that show you the data. We have history that shows you all of that tracking. It shows the product landed on the dock at 8 o'clock. At 8:10, John picked it up and took it to location XYZ, and at 10 o'clock, we picked two items off of that pellet in the location 1, 2, 3, 4, order, you know, ABC, and at 11 o'clock, we packed it, we put it in this box and put this label number on it, and all the way through the process onto the truck and to the customer." Inventory scanning tools are how you create that kind of traceability across the workflow.

Scan-based audit trails make adjustments explainable

Adjustments are sometimes necessary, but unexplained adjustments destroy confidence. Research shows that when teams can tie adjustments to transaction history, they can reduce repeat variance by fixing root causes instead of constantly correcting symptoms.

Inventory scanning tools support this by creating a clean audit trail. When inventory changes state, moves location, or changes count, the scan records who did it and when it happened. That turns inventory from a debate into a record.

Portals and dashboards make scanning data usable

Scanning generates data, but brands need access to that data. A portal that shows inventory levels, accuracy signals, and transaction history makes scan-based execution useful outside the warehouse.

As Maureen said, "We're in the last stages of developing a new portal that will give customers real-time visibility to their on-time order fulfillment, inventory accuracy, and even inventory levels so that they can monitor those things directly in our systems." Scanning tools become more valuable when brands can monitor accuracy and inventory levels directly because scans are the source of that visibility.

As Connor said, "Our clients get best-in-class visibility and transparency. They can see their daily orders, they can see KPIs, and they can see historical transactions. They can look at a daily level or go into the more granular version where they're looking at transactional history on an item." That transaction history is powered by scan-based events, and inventory scanning tools are what capture those events.

He also said, "You have easy access to reporting and you can export to Excel, or really any format that you like you know directly from our WMS portal." Exportable reporting helps brands audit scan-driven performance and align decisions internally.

Scanning tools improve throughput without sacrificing accuracy

Some teams worry that scanning will slow work down. In practice, scanning often speeds work up because it reduces rework. Research shows that rework from mispicks, missing inventory, and location confusion consumes labor that could have been used to ship more orders.

When scanning tools are integrated into a well-designed WMS workflow, teams spend less time fixing mistakes and more time executing cleanly. That helps same-day shipping goals feel realistic instead of aspirational.

Scanning tools reduce customer-facing errors and support tickets

Customers feel inventory mistakes most during the post-purchase window. Orders ship late. Wrong items arrive. Backorders show up after checkout. Inventory scanning tools reduce these problems by keeping inventory and order execution aligned with reality.

As Maureen said, "We will take in your inbounds, we will get them received and reported back to you within our SLAs, and oftentimes more quickly than what we contracted for. We will ship your orders out the day they're required. And our inventory accuracy is generally right there at that 99.7% that we agreed. So that's one of the areas where we really do excel, and where we've been able to win business." Inventory scanning tools support that accuracy by preventing silent movement and creating consistent validation.

Scanning tools rebuild confidence after bad inventory data

Brands often switch 3PLs because inventory stopped being believable. Scanning tools rebuild confidence by making inventory changes traceable and by making accuracy repeatable.

As Maureen said, "For customers who have come to us from a bad 3PL relationship, they experience relief. They're suddenly seeing their business scaling, that the data supports what we agreed to, and then the trust begins to build." Scan-based execution contributes to that relief because the system record matches the warehouse reality more consistently.

Inventory scanning tools are now essential

Research shows that faster fulfillment and higher SKU counts increase the cost of small errors. Inventory scanning tools reduce that risk by enforcing scan-based execution, capturing real time events, and creating a transaction history that supports visibility and improvement.

As Connor said, "This is one of our strengths. G10 is on the cutting edge for this kind of transparency and feedback for clients." If your brand wants fewer inventory surprises, fewer mispicks, and cleaner post-purchase experiences, inventory scanning tools are a practical place to focus.

If you want to see what scan-based workflows look like when every movement is captured and every transaction is visible in real time, ask for a walkthrough that maps your current accuracy pain points to a clearer, more defensible visibility model.