Inventory Tracking System: Keeping Counts Accurate So Orders Stay Honest

Inventory mistakes do not stay in the warehouse

An inventory tracking system matters because inventory mistakes travel. They show up as stockouts, oversells, late shipments, substitutions, refunds, and customer frustration. Research shows that as brands add channels and increase SKU counts, inventory accuracy becomes harder to maintain without stronger systems. When inventory data is wrong, the business makes promises it cannot keep.

Many brands come to G10 after dealing with inventory that felt like a moving target. The numbers changed without explanation. Locations were unclear. Receiving took too long to reflect in available inventory. An inventory tracking system should remove that uncertainty by recording what arrived, where it went, and what left the building.

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." Inventory tracking is the foundation of solving those problems because it connects inventory truth to order execution.

Real time movement tracking is what makes a system useful

An inventory tracking system is not helpful if it updates later. Real time movement tracking is what turns the system into a decision tool. When inventory moves, the system should know immediately, not after a batch update.

Bryan Wright described the level of tracking history that supports real time 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." An inventory tracking system should capture that same kind of timeline for inbound, putaway, picks, and adjustments.

Scan-based execution keeps inventory data accurate

Inventory tracking systems fail when the warehouse relies on paper, memory, or shortcuts. Scan-based workflows are what keep the data trustworthy, because scans create proof at each step.

As Connor Perkins 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." Scan-based execution is the backbone of an inventory tracking system because it keeps locations and counts aligned with reality.

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." Inventory tracking helps reduce those errors because accurate location data supports better picks, and transaction history supports faster investigations.

Receiving and putaway define whether inventory will stay accurate

Receiving is the first moment inventory becomes your responsibility. If receiving is slow or inaccurate, the inventory tracking system begins with a mistake. Putaway is the next critical step. If location assignments are sloppy, the system will show inventory, but pickers will not find it where the system claims it is.

Research shows that receiving accuracy, clear labeling, and disciplined putaway are major drivers of inventory accuracy because they determine whether the system has a clean starting point. An inventory tracking system should capture receiving variances, lot details when needed, and the exact location where inventory is stored.

Cycle counts and adjustments need an audit trail

Inventory adjustments are unavoidable, but they should never be mysterious. A strong inventory tracking system shows why an adjustment happened, who made it, and what transaction history led to it. Research shows teams improve faster when adjustments are transparent, because patterns become visible.

Cycle counts also become more valuable when they are tied to transaction history. If you can see that a SKU repeatedly goes missing after a certain workflow step, you can fix the step instead of counting the same item forever.

Portals make inventory tracking usable for brands

Inventory tracking systems are only helpful if brands can access the data quickly. A portal that shows inventory levels, accuracy signals, and history makes the system practical.

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." Inventory tracking becomes more valuable when brands can monitor inventory levels directly and see how inventory changes.

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." Transaction history is the heart of an inventory tracking system because it shows how inventory moved.

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." Reporting access makes it easier to audit inventory performance and share updates internally.

Inventory tracking reduces stockouts and oversells

When inventory is accurate and visible, you can commit inventory confidently across channels. That reduces oversells and prevents stockouts from surprising your team. It also reduces emergency replenishment because you can see what is truly running low.

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." A strong inventory tracking system helps make that accuracy measurable and dependable.

Inventory tracking rebuilds confidence after bad data

Brands often switch 3PLs because inventory stopped being believable. Counts were off. Adjustments felt random. Planning became impossible. A strong inventory tracking system rebuilds confidence by making inventory movement traceable and accessible.

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." Inventory truth is a major reason that relief happens because it makes decisions easier and mistakes less frequent.

Inventory tracking systems are now essential

As fulfillment scales, inventory complexity grows fast. An inventory tracking system requires real time movement tracking, scan-based execution, portals that expose levels and history, and reporting that supports continuous 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 oversells, and fewer hours lost to reconciliation, improving your inventory tracking system is a practical step.

If you want to see what inventory tracking looks like when every movement is captured and visible, ask for a walkthrough that maps your current inventory pain points to a clearer, more defensible visibility model.