December 13, 2019

Measuring Stockpile Inventory Just Got Easier

Author: Stockpile Reports

Measuring stockpile inventory with Stockpile Reports alleviates the stress of managing several material production sites, especially during the month-end when your company’s finance team is hounding you for inventory numbers. The stress associated with providing monthly inventory numbers is the top reason why drones have become the standard tool on worksites for measuring stockpile volumes. Your company can measure its entire inventory in a few minutes using drones. However, is the drone the right tool for your company? The associated hassle of FAA certifications, the limit on the number of employees who can use the tool, and airspace restrictions are just a few reasons drones might not be the right tool for the job. What you may not know is that there are two other tools available to you as well.

Stockpile Reports has spent nearly a decade listening to the industry and its customers, creating a complete toolset that enables companies to easily measure accurate inventory numbers that they can trust. Having multiple tools to fit your specific needs ensures you minimize the stress of month-end inventory counts. No more unexplained write-offs. No more missing your weekends measuring stockpiles. No more safety issues.

Stockpile Reports offers three tools for stockpile inventory measurement:

1. Drones, our most popular inventory tool
2. iPhone, our most efficient and diverse inventory tool
3. Fixed-Cameras, our newest logistics tool

Been There, Drone That

From measuring stockpiles to surveying farmland, companies all over the world have heavily invested in drones for various tasks. Drones improve the efficiency of data collection that provides deep insight and knowledge into the operations of an organization.

The hype around drones being an integral tool for the future of business was not overrated. By 2022, it’s anticipated that there will be 2.5 million drones in the air. To put that into perspective, there are approximately 40 thousand airplanes, meaning there will be 62.5 times as many drones as there are airplanes in the air.

Companies, both big and small, can invest in the “drone fever” to improve their business operations. The proliferation of drones means that they have become affordable and user-friendly. Whether you want to start your own drone program internally or want to hire out the work to someone else, there are more options today than ever before.

Drones are here to stay and are a great tool for your monthly inventory counts. You can see how much inventory you have on the ground in a matter of a few hours when you use a drone with Stockpile Reports. However, you might be thinking, “flying a drone sounds complicated.” Fortunately, modern drones practically fly themselves. Stockpile Reports’ online portal provides comprehensive reports of the drone measurements that will tell you the volume and tonnage by product at each of your sites. Each detailed measurement report comes with other valuable information for auditors and finance such as unit conversion rates and highlighted environmental risks to aid in the assessment of the quality of the inventory number.

Drones have been the standard for stockpile measurement for the past few years because you don’t need to be a surveyor or skilled pilot to operate one. All you need some basic training, FAA certification, and a drone. If you want to skip the hassle of certifying your team and managing drone hardware, you can just pick up the phone or log in to our website to book drone flights with our network of pilots. This takes almost all of the work associated with monthly inventory counts off your hands.

Before you jump on board with drones at your company, there are a few details to consider that might help you determine if a drone is truly the best tool for you. Do you have stockpiles indoors? Are your sites near a major airport? Do you experience drastic weather? Any one of these questions might mean that you need a different tool. Thankfully, there is another tool that solves these questions…

Move Over Drones, The Tool You Need is Already in Your Pocket

Drones may be the most well-known, but they’re not the most diverse tool available. Stockpile Reports was founded on a tool that can go where drones can’t; the iPhone.

Our patented iPhone app offers flexibility and use cases that the drone simply can’t offer. From measuring indoors to spot-checking deliveries and tracking production, the iPhone app puts the power of on-demand inventory measurement in the hand of every employee.

Your employees become on-demand measurement experts. They can measure inventory indoors without the risk of putting several thousand dollar drones into a wall. The app uses your camera which keeps your employees off of stockpiles, unlike GPS and walking wheel and laser solutions of the past. You’re investing in safer worksites without sacrificing measurement results.

Your front loader operator or plant manager can spot-check deliveries as they arrive and depart, ensuring that you receive what you ordered and customers are receiving the quantity and quality they expect. By offering a solution that enables you to measure more frequently, you’re promoting trust between sales and production teams and your customers.

The iPhone is a game-changer for companies, especially those located near restricted airspaces, such as an airport or freeway, or with stockpiles located indoors or under canopies. You can measure every pile, anytime. With the iPhone app, you have the power to eliminate unexplained write-offs and forget the stress of reporting inventory numbers.

Real-Time Inventory is the Real Future of Your Business

We’ll take that one step further. It’s been our vision from the start to enable customers to track and manage every pile, anytime. From operations to logistics, we want to alleviate the headache of inventory through automating inventory management. No more running out of material. No more write-offs. No more tense board meetings. No more missing inventory. Reduced expenses. Maximized profitability. That’s our vision for the future.

We’ve made that vision a reality. In 2019, we announced our fixed-camera solution, which allows you to manage every pile, anytime, from anywhere. With near-real-time inventory numbers, you’ll never run out of inventory and you’ll never have too much. Customers define the maximum and minimum inventory thresholds, the fixed-cameras monitor the inventory levels and auto-trigger replenishment orders when needed. If you want to learn more about this solution, please contact us. We’d love to share it with you!

Schedule an On-site and Trial

Our team would love to come out to your worksite and show you how it works! All you have to do is get in touch with us and we’ll help you set it up. If you’re ready to get started now, give us a call and we’ll get you set up with a trial or subscription.