May 6, 2015

Stockpile Inventory for the CFO

Author: Stockpile Reports

We’ve written in this blog about several issues in the field that cause variances in stockpile measurement results.

These include belt calibration, third-party volume discrepancies, changing material densities, pile grooming, varying stockpile sizes and safety concerns.

It is no wonder that many companies are unable to regularly track inventory of stockpiled material.

Operations managers know that tracking inventory from month to month is a hard problem to solve, and an inexact science.

However, the CFO has a completely different perspective on the inventory problem. Writing off millions, or tens of millions, at the end of a fiscal year is extremely painful.

Never Again

Enterprises are writing off millions of dollars due to inaccurate inventory numbers each year. Isn’t it time that our industry adopts modern, streamlined approaches similar to retail and automotive industries?

To mitigate painful write-offs, the CFO needs data: inventory measurements done regularly, and performed company-wide.

Explain a request for regular inventory measurements to people outside our industry, and they often assume that gathering and sharing company-wide measurements is an easy and standardized practice.

However, there are a variety of ways companies currently measure: by walking wheel, GPS, laser, drones, aerials and by ‘thumb’. The chances of being able to taking monthly stockpile measurements by one— or a combination of these methods— regularly, and consistently, seems to be wildly optimistic. Add to this mix the logistics of measurements across multiple sites, cities and states.

There’s more: how about adding the challenge of how to enter and reconcile all that data, from varying sources? CFOs get results via multiple emails, spread sheets, and application softwares.

It is no wonder that both the CFO and the Operations teams get very grumpy sometimes.

What if a stockpile measurement method…

• Was easy enough to use that anyone could measure stockpiles with minimal training?
• Didn’t have to be outsourced, and someone was trained how to do it at every site?
• The results met the consistency and accuracy requirements of the company.
• The results were automatically processed and available to corporate with no data entry?
• Could be used on the majority of piles on a site?

Consider the iPhone

Many of you may have the measurement solution already in the palm of your hand! Accurate stockpile measurements with an iPhone is a current reality, and being utilized by clients in 12 countries. Notable domestic clients include the Texas DOT, Pete Lien and Sons and Knife River. Our domestic and international customers have measured more than 115 million tons of material so far using our platform!

Did you know that beyond the point of measurement, the Stockpile Reports platform also supports online reconciliation? This provides the data to the CFO quickly and consistently. Here is a shortcut to more information about our custom reports.

Production — Sales = Inventory

Remember that every stockpile is cash on the ground. Do you know how much cash is sitting on-site each month, or by quarter?

Don’t be surprised by what little you know at the end of the year. Start tracking and measuring your inventory now. Contact us today for more information about our subscription-based service and reconciliation features.