Record at the moment, wherever you are
The biggest risk in a no-network spot is not the network: it is “I'll record it when I'm back at the desk”. By then the details are gone. Whatever you use, it must let you record where the stock moves: at the gate, in the store room, at the counter.
On paper
A notebook works anywhere. Keep one at each place stock moves, write every movement with the time and your name, and copy the pages into your main records the same day. Tick each line as you copy it, so nothing is entered twice or missed.
With an app
Not every app works offline. Before you trust one in a dead zone, check three things:
- Does it keep what you record when there is no network, and send it by itself later? Some apps just show an error and lose it.
- Does it show what is still waiting to send? You need to know, without guessing, that the three deliveries you recorded haven't arrived yet.
- Does a record ever arrive twice? If the network drops while saving and you press save again, a good app still records it once.
Test it yourself: switch on airplane mode, record two things, close the app completely, open it again, switch the network back on, and check both arrived, once each.
Habits that help
- Find the dead zones in your shop and warehouse, and make sure everyone knows where they are.
- Open the app once on good network each morning, so the product list on the phone is fresh.
- Don't record the same thing again “to be sure”. Check what is waiting instead.