Manual vs AI Stocktaking
Compare guided manual counting, photographed sheets and AI-assisted shelf scanning on your own venue. The best method depends on the stock, the area and the review effort.
Guided manual counting
A person measures and enters the stock. It suits kegs, open containers, obscured shelves and products that are difficult to recognise visually. StockLens CountFlow records the count digitally, so manual counting does not have to mean a clipboard with no audit trail.
Photographed count sheets
Smart Sheet Capture reads a completed paper sheet for review. It can help a team keep its existing count routine while reducing retyping. It cannot correct a wrong physical count just because the writing has been read correctly. Retain and check the source sheet.
AI-assisted shelf scanning
The optional StockLens AI Scanner (Beta) suggests visible products. Lighting, overlap, labels and product-library quality affect results. Every suggestion must be reviewed and approved, and hidden stock still needs to be counted. There is no verified universal speed or accuracy advantage promised here.
Compare the whole job
Use the same area and comparable stock conditions for each method. Include setup, capture, duplicate checking, corrections and approval in the timing. Recheck a sample independently and compare disagreements. A method that captures quickly but needs extensive correction may not suit that area.
Mix methods deliberately
Use the method that suits each area while maintaining one agreed counting boundary. Make ownership clear so a shelf is neither skipped nor counted twice. Judge the outcome by a complete, explainable stocktake rather than the novelty of the capture method.