Separation of duties: no single person for the whole chain

In small and medium warehouses one trusted person often does everything: orders, receives the goods, puts them on the shelf, enters them in the records, writes them off and counts the balances too. It is convenient and quick. But nobody sees either a mistake or an abuse. This is not about distrust: separation of duties protects the honest person too, because if an error appears it can be found and explained fast. Below are ways to apply the rule even in a small team.

The basic rule

One person should not carry out all the stages of a single operation. The chain is: ordering, receiving, storing and issuing, entering in the records, writing off and correcting, counting. The most dangerous combinations are ordering and receiving in one person (goods that were never delivered can be recorded as "received"), storing and writing off in one person (lost goods can be recorded as "damaged"), and storing and counting in one person (the person checks their own mistake). To find such combinations, write for each employee a list of what they "are able to do"; it is often surprising how many have two or three such roles. The simplest check: trace the chain of documents for one product item from order to write-off and note who signed or logged in at each step. A name that keeps recurring shows the problem.

What to do in a small team

In a warehouse of three or four people full separation is impossible. Then compensating measures are used:

• when a write-off or manual stock correction exceeds a set sum, a second signature (the manager's or owner's) is needed; you set the sum yourself;
• counts are done not by the person who stores the goods but by someone else, at least on a sample basis;
• a corrections log: date, who, reason, sum; once a week the manager reviews the five largest;
• compulsory leave or a change of shift: when a person is away for a few days, hidden problems come to light by themselves.

The manager or owner is part of the control too: once a month let them check the balances in 10 random locations themselves; half an hour is enough.

Access rights

Passwords in the software should be personal, with no shared password. Everyone performs only the actions needed for their task: a receiver cannot write goods off, a picker cannot change a price. Keep a list of keys and record who entered the warehouse and when. When an employee leaves, close their access the same day. It is a simple rule but often forgotten: the password and key stay with the person who has gone. If there are cameras, let them cover the receiving and shipping area and the place where goods to be written off are kept.

An example

An example, with illustrative figures. In one warehouse purchasing, receiving and write-offs are in one person's hands. In a month goods worth 6 million so'm are written off as "damaged". A rule is introduced: a write-off above 500,000 so'm needs a photograph and a second signature. The rule accuses nobody; it just makes the picture visible. Once both the manager and the warehouse manager see this figure, the question becomes not "who is to blame?" but "why is this happening?". Next month the number and value of recorded cases give a clear answer: whether these are really damage or a lack of order in storage. In the first case you need to talk to the supplier or carrier, in the second to fix placement and packing. Such a system has its own price too: a second signature takes time. So use it only for important operations, not for small daily actions.

Tone and example

Introduce control not as an accusation but as a general rule for everybody: "this applies to the warehouse manager and to the owner". If the manager does not follow the rule and makes an exception for themselves, the rule quickly loses force. Good control does not give a person the feeling of "I am being watched" but the confidence that "if I make a mistake, it will be found and corrected quickly". Explain the reason for the rule to staff in advance: it is not distrust of them but a way to catch any error with a second pair of eyes.

Conclusion

Control does not mean distrust of a person; it is a way to make the system reliable. The OmborExpert specialists assess duties and access rights and help write internal control rules suited to a small team.