Sam's Club Annual Inventory
Industry
Enterprise Retail
Client
Sam's Club
Role
Sr. UX Design
Timeframe
2024
Modernizing and improving a 40+ year old legacy process to improve the universally hated Annual Inventory process for Sam's Club associates and managers.
THE PROBLEM
Annual Inventory relied on paper tickets, manual counts, and decades-old tools - making it one of the most complex and frustrating processes in retail. Slow visibility, fragmented communication, and high cognitive load meant associates spent more time fighting the process than completing it.
CHALLENGES
Paper precount tickets, binders, and manual logs
Slow or delayed visibility into variances
High cognitive load and constant backtracking
No unified, real-time way to collaborate across roles
Significant accuracy issues driven by manual counting
THE HUMAN REALITY
For associates, this meant long nights, stacks of paper, constant backtracking, and pressure to get it right. Many had been doing it the same way for decades.
OPERATIONAL COMPLEXITY
Third-party auditors relied on separate tools, paper schedules, and manual reconciliation to validate counts. Data moved slowly between systems, increasing duplication, effort, and the risk of error under tight timelines.
THE SOLUTION
The redesigned Annual Inventory app turns a complex, paper-heavy process into a simple, guided, and fully digital workflow improving accuracy, speeding up decisions, and reducing effort.
THE UPGRADES
Guided location-based precounting
Automated variance detection and smart prioritization
Streamlined recount workflows based on impact
Real-time manager review and approvals
Fully digital, auditable accuracy across all systems
Clear handoffs and shared visibility across roles
STEP 1: PRECOUNT
Precounting is now guided, intuitive, and paper-free. Associates know exactly where to go and what to scan, reducing cognitive load and eliminating backtracking. Real-time updates and clearer location workflows make early counts faster, more accurate, and easier for associates to complete.
STEP 2: VARIANCE REVIEW
Variance review is now automated, guided, and connected across all roles. As soon as 3rd-party counts sync into the system, discrepancies are identified and routed directly to associates for recount. Managers gain real-time visibility into progress, context, and outcomes, enabling faster review and fewer recount loops.
The result is a clearer, more aligned variance workflow for all roles.
STEP 3: FINALIZATION
Finalization is now clearer and more accurate, with managers receiving a consolidated summary of all discrepancies and recount outcomes. Each variance includes context from previous steps, reducing guesswork and making approvals faster and more transparent.
The result is cleaner on-hand accuracy and stronger confidence across the club.
VALIDATION
Utilizing Sam's full scale store model in Bentonville called "The Clubhouse," we were able to test and validate a prototype of the app without disrupting a real Sam's store.
GOALS
Validate that associates can successfully count items by category and location
Ensure managers are able to clearly see all precount data and assign for recount if needed and finalize count
Find any bugs in the dev build of the app or any flows that need updating before MVP release
METHODOLOGY
Observational field testing with live dev build
Moderated prototype testing for manager variance views
PRECOUNT TAKEAWAYS
Both associates and managers found the app to be usable. There was very little confusion as to where to go for the next step when prompted
There was curiosity surrounding physical space changes affecting precounts. Ex: Will pallet drops require them to recount a location wiping their work?
General excitement and positivity about the digitization of this “archaic” process
VARIANCE TAKEAWAYS
Similar to precount, usablity was not an issue when asked to perform tasks
Seeing progress to completion (dials) was a welcomed change as it removes some of the ambiguity about overall progress
Managers were uneasy about final approval step (especially now that it’s just a click of a button) as well as confusion about how to know when the process is considered “done”
IMPACT
By syncing on-hands automatically and removing the guesswork, the new workflow creates clearer, more reliable inventory. Associates work with confidence, and managers rely on real-time information they trust. This means fewer out-of-stock surprises for members, more accurate reporting, and a more sustainable process that eliminates millions of sheets of paper.
This isn’t just better inventory, it’s a better way to work.
