An inventory gap alone does not prove that a container is lost. It may be at the depot, with a customer, in transit, washing or repair. Reconcile every location at the same count time first; breakage, delay and loss are different events.
Compare expected and counted balances
For the expected balance, add purchases during the period to the opening count and subtract documented retirements. In the physical count, total depot, customer, in-transit, washing and repair locations separately. The difference between totals is the quantity to investigate; it is not a loss rate by itself.
Match movement records to customers
For every delivery and return, record quantity, date, customer and recipient. Confirm any open balance with the customer at reconciliation. Use separate status codes for late returns, damaged containers and units with an unverified location; close a loss only after investigation and record correction.
Show opening and closing counts, purchases, documented retirements and unresolved differences in the period report. Do not code a broken container as lost or a pending return as retired. Compare periods using the same calculation definition.
