{"id":4824,"date":"2026-06-22T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/?p=4824"},"modified":"2026-06-19T11:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T09:05:15","slug":"inventory-by-sampling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/2026\/06\/22\/stichprobeninventur\/","title":{"rendered":"Inventory Sampling: Requirements, Procedures, and Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In very large warehouses, it is hardly economical to count every single item. This is where the <strong>Inventory by Sampling<\/strong> In practice: Instead of a complete census, only a representative sample is collected, and the total population is estimated based on that sample. This article explains the definition, prerequisites, procedures, and advantages and disadvantages.<\/p>\n<h2>Key Points at a Glance<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Inventory sampling calculates the total inventory based on a mathematically and statistically selected <strong>Random sample<\/strong> high.<\/li>\n<li>She is according to <strong>\u00a7 241(1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB)<\/strong> expressly permitted.<\/li>\n<li>This requires the use of a recognized statistical method and reliable inventory records.<\/li>\n<li>The result must be equivalent in statistical significance to that of a full-scale survey (confidence level typically 95% %).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Is a Spot Inventory? \u2013 Definition<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Inventory by Sampling<\/strong> is a sample-based method in which only a portion of the inventory items are physically counted. Using recognized statistical methods, the total value of the inventory is estimated from this sample. It is one of the simplified inventory-taking methods provided for under commercial law.<\/p>\n<h2>Legal Basis and Requirements<\/h2>\n<p>The legal basis is <strong>\u00a7 241(1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB)<\/strong>. For the procedure to be recognized, the following requirements must be met:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Recognized statistical method:<\/strong> The sample and the extrapolation must comply with generally accepted accounting principles.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Equivalent significance:<\/strong> The result must correspond to that of a full survey\u2014a confidence level of 95 % is standard.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reliable inventory accounting:<\/strong> Proper inventory management must be in place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>Procedure and Process<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Define the population:<\/strong> All inventory items are recorded.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Taking a sample:<\/strong> A representative sample is selected according to statistical rules.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Physical collection of the sample:<\/strong> Only the selected items are counted.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Projection:<\/strong> The total population is estimated based on the result (e.g., estimation of the mean).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Verification of the security level:<\/strong> Statistical accuracy is demonstrated.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infografik-stichprobe-inventur.png\" alt=\"Inventory Sampling: Four Steps from the Population to Estimating Total Inventory\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From a representative sample to an estimate of the total population.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Advantages and Disadvantages of Inventory Sampling<\/h2>\n<h3>Advantages<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Significantly less effort is required to count large inventories.<\/li>\n<li>Shorter inventory count time, less downtime.<\/li>\n<li>Lower personnel costs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Disadvantages<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Requires statistical expertise or appropriate software.<\/li>\n<li>This is only practical for large, homogeneous populations.<\/li>\n<li>Requires very good inventory records.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Implementing Inventory Counts Using Software<\/h2>\n<p>A spot inventory relies on accurate inventory records as its data foundation. Digital inventory management provides a clean population and documents the count in an audit-proof manner.<\/p>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/inventory-software\/\">Inventory ONE<\/a> Record inventory using <strong>Barcode or QR Code Scan<\/strong>, the <strong>Mobile Inventory Count via App<\/strong> processed directly at the warehouse and received <strong>audit-compliant records<\/strong> at the touch of a button. Learn more on our pages about <a href=\"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/inventory-software\/\">Inventory Software<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/inventory-management\/\">Inventory management<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions About Inventory Sampling (FAQ)<\/h2>\n<h3>Is a spot inventory permitted by law?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, pursuant to Section 241(1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB), provided that a recognized statistical method is used and the result is equivalent to that of a full inventory.<\/p>\n<h3>For which companies is a spot inventory worthwhile?<\/h3>\n<p>This is especially true for companies with large, homogeneous inventories and reliable inventory records.<\/p>\n<h3>What level of security is required?<\/h3>\n<p>A confidence level of 95 % with a maximum relative sampling error of 1 % is standard and accepted.<\/p>\n<p><!--SERIES-NAV--><\/p>\n<h2>Series: An Overview of Inventory Types<\/h2>\n<p>This post is part of our series on inventory types. Here you'll find all related articles:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/?p=4822\">Inventory Types \u2013 A Comprehensive Overview<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/?p=4821\">Continuous Inventory<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/?p=4823\">Point-in-Time Inventory<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Inventory by Sampling<\/strong> (this article)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/?p=4825\">Postponed Inventory Count<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inventory Sampling Explained Simply: Requirements under Section 241 of the German Commercial Code (HGB), statistical methods, procedure, and the advantages and disadvantages of extrapolation from samples.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inventur"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4824"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4846,"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4824\/revisions\/4846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inventory-one.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}