I used to work at Peterbilt, I know this feeling.
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Transaction discipline and counting is hard. Itâs like programming. Does testing code make it worse? No, it points out how little we care about quality of what we are doing - just as @JasonMcD points out. It uncovers the flaws in our system be it counting or coding. 
Of course, you donât need to make that application/BAQ/etc.
But you do need to know what is in inventory. And there are so many hands in the pot.
(Yes, yes, if you even have inventory. My point is that if you do, youâd want to know how much you need to order based on what you have in the building.)
Absolutely. part identification is paramount. If a part is not identified easily, who it belongs to, what state its in, has it been transacted, well thatâs a process issue, IMHO. Itâs no different than bank reconciliations. Do they make our books look worse?
I think of the early days of Six Sigma and what quality means. It depends how much importance we give it. In birthing centers, is it cool to only drop a dozen babies a month? (I probably was. It would explain a lot.) The point of that training is we choose whatâs important and keeping track of what we do doesnât seem as important.
Or am I missing a point?
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Oh, no, I agree; Iâm just voicing generic frustration with humanity and such.
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I think I need a âthread hijackerâ badge. Sorry, this thread just hits a decade-long nerve in me.
I often jest that if you go to Hobby Lobby, they scan zero bar codes. Items have prices, but the clerks have to memorize all of the sales, I think. Your receipt just says:
Crafts $6.00
Crafts $4.00
Crafts $9.00
Ever feel like we try entirely too hard to implement software (and more) to manage inventory? And then we still can fail so easily to get the numbers right!
I mean retail is different than manufacturing. A plant runs out of a $0.33 part, and the assembly line is shut down. But in retail âSorry we are out of that.â âOh OK Iâll just buy this more expensive thing!â
But I empathize with the OP here - there have got to be creative solutions to this.
Physical kanban is one, for example.
Likewise, we have a third-party MES system where the workers report out-of-stock and low-stock items, and every morning at 8 AM they are reviewed in front of 2-3 dozen people. Boots on the ground beats software, IMHO.
But⌠why are we almost out of the part in the first place? Some kind of cycle count or PI error was the culprit. Or they are using part A when weâve been backflushing part B per the BOM.
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If it truly was idiocy, I think I could excuse it. Unfortunately, I think it generally falls into just plain laziness, and that really ticks me off. The old adage âSomeone else will fix itâ.
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