Inventory
Contents
Inventory
Full Standard Operating Procedure
READ THIS FIRST: Inventory_Management_Process.docx or This Simple Setup Page
Inventory Management
Turn on Innovatory
Click
- Administration
- Company Settings
- Edit
- Inventory Management Settings
- Inventory Tracking to Enable
Objective
The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures for the management and accountability of Company owned and controlled inventory and equipment to include: receipt and tagging of equipment, completion of a physical inventory count/reconciliation, removal of equipment and inventory, acceptance of inventory and equipment, and disposal of inventory and equipment that is no longer needed. A deviation from the policy and procedures may result in the loss of income to the Company and income to employees. Therefore, it is very important for employees to adhere to these procedures.
Scope of Policy
All employees are required to follow this policy. Inventory will be counted at a minimum of 4 times per year. Quarter counts will be done on all non-truck and truck inventory. Truck inventory will be done monthly with the possibility of counting quarterly based on deviations.
Basic functions are:
- Identify and tag all inventory and equipment.
- Provide annual physical inventory of all inventory and equipment.
- Know the location of all inventory and equipment and ensure that equipment is adequately safeguarded and secured from possible theft and other hazards.
- Assure that assigned inventory and equipment is being used for business only.
- Exercise reasonable custodial care over the safeguarding
Receiving of items for Inventory
Upon receipt of items, all will be inspected to determine if the equipment is in an acceptable condition and in the correct quantity ordered.
Completion of Physical Inventory
A physical inventory of inventory and equipment is performed at a minimum once a year with trucks more frequently. The inventory is conducted by Purchasing Coordinator with the assistance of others.
Physical Inventory Guidelines:
- Establish a master schedule that sets the beginning and completion dates for both the counting process and the inventory reconciliation.
- For ease of reconciliation, consider scheduling the completion of the physical inventory count to coincide with the last working day of a period.
- Suspend all transaction activities such as receiving and sales during the count process to make the process more efficient.
- Notify affected parties providing adequate lead time to plan appropriately.
- If not already available, prepare inventory tags to be used to identify items that have been counted and how many times they have been counted. Consider preprinted tags, if available from your inventory tracking system, containing all of the information except the actual counts, to reduce the effort on the day(s) of the count.
- Prepare the storage area for the inventory count. (If the warehouse is clean and organized throughout the year, additional efforts before the count should be minimal.).
- Make sure like items are grouped together. Arrange items so they can be easily counted (i.e., in "batches").
- Make sure all items are identified with a part number, bar code, or other identification.
- Update storage area floor plans to reflect current stock locations and identify count areas.
Establish clear cutoff guidelines, identifying which items to include or exclude from the inventory count.
1. If possible, complete all handling and recording of inventory products before the physical inventory count begins. This includes receipts, returns, consolidation between stocking locations, etc.
2. No movement of any inventory should be permitted during the physical count. Any items that are delivered during the count should be physically separated and labeled "POST INVENTORY: DO NOT COUNT".
If movement is required, backup documentation should be maintained and the quantity reflected in the count or subsequent discrepancy reconciliation. A good practice is to attach a count tag to copies of the documentation.
Conduct the Physical Count
Reconciling the Physical Inventory
Reconciliation is defined as the process of identifying, explaining, and correcting the differences between the physical count and the asset balance in the General Ledger
A. Determine the amount per physical count.
1. Enter the physical count into an inventory control system, if there is one, or into ThermoGrid listing all items in the inventory.
2. Significant discrepancies between the records and the count should be investigated and explained.
3. ThermoGrid will Calculate the total inventory cost by multiplying units per count by unit cost. The total will be the impact to the General Ledger.
4. Enter the final count numbers into the system.
- Technicians will maintain Accurate Inventory with no more than 10% inventory variance during counts.
Variances per warehouse/truck will be tracked and communicated to technicians and management.
Manage Locations
To setup locations (Warehouse, Service truck 1, Truck 2, etc.)
Click
- Administration
- Inventory Management
- Manage locations
- Add Location
- Select if it is a warehouse or truck location.
- Type in a name and description
Once this is done you can prepare to add items to the location.
When adding items to the location you will do this under Stock Levels.
But before you can add the items to a location you list must be entered in the Service catalog, instructions here Manage Service Catalog. This allows you to have auto inventory control from your price book when techs sell repairs.
Stock Levels
To setup stock levels (quantity and type of parts you keep on hand)
Before you can add the items to a location you list must be entered in the Service catalog, instructions here Manage Service Catalog. This allows you to have auto inventory control from your price book when techs sell repairs.
Once the items are in your Service Catalog...
Click
- Administration
- Inventory Management
- Stock Levels
- Location you wish to setup
- Cog wheel in top right corner (Gear symbol)
- Option 1 - Export (export to excel, from here you can put in the quantities min, max, on hand) Once complete save and import back in in this location.
- Option 2 - Add items within ThermoGrid ("Add Stock item" means it is in the Service catalog already. Do a search for the item and you can put in the quantities min, max, on hand) "Add Item to Service Catalog" will allow you to add it in the service catalog from here then add to the stock level for this location.
Copy the stock level to another location:
Once you have one service truck setup you can Cog wheel in top right corner (Gear symbol) and copy to another location. This will save you time setting up all the other locations.
Inventory Orders
To reorder parts for a truck location that is low click:
- Administration
- Inventory Management
- Manage Stock Levels
- Select Location
ThermoGrid will automatically put a check mark next to all items that need to be reordered. If you do not wish to reorder at this time simply uncheck the item, this will be used to split orders to separate suppliers or to just not purchase an item at this time.
If you want to only see items that need to be reordered click Cog wheel in top right corner (Gear symbol) and select Show Low Products.
Once you have the items selected to reorder click Cog wheel in top right corner (Gear symbol) and Reorder. From here you can email to any supplier you wish.
If an item is being ordered in by the supplier you can check the box Notify When In Stock... Once the item is delivered to you, you can receive the item and a button will appear up at the top called Notify In Stock. This will allow you to notify the tech, the office, and/or client to get the job scheduled.
Challenges
Inventory Changes
Changes:
Stock Level page
- Added paging to improve scalability
- Prevent users from re-ordering a product that is not in the service catalog.
- Added description field to stock level item object so that if service catalog item is deleted, description is not lost.
- Prevent users from creating inventory orders that are too big to scale effectively.
Inventory Orders Page
- Added description and price fields to out of stock items and in stock items so that if service catalog item is updated or deleted, description and price are not lost.
- If an inventory order containing a purchased item or out of stock item is canceled, allow that item to be edited/removed again.
Items Used page
- Added description and price fields to all inventory order line items so that if service catalog item or purchased item is updated or deleted, original description and price from the inventory order is kept.
- Prevent users from receiving a product or canceling the order if there are are items that do not have a match in their designated inventory location/category.
- Allow users to correct this by double-clicking the warning icon next to the item with the issue and choosing a new item to match this with in the stock levels.
- Prevent users from creating inventory orders that are too big to scale effectively.
Challenges:
- I cannot create an inventory order.
1) Verify that less than 300 items have been selected.
- I cannot reorder an item
1) This usually means that the item no longer exists in the service catalog. Edit the stock level item and choose a new corresponding service catalog item.
- I cannot receive an inventory order
1) This means that an item on the order references a service catalog item that is no longer in inventory stock levels.
A) Make sure there is a corresponding item in the designated stock level location for this line item.
B) Click the warning icon for the item in question. A popup will appear where you can choose the corresponding item from the stock level location.
- I cannot cancel an inventory order
1) See "I cannot receive an inventory order".
- I cannot receive a particular item on the inventory order.
1) See "I cannot receive an inventory order".
- The total cost of an inventory item is showing as $0.00 on the stock levels page.
1) This usually means that the item no longer exists in the service catalog. Edit the stock level item and choose a new corresponding service catalog item.
