Inventory: concepts and basic operations

Inventory shows which parts are available, where they are stored, and why quantities changed. The page is organized into Stock, Requests, Movements, and, for inventory managers, Returns.

Availability: operational staff in an organization; management actions require the independent Manage inventory permission. Level: Basic to intermediate.

Purpose

Use Inventory to check availability, request or consume parts, and review their history. Managers can also maintain catalogs and warehouses, record receipts and adjustments, transfer stock, and set minimum levels.

Requirements

• An active membership and a role considered operational staff.
• To manage inventory: be an owner, administrator, or have Manage inventory.
• To use a sector warehouse: belong to that sector. General warehouses are available to all operational staff; managers can use every active warehouse.
• To link a consumption to a report: be allowed to work on that report.

Step by step

1. Open Inventory and choose a warehouse.
2. Under Stock, search by name or SKU and check current quantity, minimum, and low-stock warning.
3. Choose Request when Inventory must authorize or hand over the part. Choose Consume to record a stock issue you are allowed to perform, linking the report when relevant.
4. Use Requests to follow their statuses and Movements to review receipts, consumption, deliveries, adjustments, and transfers.
5. If you manage inventory, create items and warehouses, receive stock, adjust quantities, transfer between warehouses, and set a minimum for each item and warehouse.

Rules and effects

• No outgoing operation can make stock negative.
• A receipt or positive adjustment increases stock; consumption, a negative adjustment, or delivery reduces it; a transfer records both an outgoing and incoming movement.
• Movements form a history; they are not replaced by simply editing the total.
• Reaching or falling below the minimum displays Low stock and alerts inventory managers.
• Linking consumption, a request, or delivery to a report records it in the conversation.
• An inactive item is unavailable for new operations but keeps its history.

Required and optional information

Required: item, warehouse, positive quantity and, for transfers, destination warehouse. Serialized items require selecting every exact unit. Optional: SKU, description, manufacturer, model, note, related report, minimum stock, and component-type classification.

Practical example

A technician needs two power supplies for report #000104. They select the general warehouse, request two units, and link the request to #000104. Inventory delivers the supplies: stock is reduced at that point, the report records the delivery, and the technician is notified.

Current limits

• Costs, inventory valuation, and suppliers are not calculated.
• Approval does not reserve stock.
• Barcode and QR scanning are not available.
• Changing the tracking mode is blocked while stock or delivered units pending installation or return still exist.