This article provides an overview of the ordering and receiving of inventory items with the Solatech Window Covering Software.
When each inventory item is setup it is assigned minimum and maximum levels. The minimum level is used as a trigger for ordering. When the amount available reaches or falls below the minimum reorder level, the inventory item is marked so that is shows as needs to be ordered. When the item is ordered, the recommended amount to order will whatever amount is required to get the on hand level to the maximum reorder level, taking into account the amount of inventory available (that is the amount that has been attached to pending orders). For example, if the maximum reorder level is 10 but the amount available is currently at -40 because of pending orders, the default amount to order will be 50.
The first step in reordering inventory is to determine what needs to be ordered. This is done by opening the Inventory Order Manager. This can be done from within the Inventory Manager.
The Inventory Order Manager has two tabs, one that shows the items that need to be ordered and one that shows item items that are on order. If the list for items to be ordered is empty then that indicates there is currently enough inventory for all pending orders. If there is one or more items in that list, then those items need to be ordered. This is done by creating an Inventory Order Request.
The current version of the Solatech Window Covering Software does not create purchase orders for inventory; that is left as a function of the accounting system. Your Solatech Window Covering Software will create an Inventory Order Request which serves two functions. The first is as a formal list of inventory items to be given to the purchasing department so the items can be ordered. The second is so the system can know what's been ordered, how much and what's been received.
Creating an Inventory Order Request is done from the Inventory Order Manager. When this screen is run the user is presented with two lists. The list at the top shows the items that have been marked as needing to be ordered. The list at the bottom is those items that will be added to the new order request. Once at this screen the user will select those items to be ordered at this time and add them to the list at the bottom. Once all desired items have been selected the request is committed. The user will be presented with an option to print the request which would be given to the purchasing department.
Generating an Inventory Order Request does not actually tell the system that the items haven been ordered. It only indicates the items have been requested to be ordered. It's up to the purchasing department to indicate what items are actually ordered, how many, from what vendor, etc. This is all done by editing the Inventory Order Request.
To see the Inventory Order Requests the user will select Inventory Order Requests from inside the Inventory Manager. Each inventory order request has a status of either Nothing Ordered, Pending or Fulfilled. The user can use the filter bar to see a list of the appropriate inventory order requests.
For a new order request the user will click on the Nothing Ordered filter and then edit the appropriate inventory order request. When editing a specific request the user will be show a screen that has three tabs. These tabs represent the specific states of the ordering process.
The first tab is the Requested tab and it lists all the items that were requested to be ordered. When the purchasing department orders an item they will select the specific item and click the Mark as Ordered button. This will then display a screen where they can enter a PO number, the vendor, the quantity ordered and the cost. Once the user indicates that information the system will know what's on order and how it should adjust it's levels. The amount of inventory on order for a specific item is listed in the Inventory Manager.
When the ordered inventory is received the purchasing department needs to return to the Inventory Order Request and indicate that it received the inventory so that the system can again adjust it's levels accordingly. To do this they will edit the Inventory Order Request just as they did when they ordered the items. This time they will select the Ordered tab which will now list the items that were actually ordered. The first item will be selected and then the user will click Receive Item. They will be presented with a screen to enter the actual amount received. When this screen is closed the on hand amount for the inventory will be adjusted.