Introduction

Overview of the Stock Management Module in SolutionsInc

The Stock Management Module in SolutionsInc is a comprehensive tool designed to help businesses efficiently manage their inventory of products across various warehouses. Below are the key features and functionalities of this module:

Key Features

1. Stock Status Management:
   • Saving Stock Status: The module allows users to save the current status of stock levels for products in different warehouses. This helps in providing real-time visibility into inventory levels across various locations.
   • Editing and Correcting Quantities: Users can easily edit or correct the quantities of products as needed. This feature is essential for accommodating discrepancies, returns, or other changes.
2. Replenishment:
   • The replenishment feature enables businesses to automate the process of restocking products when inventory levels fall below a preset threshold.
   • Users can set reorder points for each product, ensuring that they never run out of stock and can meet customer demand without delays.
3. Inventory Management:
   • The module supports comprehensive inventory management, enabling users to conduct regular stock counts and track changes over time.
   • Inventory management features include:
     • Inventory Audits: Perform periodic audits to ensure that actual stock levels match the recorded quantities.
     • Reporting: Generate reports on inventory levels, turnover rates, and stock discrepancies to aid in decision-making.
4. Warehouse Management:
   • Manage multiple warehouses and track stock levels across different locations, providing flexibility for businesses with extensive distribution networks.
   • Users can assign products to specific warehouses, enabling a clearer understanding of stock availability and optimizing logistics.
5. Alerts and Notifications:
   • The system can show alerts and notifications when stock levels are low or need replenishment. This proactive approach helps to maintain optimal stock levels and prevent stockouts.

Benefits of Using the Stock Management Module

• Improved Accuracy: By enabling easy corrections and precise tracking of stock status, the module helps to reduce errors in inventory management.
• Increased Efficiency: Automated replenishment processes save time and minimize the risk of human error, allowing teams to focus on other core activities.
• Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Maintaining adequate stock levels ensures that customer orders can be fulfilled promptly, improving overall satisfaction and retention.
• Data-Driven Decisions: The reporting and analytics features provide valuable insights that aid in strategic planning and forecasting.

The Stock Management Module is vital for businesses that need to efficiently manage their inventory across multiple warehouses. With features for saving stock statuses, replenishments, and audits, this module enhances operational efficiency and accuracy, ultimately supporting better inventory management practices and meeting customer demand effectively.

Definition

Understanding Physical and Virtual Stock

In the context of inventory management, particularly within SolutionsInc’s Stock Management Module, it’s important to differentiate between physical stock and virtual stock. Both concepts play a significant role in efficient stock control and planning.

1. Physical Stock

Definition: Physical stock refers to the actual quantity of products physically available in the warehouses at any given time.

Characteristics:

It represents the real-time count of inventory that can be sold or utilized.

This number can fluctuate based on incoming shipments, sales, returns, and other inventory transactions.

2. Virtual Stock

Definition: Virtual stock is a calculated quantity that represents the amount of stock that will be available once all pending transactions are completed. It incorporates projections based on current orders and manufacturing processes.

Calculation: The formula for calculating virtual stock is as follows: [
\text{Virtual Stock} = \text{Current Physical Stock} – \text{Validated Customer Orders} + \text{Sent Supplier Orders} – \text{Products to Consume in Manufacturing Orders} + \text{Products to Produce in Manufacturing Orders}
] Where:

Current Physical Stock: The actual stock present in the warehouse.

Validated Customer Orders: The quantity of products that have been ordered by customers and are confirmed (status “validated”), which reduces the available stock.

Sent Supplier Orders: The quantity of products that have been ordered from suppliers (status “sent to the supplier”) and will be available in the future, contributing to the virtual stock.

Products to Consume in Manufacturing Orders: The quantity of products that are committed to be used in ongoing manufacturing processes, reducing the available stock.

Products to Produce in Manufacturing Orders: The quantity of products that are expected to be produced and will be added to stock once manufacturing is completed.

Importance of Understanding Both Concepts

Inventory Planning: Understanding both physical and virtual stock allows businesses to better plan for future inventory needs. While physical stock provides a snapshot of current availability, virtual stock offers insight into near-future availability.

Supply Chain Management: By knowing the distinction between physical and virtual stock, businesses can make more informed decisions regarding procurement, production scheduling, and customer order fulfillment.

Avoiding Stockouts: Tracking virtual stock helps ensure that businesses maintain adequate inventory levels to meet customer demands, even when certain orders are pending.

Optimizing Production: Knowing how much stock will be available after pending orders and manufacturing can optimize scheduling and reduce excess inventory.

Both physical and virtual stock are critical metrics within the Stock Management Module of SolutionsInc. By effectively monitoring and managing both, businesses can achieve greater efficiency in inventory control, improved fulfillment rates, and enhanced overall operational success. Understanding how these two types of stock interact allows for better forecasting and planning, ultimately leading to improved customer satisfaction and business performance.

Create a warehouse

Creating a Warehouse in the Stock Management Module

Establishing a warehouse is a crucial first step in effectively managing stock within the SolutionsInc platform. Here’s a detailed guide on how to create a warehouse, along with the key considerations and functionalities associated with it.

Steps to Create a Warehouse

Access the Products/Services Tab:

• Begin by navigating to the Products/Services section within the SolutionsInc interface.

Navigate to the Warehouses Section:

• From the left menu, locate and click on Warehouses. This will present options related to Warehouses management.

Create a New Warehouse:

• Click on New warehouse stock to initiate the creation of a new warehouse. This option allows you to define the parameters and preferences for the warehouse you want to set up.

Input Required Information:

• Reference Code: Enter a unique reference code for the warehouse. This code serves as an identifier for internal tracking and inventory management.
• Warehouse Name: Provide a clear and descriptive name for the warehouse. This will help differentiate it from other warehouses in your inventory system. Note: Only the reference code and warehouse name are mandatory fields. Other fields are optional and can be filled out based on your specific requirements.

Set Warehouse Status:

• Choose whether the warehouse should be Active (Opened) or Closed:
  • Active (Opened): Selecting this option makes the warehouse available for stock movements and transactions. It indicates that the warehouse is operational and ready to process incoming and outgoing stock.
  • Closed: If you set the warehouse status to closed, it will prevent any stock movements from occurring in that warehouse. This feature is particularly useful for:
  • Preparation: Allowing you to prepare the warehouse with stock before it becomes active for transactions.
  • Inventory Management: Temporarily blocking stock movements during inventory counts to ensure accuracy.

Finalizing Warehouse Creation:

• After entering the necessary details and selecting the status, you can save the new warehouse. Ensure that all information is accurate, as this will be critical for effective stock management later on.

Benefits of Creating and Managing Warehouses

• Organized Inventory: Establishing distinct warehouses helps in managing inventory more granularly, allowing businesses to cater to specific geographical areas or product types.
• Streamlined Operations: By classifying warehouses as active or closed, businesses can efficiently plan inventory movements and stock evaluations, reducing the risk of errors during stock assessment.
• Flexibility: The option to prepare warehouses with stock while keeping them closed allows for effective staging of inventory before it goes live, enhancing operational preparedness.
• Improved Reporting: Having multiple warehouses facilitates better reporting and analysis, as businesses can track stock levels and movements on a per-warehouse basis.

Creating a warehouse is a fundamental step in the stock management process within SolutionsInc. By following the straightforward steps to create a new warehouse, businesses can set up an efficient inventory management system tailored to their operational needs. Whether preparing stock or temporarily halting movements for inventory counts, the ability to manage warehouse statuses provides significant flexibility and control. In the long run, an organized warehouse setup leads to improved efficiency, reduced costs, and enhanced ability to meet customer demands.

Allocate product stocks

This can be done from the stock tab on the product page, located in the products section of the left menu. Alternatively, you can update stock from the stock tab on the warehouse page. For multiple stock updates, the import process should be used.

Automatic stock updates

Depending on the module configuration, stock is updated either when an order is placed, during shipment, upon invoicing, or at other specified times. A stock movement is then recorded based on the selected option for increasing or decreasing stock.

Manual stock updates

If you need to adjust the existing stock amounts due to reasons such as internal production, theft, loss, or aging, you can do so directly through:

• The “Stock” tab of a product.
• The “Stock Movement” tab of a warehouse.

To manually move products from one warehouse to another, use the “Correct Stock” or “Transfer Stock” button. Be sure to enter a code and label to indicate the reason for the change.

Replenishment

Replenishment is a feature designed to generate purchase orders for suppliers, ensuring that your stock is restored to a desired level. This process helps maintain optimal inventory levels by automatically calculating the quantities needed based on current stock levels and predefined reorder points. By using replenishment, businesses can streamline their inventory management and avoid stockouts or excess inventory.

Inventories

From menu Stocks – Inventories, you will find features to make an inventory. See page Inventories for documentation on how to make an inventory.

Warehouse strategy and valuation

Yes, you can obtain a detailed list of products and movements in a specific warehouse by clicking on the name of that warehouse from the list of warehouses. This will typically display information such as current stock levels, incoming and outgoing movements, and any relevant details related to the products stored in that warehouse. This feature allows for better tracking and management of inventory within each location.

Removal strategy

When using stock decrease on shipments, a removal strategy is essential for determining which lot, batch, or serial number is selected for shipment, as well as the warehouse from which the products will be taken. The most common strategies include:

• FIFO (First In, First Out): The oldest stock, or the first items received, are shipped out first.
• LIFO (Last In, First Out): The most recently received items are shipped out first.
• FEFO (First Expiry, First Out): Items with the earliest expiration dates are shipped first.

Currently, SolutionsInc requires users to manually select the product lot and warehouse for each shipment. Users can utilize the FIFO, LIFO, or FEFO strategies during this selection process, but there is no automatic suggestion based on a default strategy.

In the future, the application may implement a removal strategy feature that would offer default suggestions for lots, serial numbers, warehouses, and quantities based on predefined removal strategy rules. This enhancement would streamline the shipping process and improve inventory management by reducing the need for manual selection and ensuring adherence to the desired removal strategy.

Stock valuation

With SolutionsInc, stock valuation can be calculated in two primary ways:

1. Standard Valuation: This method calculates the stock value based on the current market price of the product multiplied by the quantity in stock.
2. Average Weighted Price (AWP): This method takes into account the average cost of the product over time, factoring in various purchasing prices and quantities, and then multiplies that average by the quantity in stock.

These two methods provide flexibility for businesses to evaluate their inventory in a way that best reflects their financial and operational needs. The standard valuation may be more suitable for quick assessments based on current market conditions, while the average weighted price method can give a more comprehensive view of inventory costs over time.