Inventory Control | Overview

OVERVIEW

Here is an overview of inventory control processes within the M-Power Software system. M-Power allows you to control the inventory levels of Raw Materials and Finished Goods. You can track inventory by location and sublocation.

Prepare Items for Inventory Control

While we create inventory transactions for all items for the purpose of job costing, we only report on items that have been tagged as inventory items. Here are the requirements to prepare an item for inventory control

• Select [inventory item] as YES
• Update the minimum stock level
• Update the delivery lead time
• Update the Standard Order Quantity
• Set a formula that reflects the inventory management objectives

CONSUMING RAW MATERIALS INVENTORY

There are three ways to consume raw materials against jobs. The first is to commit them in advance of production using the job release feature or by pressing a button in the job costing area. The second is to scan them in as they are consumed in-process by using the scan menu of M-Power or the mobile version.

Committing Raw Material Items to Production

We recommend committing inventory to a job at the time the job is released into production. This means that the inventory levels reflect the requirements of the jobs in the system regardless of where that the inventory has been physically consumed

You can commit inventory to a job using the 'release job' feature. When a job is 'released' the system does the following

• calculates the aggregated material requirements for items that have recipes in the grid
• creates an inventory transaction that reduces the inventory by the calculated amount. You can edit the quantity in the job costing area
• generates alerts for low-stock items

Scanning Raw Material Items in-process

Under the scan menu in M-Power is the material tab where you can scan the unique ID for a material to consume it in-process.

You can generate a barcode with the unique code for the material item and place this near the raw material stocks. You can also use a printed job card report that includes the inventory ID for the materials printed on it

You can also use the mobile version of M-Power to add materials to a job

REPLENISHING RAW MATERIALS

Inwards Goods Receival Process

The primary way to replenish stocks of raw materials is through the Receival Process for purchased goods. When goods are received, it creates an inventory transaction that increases the stock of raw materials.

The Receiving process also:

• captures the purchase prices of the material item at the time of the receipt
• generates a unique ID for the receival
• Can trigger a QA control check to collect additional information at the time of receival

MANAGING FINISHED GOODS INVENTORY

Consuming Finished Goods Inventory

Finished goods items are includes in the sales order. The sales order includes a traffic light feature where the inventory status of finished goods can be easily determined at the point of order entry. Depending on the level of finished goods, there will be a red, orange or green indicators showing stock levels. You can drill into the stock level from the sales order to see the inventory status

Finished goods inventory on a sales order are committed by the job release feature in the same manner as raw materials

Replenishing Finished Goods Inventory

Finished goods inventory can be replenished either through Inwards Goods receival (or sold items that you purchase) or through a stock order. A stock order allows you to create a production job that will result in the production of one or more finished goods items. On closing the stock order, the inventory is transferred into stock rather than dispatched in the normal manner of customer orders

INVENTORY ADJUSTMENTS 

You can adjust stock levels through stock transfers, inventory cycle counting, and adjusting the inventory committed to product jobs. Outside production, you may need to adjust the levels of items on a periodic basis to account for variances due to obsolete inventory, damaged goods, unexpected losses or gains.

Adjusting Inventory Committed to Jobs

When you commit inventory in advance of production you will often find that the committed values vary from the value actually consumed in production. This can be due to additional waste, great efficiencies, or use of offcuts. In the job costing area you can modify the quantities to reflect the actual stock used

Inventory Cycle Counting

Inventory cycle counting is recommended on a periodic basis to align the calculated and actual inventory figures. The process is to:

• Print a stock count form - this contains the barcodes that you need to enter stock counts conveniently. You can do this from the reports area of M-Power
• Designate a stock count date - say the end of the month
• Count each item. and scan the barcode to enter the stock count. The system will make an adjusting entry
• Print the stock count report which contains the inventory valuation

Stock Adjustment

In the Settings/Materials/Inventory section you can create a stock transfer transaction that adjusts the levels of one or more inventory items. This adjustment allows you to specify a reason code which may be (for instance) waste.