Inventory Levels

Overview In order to maintain appropriate inventory levels for Inventory Items, SAMPro has integrated Reorder Level and Order Up To fields. These can be maintained by hand or calculated automatically by demand and turn rate using the Compute Corporate Metrics Starter Function. Once the Inventory Item Turns have been calculated by the Computer Corporate Metrics function, and the Reorder Level and Order Up To fields have been auto-populated using those turns (also done by the Compute Corporate Metrics function), Generate Purchase Orders is a powerful function to use in tandem to make sure that advised inventory levels are maintained for all stocked Items in a particular Inventory Group. Purchase Orders generated this way still need to be received via the Inventory Receipt Journal. Your Inventory Item must have Item history associated with it to calculate stocking levels accurately- at least a year of history is recommended before using these functions to auto-populate the Reorder Level and Order Up To fields.

Inventory Item Reorder Level: This field indicates at what point an Item should be reordered. If Inventory levels drop below this number, Generate PO will include this Item when run. Order Up To: This field indicates how many of an Item should be reordered. If a Purchase Order is generated automatically for this Item, the advised quantity will total this number when added to what is already in stock. Average Cost, Last Cost, and Turns are also displayed on this tab. These fields are maintained by the system.

Inventory Item In this example, we can see that only one Gizmo remains in stock. We can reorder manually by creating a Purchase Order in the system, but first, let’s see if the system has a different idea on when to reorder, or can advise us on reorder quantity.

Compute Corporate Metrics Start Date: End Date: Include a generous range of time to allow SAMPro to calculate frequency and quantity of Item use accurately. In this example, we are using data from the past year to calculate Item use. Lead Time Add On: How long will it take after placing the PO for inventory to be received? Stock Days: How long do you want this group of items to be stocked? TIP- If your company has experienced recent growth, increase stock days proportionally to meet increased demand. Location Id: Which location should Item turns and Reorder status be calculated for? If you’d like to calculate this for all locations, leave the field blank. Show Log: Checking this box indicates that you’d like to review the Diagnostic Log when the function has finished running. TIP- Define which Locations, Inventory Items, and Inventory Groups you’d like this function to run very carefully. Running it without defining these fields will change the Reorder Level and Order Up To fields on every Item you have in Inventory. When you have filled in the Computer Corporate Metrics ranges you wish to use, click Go.

Compute Corporate Metrics- Registry The Initial Values to run Compute Corporate Metrics can also be controlled and set by Registry. Id: sys-start-scmptecrptmtrcs Setting Key: InitialValueFor~crptmtrcs.Id-tme-add-on Setting Value: 10 This will default the Lead Time Add On field to the value entered (in this example, 10) Setting Key: InitialValueFor~crptmtrcs.stck-dys Setting Value: 30 This will default the Stock Days field to the value entered (in this example, 30) Setting Key: InitialValueFor~crptmtrcs.shw-lg Setting Value: true This will default the Show Log? Field as checked, so that the Diagnostic Log will always be displayed after Compute Corporate Metrics is run.

Compute Corporate Metrics Select which processes you would like to run- Inventory Turns need to be run in order to update Reorder Level and Order Up To fields. Once you have made your selections, click Go.

Compute Corporate Metrics Once the function has finished running, a Diagnostic Log and confirmation box will appear on the screen. Click Ok to view the log.

Compute Corporate Metrics- Diagnostic Log The Diagnostic Log displays the updated data used to calculate Turns. Here you can see the beginning balance and rate of use by location for the Inventory Items modified.

Inventory Item Returning to our Item, we can see that the number of Turns has been updated. The Reorder Level and Order Up To fields have also been updated to more accurately gauge how much inventory to purchase and keep in stock to efficiently meet demand. These fields can be updated manually after Compute Corporate Metrics has been run. For example, you might want to increase the Order Up To field if you know that a big order will be coming in soon.

Generate Purchase Orders It can be helpful to run the Generate Purchase Orders Starter Function after running Compute Corporate Metrics. In this example, we’re running the function for only the Item that was just updated- you can run this by Location or Vendor to see specific groups of Items as well.

FAQ What happens to the Reorder Level and Order Up To fields when you run Compute Corporate Metrics while an Item has a negative number of parts? Compute Corporate Metrics will adjust Inventory Turns for the quantity of that Item, including the negative amount. It will update the Reorder Level and Order Up to fields accordingly, leaving the Reorder Level field blank to indicate that the Item needs to be reordered now. The Generate PO Starter Function will add the number of parts currently needed to the Order Up to field value automatically. If you already have a Purchase Order entered in the system for this Item, Generate PO will take that into account (even if it has not been received), so that the total quantity is equal to the quantity the Order Up To field indicates. How often should Compute Corporate Metrics and Generate Purchase Orders be run? It’s a good idea to run Compute Corporate Metrics when you are preparing to place orders to stock Inventory Items for a new season. It can also be run after periods of company growth, manipulating the Stock Days field proportionally to accommodate recent growth when ordering Inventory Items. For example, if your firm is preparing for summer, and business has doubled in the past year, run Compute Corporate Metrics with Stock Days set to 60 to have an idea of Item quantity to keep on hand for 30 days. Generate Purchase Orders should be run at regular intervals determined by your firm’s needs.