Manage Parts Inventory

Working from the Manage Parts Inventory task, you access a form with the following tabs:

• Total Parts Inventory: Get a top-down view of your parts inventory for the entire organization.

  Note:  The Total Parts Inventory tab includes the Calculate Inventory Usage action. Running this action is the only way to get accurate values for Understocked Quantity for parts. The values for Quantity Understocked is never automatically updated for any transaction or part usage. Inventory managers can run the calculation from the Manage Parts Inventory view, or the Define Parts view.

• Parts by Location. Search for and select multiple parts, so that you can bulk transfer parts, add multiple parts to a purchase order if the parts are associated with a common vendor, or add multiple parts to a storage location.
• Supply Requisitions: Locate supply requisitions and update the status of items on the requisition. See Managing Supply Requisitions and Creating a Supply Requisition for Transferring Parts.
• Parts by Vendor: Review a list of all your vendors and the parts associated with them. This report includes key information for the part, and the Calculate Inventory Usage action to ensure the report includes the latest data. See View Parts by Vendor.
• Where Used. Review parts by the equipment for which the part is needed. Parts are associated with equipment when you define preventive maintenance schedules for the equipment. See Where Used tab.

To select the part / location combination you want to work with, you work from the following tabs:

• The Total Parts Inventory tab lists all parts from the Parts Inventory table, giving a top-down look at the parts inventory for the entire organization.
  • You can review information for the part, such as the Quantity Available, the Quantity Reserved, and the Vendor Code.
  • You can use the Smart Search filter to locate a part in the Parts Inventory pane. When you click on a part in the Parts Inventory pane, the Storage Locations pane shows a list of all locations that contain the part, including the Quantity Available, the Quantity Understocked, and the Quantity on Reserve. From the Storage Location pane, you can select option buttons to work with a single part /location at a time.

  Note: When you work from the Total Parts Inventory tab, you perform actions on one type of part at a time. To perform bulk actions, use the Parts by Location tab.

• The Parts by Location tab enables you to select multiple check boxes, so that you can bulk transfer parts, add multiple parts to a purchase order if the parts are associated with a common vendor, or add multiple parts to a storage location.
  • The one exception to using the actions for multiple parts is the Update Physical Count action. For this action, you can select just one part / storage location at a time.
  • The tab includes a Filter so that you can search by criteria, such as a specific Part Code, Part Storage Location, or part classification, to find all storage locations that contain that part.
  • The Filter also enables you to search for only understocked parts in the selected storage location. Understocked parts are parts that do not have enough parts available to account for all unreserved estimates and the Minimum to Store entered for the part. The system calculates this quantity when you run the Calculate Inventory Usage action.

    Note:  The only way to get accurate values for Understocked Quantity for parts is to run the Calculate Inventory Usage action. The values for Quantity Understocked is never automatically updated for any transaction or part usage. Inventory managers can run the calculation from the Manage Parts Inventory view, or from the Define Parts view.

  • Clicking on a storage location shows all part quantities in that storage location.

Once you have selected a part and storage location to work with, from either the Total Parts Inventory or the Parts by Locations tab, you can perform the following actions:

• Update Physical Count. Update the Physical Count. See Adjusting Inventory from the Manage Parts Inventory Task.

  Note: From either the Total Parts Inventory or Parts by Locations tabs, you can select only one type of part at a time when running the Update Physical Count action.

• Transfer (Requisition action). Create a supply requisition to transfer the selected part to another storage location. See Creating a Supply Requisition for Transferring Parts.
• Purchase. If the selected part is associated with a vendor, you can add the part to a new or existing purchase order. See Creating Purchase Orders for Parts.
• Add to storage location. Add the selected part to the storage location. Use this action to add a new record for the part in the Parts In Storage Locations table. See Adding a part to a storage location.

Select the Parts by Vendor tab to show a report of parts by vendor. The left pane shows a listing of all parts vendors and the right pane shows a listing of all parts supplied by the selected vendor. The report includes key information about each part, including if it is understocked and the average cost usage.

Since craftspersons can update the system with the parts that they used on the job, the Parts pane includes the Calculate Inventory Usage button to ensure the report reflects the latest entries by craftspersons. For information on these calculations, see Calculating Inventory Usage.

You associate parts with vendors using the Define Parts Vendors task.

From the Where Used tab, you can review a list of the equipment that uses a part. The Where Used tab includes the Update Average Part Usage / Year action. This action updates the Average Parts Usage / Year shown on the screen. The Average Parts Usage / Year field is stored in the Equipment Parts table. The Calc. Parts Usage / Year field that is calculated by the Calculate Inventory Usage action is stored in the Parts table. See Calculate Inventory Usage.

To make the association between a part and an equipment item, use the Define Equipment Parts by Equipment task.

When working from the Total Parts Inventory or Parts by Locations tabs, you can select a part, and then assign the part to a storage location using the Add Part to Storage Location action. This assigns the part to that location and creates a record in the Parts in Storage Locations table (pt_store_loc_pt).

When you add the part to a storage location, if the storage location is associated with a room and you have defined subroom locations for the room, you are able to specify the specific cabinet, the numbered shelf, and the bin within the shelf where you store the part. This additional location detail is helpful for quick retrieval of parts, and to facilitate counting the part when doing a survey. You define subroom locations using the Define Subroom Locations task.

The Define Part in Storage Location form for adding the storage location for the part is prepopulated with the selected Part Code, the values for Unit Cost – set by User (pt.cost_unit_std) and the Minimum to Store (pt.qty_min_hand). If necessary, you can modify these values for the new storage location.

If you click on a record in the lower pane of either the Total Parts Inventory or the Parts by Location tabs, you access the Define Part in Storage Location popup form that enables you to edit the Unit Cost -set by user, the Minimum to Store, and the subroom location information.

The Unit Cost - set by User is the typical cost per unit that the application uses to calculate the Inventory Value (pt.cost_total) when you run the Calculate Inventory Usage action. The Inventory Value is shown in the Current Parts Inventory report (Operational Reports / Current Parts Inventory). See Operational Reports.

This form includes the subroom locations fields for aisle / shelf / cabinet / bin. Use these fields to record the specific cabinet, the numbered shelf, and the bin within the shelf where you store the part. You select from the detailed location information you defined using the Define Subroom Locations task. The storage location must be associated with a room to add these subroom locations to it. See Defining Storage Locations for Parts.

From the Total Parts Inventory, or the Parts by Location tabs, you can search for specific storage locations. You can then use the Map button from the Storage Locations pane to see the storage locations on a map.

When you click Map, a pop-up window shows a map of the storage locations that appear in the Storage Location for Part Code list. The map shows a marker for every geocoded building that is associated with a storage locations that contain the selected part. The marker colors represent the status of the selected part in that building

• The green marker represents buildings where all the storage locations have a Quantity Available that is greater than 0, and quantity understocked that is equal to 0.
• The red marker represents buildings where all the storage locations have a Quantity Available that is equal to 0 for the selected part.
• The yellow marker represents all other buildings that contain the part. This shows buildings that have a mix of in-stock and understocked storage locations, and/or locations that have a Quantity Available that is greater than 0 but a Quantity Understocked that is greater than 0.
• No marker appears for buildings where none of the building's storage locations have a record in the Parts in Storage Locations table (pt_store_loc_pt) for the selected part.

When you click on a marker, a pop-up window displays the Building Code, along with the Storage Location ID, Storage Location Name, the Quantity Available, and the Quantity Understocked of the selected part for each storage location in that building that has a Parts in Storage Locations (pt_store_loc_pt) record for that part.

The popup window also contain links for Purchase and Requisition. These links will close the map window and open the form to add the part to a new or existing supply requisition or purchase order. The form is populated with the selected Part Code and Storage Location.