Where a product has been set up for some form of ‘Tracking’ (see related topic Inventory Tracking Overview), you are asked to enter tracking details for the quantity of the transaction being recorded. The entry of these details is generic across the system and is described below.
The entry of tracking details is usually started by clicking a ‘tracking button’ that appears next to the quantity prompt. This tracking button only appears for those inventory items that have tracking turned on. The button shows a dynamic tracking term depending on what tracking has been enabled on the inventory item. For example, it may be labelled “Serial No’s”, “Batch No’s”, “Dual Ref No’s”, “Bins” or “Bin/Batch” etc.
Clicking on the button causes a pop-up screen to appear for the entry of the tracking details for the inventory item the user is entering a transaction for. When the tracking input screen appears, it shows a combination of tracking prompts specific to the tracking requirements of the item. For example, if the stock location is set to multi-bin tracking and the product is tracked using serial numbers, then you are presented with inputs for both inventory bins and serial reference numbers.
In summary, when entering tracking details, you can enter multiple tracking references if required for the transaction you are inputting, but the sum of the quantity for all the tracking reference details entered must be equal to the total quantity of the transaction being performed. For example, if you are performing a transaction for a serial tracked product, and the transaction quantity is 3, you would need to enter three distinct serial references to match the transaction quantity of three.
Once the entry of the references and quantities for the tracking details are complete, you can use the ‘Save’ button to finish. This closes the tracking details screen and returns you to the transaction entry screen you started from.
Bin
When Multiple Bin Tracking is turned on for an Inventory item, the entry of the bin details associated with the transaction must be made prior to completing the transaction. At least one bin must be recorded on the transaction for the quantity being issued/received into stock. It is possible to enter multiple bins and quantities for each bin. The bin to use is assumed for ‘Specific Bin’ tracking. A bin must already be set-up in the system before it can be validated for use.
Serial Number
For items using Serial Number tracking, you can add multiple serial reference numbers to the tracking list as required. With serial number tracking the quantity per serial number/reference is always one. If your transaction quantity is 3, then you have to enter 3 serial numbers. For issues, the serial number entered “should” exist in the system already. You are shown a warning message if it does not since you are telling the system you are issuing a serial number that is not recorded in the inventory tracking details.
You can choose to select serial references from those already recorded in the inventory tracking details. If you can’t find the reference for selection, you can toggle back to ‘enter references’ mode using the button provided. For receipts into stock, the serial number should not already exist in the tracking details for the inventory item.
Note: The word “TBA” is not allowed to be entered as a serial number as this is a reserved term for “To Be Advised” serial numbers. You can enter upper or lower case alphabetic characters and/or numeric characters for new serial tracking reference numbers.
Batch Number
Batch tracked inventory items require one or more batch numbers for the tracking details. For issues from stock, the batch number “should” exist in the system already. You are shown a warning message if it does not since you are telling the system you are issuing a batch number that is not recorded in the inventory tracking details.
You can choose to select batch references from those already recorded in the inventory tracking details. If you can’t find the reference for selection, you can toggle back to ‘enter references’ mode using the button provided. For stock receipts, batch tracked items also have a “receipt date” entry which by default is set to the current system date but can be changed per batch.
Note: The word “TBA” is not allowed to be entered as a batch number as this is a reserved term for “To Be Advised” batch numbers. You can enter upper or lower case alphabetic characters and/or numeric characters for new batch tracking reference numbers.
Dual Quantity Reference
An inventory item set up with Dual Quantity tracking requires you to enter one or more dual reference tracking numbers, each potentially with different quantities, to the list of tracking details. For stock issues, the dual reference number “should” exist in the system already. You are shown a warning message if it does not since you are telling the system you are issuing a reference that is not recorded in the inventory tracking details.
You can choose to select dual tracking references from those already recorded in the inventory tracking details. If you can’t find the reference for selection, you can toggle back to ‘enter references’ mode using the button provided. For stock receipts, dual reference tracked items can have a date received recorded, which by default is set to the current system date but can be changed per reference.
A Dual Tracked item has two Units Of Measure (UOM) that the inventory system tracks a quantity for. Typically the relationship between the two units of measure with a dual tracked item is variable i.e there is no exact relationship between the two UOM’s and corresponding quantities. For instance, a roll of 20 metres of carpet is still a roll, even when you cut off a metre from the end. The same applies to a fluid product like paint, where a drum of paint is always a drum, but the total litres in a drum may vary as paint it added/removed.
It is for this reason that the screen for Dual Tracked items has an entry for the number of ‘complete’ and ‘partial’ items after the unit quantity is entered. Based on the recorded ‘normal’ relationship between the two UOM’s the system attempts to determine how many complete units, and how many partial units are being issues/received. But this calculation might not be a representation of what has actually happened so the details can be changed on-screen.
Note: The “-” character is not allowed to be entered as a dual reference as this is reserved for use on ‘non-specific’ dual tracking. It’s basically used as an alternative to a reference. In the case of a product that is set up for non-specific dual tracking, the “-” will default as the dual quantity reference on entry and it indicates the reference is “non-specific”. You can enter upper or lower case alphabetic characters and/or numeric characters for new dual tracking reference numbers.
When using ‘Non-Specific’ dual tracking you’re basically deciding that you need to know how many of the item you have in total, in two UOM’s, but that you do not need to do the work to track both quantities of each individual unit. For example, you might have boxes (i.e. cartons) full of your product and you measure your product in a stock unit of kilograms (kg’s). You can use non-specific tracking so that you know in total how many cartons you have, and how many kg’s are in stock. But you won’t know the weight of any specific carton. This works as long as you don’t need to know the specific weight when you go to sell or use a carton of that product. It might be that you only weigh it when you send it out, perhaps to get the precise weight kg’s for sell price calculations.