Using the Inventory Manager Workbench

The Inventory Manager Workbench is designed for a manager to monitor inventory planning, general stockroom activities, transfer order management, order fulfillment, and physical inventory control.

By default, the Inventory Manager Workbench utilizes these critical numbers:

Inventory Value
Items Below Safety Stock
Value of Items in Cycle Count
Current Inventory Turns Ratio
Inventory Issued (YTD)
Inventory Received (YTD)

Buttons

Use these buttons to open other forms:

Inventory Planning: Click this button to launch a navigation form that guides the user through two different types of order planning processes: site-based and warehouse-based.
Stockroom Activities: Click this button to launch a navigation form that lists the stockroom activities that may be performed.
Transfer Order Receiving: Click this button to launch a navigation form that defines the transfer order receipt process, and provides a link to the Combined Transfer Order Ship/Receive form for companies that do not separate the duties.
Transfer Order Shipping: Click this button to launch a navigation form that defines the transfer order shipment process, and provides a link to the Combined Transfer Order Ship/Receive form for companies that do not separate the duties.
SRO Material Fulfillment: Click this button to launch a navigation form that defines the various options for the material fulfillment process.
Perform Cycle Count: Click this button to launch a navigation form that defines the process involved in cycle counting.

Critical Numbers

The standard Inventory Manager Workbench provides four system-level critical numbers. To better understand a critical number calculation, right-click on the gauge and select Setup to read the calculation definition on the Critical Numbers Setup form for the number in question.

To change the critical number that is displayed, right-click on the gauge and select Critical Number, then select a different number.

To alter the type of gauge, right-click on the one you want to change and select Display Type.

Options

Select from these options:

Obsolete/Slow Moving: Select this radio button to show a list of items marked as obsolete or slow moving, ordered by the value.
Oldest LIFO/FIFO: Select this radio button to compare the transaction date to the current system date, and list the items with the most aged stacks.
Items with Expiring Lots: Select this radio button to list the lots that contain quantities and have passed expiration dates.

Items Grid

This grid drives the bottom half of the form. Use the standard toolset toolbar to manipulate the item data; Filter-in-Place functionality is supported.

The columns in the grid are standard item fields. To maintain the fields, right-click in the Item Number column and select Details. Use the online help of the Items form to learn more about each field.

Note: User extended tables (UETs) are supported within the item grid.

Inventory Issue YTD

This item-specific critical number sums the cost of the inventory that left inventory.

Inventory Receipts YTD

This item-specific critical number sums the cost of the inventory that came into inventory.

Note: Use the horizontal slider bar between the Items grid and the data details to adjust viewing. Move the slider down to increase the number of rows visible in the Items grid. After filtering the item data, review the results if all rows are presented on the screen without needing to scroll up and down. After you have selected the item against which you want to view detailed data, move the slider bar up to increase the space allotted to show more rows in the data detail view.

Additional Options

Select from these additional options on the form:

Location Detail: Select this radio button to show location information for each warehouse of the selected item.
Lot Detail: Select this radio button to show lot information for each warehouse, for lot-tracked items.
Unit Detail: Select this radio button to show information for units in inventory for the selected item, for serial-tracked items.
Shipments: Select this radio button to list service orders, sales orders, or transfer orders due for completion on the current date.
Receipts: Select this radio button to list purchase orders or transfer orders due to be received on the current date.
Reservations: Select this radio button to show reservations for the currently selected item.
SPA Inventory: Select this radio button to list the stacks of transactional detail, for SPA items.
Transaction History: Select this radio button to show material transactions for the selected item.