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Replenish Inventory By Work Order

The video below describes a sequence of events that automatically creates manufacturing work orders when inventory is low. (scroll down below video for more)

Let’s assume you pull items from inventory for manufacturing. (You manufacture something that includes other pre-built assemblies) You have to maintain stock of the pre-built items so they are always available for use in other product. Problem is, it’s hard to remember to restock inventory when it’s low. You may pull a few off the rack and never remember to replenish them. The last thing you want is to go back and find the rack empty! Now you’ve got to build those items before you can fulfill your orders.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you got an email when inventory stock fell? And even nicer if a new work order was created, telling you to build and replenish inventory? Such an automated system would let you keep inventory levels high enough to fulfill orders when they came in.

This video describes exactly how to do this.

The sequence goes something like this:

  1. BOM is scanned and deducted from inventory
  2. Stock quantity drops below a threshold
  3. New work order is automatically created
  4. Email notification is sent
  5. Employees build and replenish inventory from the work order
  6. Work order is completed and deactivated

Most of these steps are accomplished with barcode scanners on the shop floor. Employees may not realize the automation occurring in the background, but admins and project managers will appreciated it.

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Barcode Expenses and Inventory

This video illustrates the process of creating expense records whenever inventory items are scanned on the shop floor. (scroll down for video)

So what, you ask…

So, that mean you have a record of every item you ever scanned. Actually, every item that every employee has ever scanned.

Think about that…

That means you are not only managing inventory effectively, but you are also collecting huge amounts of data you can use to your advantage. You are deducting inventory items from stock, which means you can reorder and replenish at appropriate times. Of course that’s good. But having a record of every scan is huge. Absolutely huge. Think of what you could do with that.

You might not know exactly what it costs you to build bepoke and custom products. Now you do.

You might not know what materials employees are using. Now you do.

You might not know the percentage of labor verses materials that go into manufactured good. Now you do.

Hmm… scanning inventory is not such a bad idea!

Now watch this video and find our website. Quick!

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Track Time and Inventory

Everyone knows that Standard Time® is a time tracking app. But did you also know that it tracks inventory and bill of materials?

It does!                (see the video below)

And it does it with barcode scanners. You’re probably familiar with the barcode time tracking capabilities. You scan usernames, projects, and tasks. A timer starts, and you track manufacturing hours. Easy. But you can do the same thing with barcode labels and inventory items.

Create a label for the inventory SKU. Scan that label, and the inventory item is automatically deducted from stock. You can also scan the manufacturer’s SKU or the vendor SKU. Any of those will work the same. And when the quantity in stock is reduced below a preset value, the parts can automatically be reordered using scripts.

Scanning BOM’s are similar. In that case, the BOM lists all the inventory items for an assembly. When you scan the BOM label (or SKU) all the inventory items on that BOM are reduced from stock. And again, any inventory item that falls below the “reorder quantity” is automatically reordered using a script.

You may be wondering about reorder scripts. Those are special user-programmable scripts that send emails or contact websites for reordering inventory. You must program these reorder scripts yourself, which often involves the IT department.

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Barcode Inventory and Bill of Materials

Automatically reorder inventory using a barcode scanner. Watch the video below, and then try these steps on your shop floor:

  1. Place a barcode label on your BOM (bill of materials)
  2. Scan the BOM when you start work
  3. Each item in the BOM will be deducted from inventory
  4. Optionally scan a task to start tracking time to the job
  5. Complete the work
  6. Scan STOP to stop the timer

Step #2 and #3 (which are really the same step) may kick off automate scripts to reorder inventory that has fallen below a predefined threshold. Those inventory items may appear at your receiving dock as a result of that reorder. Scan them to add them back into inventory.

Is it really that simple?

Yep!

 

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Automate Inventory Management

Follow the steps in the video below to deduct items from inventory when you scan them on the shop floor. When manufacturing products, you want more than just time tracking. Standard Time® is primarily a time tracking product. But if you’re working with inventory or bill of materials, you’ll also want to scan them.

The steps in this video will help deduct items from inventory when you scan inventory items or BOM’s.

Add or subtract from inventory

It turns out that you can add inventory items back into stock. Let’s say you receive items on your receiving dock, and want to put them into stock. Or, you pull too many items for a pick list and don’t use them, and want to put them back into stock. In any case, you can scan a special barcode that adds to the “Quantity in stock” for any inventory or BOM.

BOM’s don’t have Quantity in stock

True. BOM’s don’t have quantities. Instead, each item on the BOM list has a quantity used for the bill of materials. When you scan a BOM, you are adding or subtracting all the inventory items on the list. And, you the quantity in stock is adjusted by the quantity on the BOM for each item.

For example, if you use 35 screws on a BOM, and you scan the BOM name, you are subtracting all 35 screws from inventory.

 

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Inventory Management with Scripting

Automate the shop floor by reordering inventory automatically using barcodes. Standard Time® is a time tracking app. Employees can start timers with barcode scans. But they can also add and subtract from inventory with barcodes too. Just scan an inventory item, and the quantity in stock is deducted. (scroll down for a video)

Wonderful! But what’s all this stuff about automatically reordering inventory?

It turns out that after the quantity in stock is deducted, the software can automatically reorder or replenish using special scripts. A script is kicked off when the quantity in stock drops below the reorder quantity. In other words, there a level at which an inventory item should be reordered. And when the quantity in stock drops below it, a script is run that can perform that reordering task.

How to reorder parts with scripts

There are a lot of ways a script could reorder parts. It could simply send an email to a buyer (which is still sort of a manual process). Or, it could automatically contact a website and perform the actual purchase without any human intervention. The script could be given access to an order website, complete with login credentials, and be authorized to make automated purchases. Other methods of automated purchases might include database scripts or inserting database records. All these are in the realm of possibility for automated scripts.

Scanning BOM’s reduces quantities for all inventory items on the list

Not only can you scan individual inventory items, you can also scan a Bill of Materials (BOM). And when you do, all the inventory items on the BOM list are deducted. A BOM may use large numbers of each inventory item. When the BOM is scanned, those large quantities are all subtracted from inventory. For instance, a BOM may use fifty screws. Scanning the BOM would reduce inventory for the screws by fifty, but by scanning once.

Reorder verses Replenish

Some inventory items are not reordered; they are built in your own manufacturing shop. You might refer to this as replenishing inventory rather than reordering. But the same principles hold true when running automated scripts for inventory. A script could create a new work order that requests a certain number of items be manufactured. The script is run when inventory falls below a certain level, the work order is automatically created and sent to the shop floor. Workers fulfill the work order quantity, and scan the new items back into stock.

Scanning new items back into stock

Inventory can also be added to stock, not just deducted from it. There are special barcodes, as shown in the video below that instruct the software to add items back into stock. Once your parts arrive at the receiving dock, or are manufactured on your own shop floor, they can be scanned back into stock using special “ADD” barcodes.

Watch the video and download a copy for yourself.