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.