• Manages Multiple Types of Inventory
• Increases Inventory Accuracy
• Bar Code Interface Reduces Manual Data Entry
• Backflush Eliminates Manual Data Entry
• Tracks Lot and Serial Controlled Items
• Reduces Dock-to-Stock Lead Time
• Minimizes Daily Cycle Counting Effort
• Improves Inventory Turnover
• Enhances Inventory Analysis and Reporting

This module provides the necessary capabilities to process all inventory related transactions within the facility, including stockroom and location maintenance, inventory receipts, cycle counting, and item parameter maintenance.

Comprehensive on-line audit trails are available to track the inventory activity for an item, an order, a lot, tag or serial number, a specific type of transaction or a combination of transactions. The module provides an extensive locator tracking system that will assist receiving personnel in selecting a location for storing an item. In addition, if the DMACS General Ledger module is implemented, general ledger journal entries can be automatically created for all inventory transactions for a given period. The module utilizes a series of multi-function forms which the user selects to perform the desired activity. The number of forms have been kept to a minimum, and they have been designed for ease in use and understanding.

The Inventory Control module provides a variety of inventory adjustment transaction, including the ability to perform location transfers, cycle counts, lot, tag, serial number and usage adjustments that are processed through the DMACS system. The modules also provide a number of stock and dock receipt transactions. This module is designed around a real-time database and update and inquiry program.

Some of the information that can be maintained includes:

Site Master Parameters which include planner name, planner codes, General Ledger interface, stockrooms, and locations.

Item Master Parameters include item ABC class, inventory class, product code, planner code, planner notes, supersessions, and shipping parameters.

Multiple Stockrooms

Each site can define up to 1,296 stockrooms. The definition of a ‘stockroom’ is user defined and can be a branch warehouse, a store, or simply a segregated stocking area at a site.

An infinite number of bin locations can be defined for a stockroom, and multiple items can be stored in a bin location. The location size and type can be defined for each location to assist receiving personnel in selecting a location for storing an item. This is accomplished through the DMACS locator system, which displays the available locations for storing inventory.

The inventory within a stockroom or location can either be included or excluded from the available inventory calculation. In addition, the inventory quantities can be optionally tracked by location, or you can implement reference locations on a per site basis.

Lot Control

Lot control can be optionally implemented in either of two ways on a per item basis. For certain environments or items it may be desirable to invoke full traceability from the receiving dock to the shipping dock. This feature enforces use of the lot number on all inventory activity transactions and provides full visibility in the inventory audit trail.

In other environments it may only be desirable to implement traceability when shipping to customers. This is a convenient method of tracking lot/tag or serial numbers (which customer received which lot and when) and minimizes the burden of maintaining the inventory by lot number. All shipments are recorded in the inventory audit trail along with the specific lot, tag, or serial numbers shipped.

Inventory Activity

Various inventory activity transactions are available to facilitate the receipt of material from vendors through shipment to customers. All of the inventory activity transactions are recorded in the inventory audit trail along with the location quantity and total on-hand quantity, both before and after the transaction was processed.

DMACS provides the ability to optionally track material once it hits the receiving dock. The planned receipt at dock transaction is used to indicate that ordered material has been delivered by a vendor. This optional transaction can be used when the put-a-way time is sufficiently long; in such instances, visibility of the delivery is desirable before the material is received into inventory. Although the inventory balance of the delivered items is not updated by this transaction, the Purchase Order is updated to reflect the delivered quantity.

Unplanned receipt at dock: This function is used when material is delivered by a vendor but the Purchase Order number is not known at the time of the delivery. The transaction simply writes a record into the audit trail for subsequent exception reporting and follow up.

If the Purchase Order is subsequently identified, the planned receipt at dock transaction can be processed.

Cycle Counting

Cycle counting is accomplished in the system by either of two methods, although you may use a combination of each. The first method is primarily an ABC class method but also includes items with a negative stock on hand quantity and a list of items that have been specified as control (hot) items’. The specific items in an ABC class that are selected for counting are based on the system computed number of items per class, the last cycle count date of an item, the number of work days in a year and user specified parameters for the number of times per year each item in an ABC class should be counted. This method produces a management report that includes the current location quantity and a cycle counter report that does not include the location quantity.

The second method is based on an auditing philosophy and deals with counting all of the items in a range or ranges of locations that you specify. An entire aisle can be specified if desired. This method also takes the above list of control items’ into account.

Regardless of which cycle counting method you prefer, you can use either of the above inventory adjustment transactions to post the results of the cycle count.

Location transfer: This function is used to transfer a specified quantity (or the total quantity) of an item in a bin location to another bin location. This transaction is useful when consolidating inventory from multiple locations.

An inventory adjustment function provides you with the necessary capability of making corrections to the physical count of an item in a bin location. Two transactions are provided. The first lets you specify an adjustment quantity to the current on-hand quantity. The second lets you specify the new on-hand quantity.

Inventory Usage

A summary of the total quantity issued and the issue frequency (number of times issued) is maintained by item for the current month and for the prior 36 months. The issue frequency is only incremented once per demand so that partial issues do not inflate the frequency.

This information is available to assist in reordering decisions; however, it is also used by the DMACS Inventory Management module as a basis for computing inventory management parameters, and by the Sales Forecasting module as a basis for forecasting based on demand history.

Various inventory activity transactions are available to facilitate the receipt of material from vendors through shipment to customers. All of the inventory activity transactions are recorded in the inventory audit trail along with the location quantity and the total on hand quantity, both before and after the transaction was processed. The Inventory Control Module provides the ability to process both receipt to dock and receipt to stock transactions.

Receipt at dock processing is used to track incoming material received at the receiving dock from released Purchase Orders. This optional transaction is used when the put-away item is sufficiently long; in such instances, visibility of the delivery is desirable before the material is received into inventory. Although the inventory balance of the delivered items is not updated by the transaction, the Purchase Order is updated to reflect the delivered quantity.

DMACS actually provides two methods of recording material at the receiving dock.

Purchasing Control Receipt to Dock, which receives all line items for a Purchase Order.

Inventory Planned Receipt to Dock, which receives multiple line items for a Purchase Order, but all for a given item. The Inventory Control module also includes an Unplanned Receipt to Dock screen.

Receipt to stock: This transaction is used to record the receipt of material into inventory. The on-hand inventory balance is updated at this time. If no additional receipts are expected against the order, regardless of the total quantity received against the order, the order can be closed out. Similarly, if additional receipts are expected, you can force the order to remain open regardless of the total quantity received.

Shipment feedback: This function is for use by customers that do not have the DMACS Order Entry module. It can be used as either an on-line or batch mode transaction to interface to a non-DMACS Order Entry system. Shipment feedback in DMACS is accomplished in the Order Entry module.