Inventory items

What an item represents

An inventory item is the master record for a material the lab wants to track. It can be a reagent, consumable, test kit, equipment part, or office supply. The item record defines the name, SKU, category, unit of measure, preferred supplier, reorder settings, storage requirements, and whether the item is active and consumable. Actual quantities live in stock levels, not directly in the item form.

Use items for materials that affect lab operations or purchasing decisions. A CBC reagent, urine container, swab, rapid-test kit, printer label roll, or centrifuge part can all be valid inventory items if the lab needs visibility, thresholds, expiry control, or supplier history.

Company and branch views

Inventory Items is available in both workspaces. The company workspace shows quantities summed across all company warehouses and allows authorized users to create and maintain the shared item catalogue. A branch workspace shows the same company catalogue with Branch On Hand, Reserved, and Available calculated only from warehouses operated by the current branch. A catalogue item with no branch stock remains visible with a zero balance so branch staff can request or receive it without creating a duplicate item.

Branch users cannot change the shared item master. If a name, unit, reorder policy, supplier link, or storage rule needs correction, make that change in the company workspace. Open a branch item to review only that branch's stock levels, transactions, transfers, supply requests, and receipts; activity from sibling branches is not included.

Item details

The Item Details section contains the identity of the item. English and Arabic names are required so staff see a useful label in either locale. Both descriptions should explain pack size, compatible analyzer, intended use, or handling details instead of repeating the item name. SKU can be your internal code or the vendor code used on purchase documents. Category and Unit should match how staff classify, count, and consume the item.

The supplier field links the item to an active supplier. If the supplier does not exist yet, the form can create it with English and Arabic names. Item deletion is disabled because stock levels, receipts, transfers, transactions, and test consumption may depend on the record; make an unused item inactive instead.

Stock management fields

Current Stock is visible on edit and is disabled because it is calculated from warehouse stock levels. Staff should not type total stock directly into the item record. Stock increases through receipts and transfer receiving. Stock decreases through transfer dispatch or consumption. Corrections happen through stock-level adjustment with notes.

Initial Stock appears only when creating an item in flows that allow item creation. Treat it as setup data, not a daily receiving method. Reorder Level is the quantity at or below which the item should appear as low stock. Reorder Quantity is the suggested purchasing amount. Both reorder values are required, may be zero, and cannot be negative. Unit Cost supports valuation and helps the workbench calculate inventory value.

When you create an item from Inventory > Inventory Items, you can optionally enter Initial Stock. If you enter a quantity greater than zero, select the Initial Warehouse where that stock physically exists. You can also add Initial Bin, Initial Lot Number, and Initial Expiry Date so the first warehouse stock level is useful immediately. Leave initial stock as zero when you are only building the catalogue or when the stock should be entered later through a receipt, transfer, or guided opening-stock count.

Use Record Opening Stock when you need a documented physical count with a clear setup or adjustment reason. Use direct item creation when the team is setting up the item master and optionally entering a simple first balance at the same time. Both paths create the same inventory item, but the guided opening-stock workflow is better when the quantity itself needs review and audit context.

Storage and expiry

The Storage & Expiry section records how the item should be handled. Storage conditions include room temperature, refrigerated, frozen, dark storage, and humidity controlled. Storage Location can hold a general note such as Fridge 1 or Shelf B, but detailed warehouse-specific location is better stored on stock levels through bin location.

Expiry Date and Lot Number on the item are useful when the item itself is managed as a single lot, but most labs should capture lot and expiry on receipts or stock levels. That gives better traceability when the same item exists in multiple lots or warehouses.

Table columns and filters

The item table shows the name, SKU, category, scope-aware on-hand, reserved and available quantities, stock-line count, storage location, and supplier. The stock column changes color when the item is low, making urgent materials easier to spot. In the company workspace these totals cover all company warehouses; in a branch workspace they cover only the current branch warehouses. The create button is available in the company workspace to authorized users; stock-level creation and editing stay in the stock-level workflow so warehouse quantities remain traceable.

Use the category filter to focus on reagents, kits, consumables, equipment parts, or office supplies. Use Low Stock when preparing a purchase list. Use Expiring Soon when planning lot rotation, disposal, or replacement before a material becomes unsafe to use.

Links to lab work

Open a single test in Catalog > Tests, then use Inventory Consumption to link an active consumable item. Set the quantity per run, whether the rule applies to patient results, QC results, or both, the allowed variance, and whether stock is required. A required rule reserves and consumes valid branch stock atomically when a patient result is released or a QC result is saved. The oldest valid lot is used first, expired lots are excluded, and insufficient stock blocks the clinical action without creating a partial movement.

Each successful run writes reservation and consumption evidence with the test, result, user, branch warehouse, lot, expected quantity, observed quantity, and variance status. Repeating the same clinical action does not consume the rule twice.

When a test depends on a reagent or kit, keep the item name aligned with the catalog language. Staff should be able to move from a test name to the required stock without translating between informal names, supplier names, and analyzer labels.

Common setup mistakes

Avoid using vague names like Tube, Kit, or Reagent when the lab stocks multiple similar materials. Avoid changing a unit after stock is already received unless you also reconcile quantities. Do not use the item expiry field as a substitute for lot-level expiry when multiple lots are stored. Do not leave reorder levels at defaults for critical items; a default value may be too high for rare items or too low for high-volume tests.

If current stock looks wrong, open Stock Levels and check the warehouses, lot numbers, reserved quantities, and recent transactions before editing the item. The item total is a summary; the detailed reason is usually in a stock level, receipt, transfer, or adjustment.

Checklist

• The item name is specific and matches how staff refer to the material.
• The category and unit of measure are correct before stock is received.
• The preferred supplier is active and easy to contact.
• Reorder level and reorder quantity reflect real lab usage, not default values.
• Storage conditions are recorded for temperature-sensitive or humidity-sensitive materials.
• Lot and expiry tracking are captured through receipts and stock levels when multiple lots exist.
• Required patient/QC consumption rules are configured for every reagent-dependent test.