Inventory overview

What Inventory controls

Inventory is the part of Fohosat that keeps the lab's physical materials connected to daily work. It covers reagents, consumables, kits, equipment parts, office supplies, warehouses, suppliers, supply requests, receipts, transfers, stock levels, and expiry alerts. For a medical lab, this is not just a purchasing list. It is the control point that helps staff know whether a test can be performed today, which lot should be used first, which branch needs stock, and which items must be ordered before service is interrupted.

The module is company-scoped and warehouse-aware. A warehouse can represent a main store, a branch store, a fridge, a freezer, a shelf room, or a transit location. Stock is then tracked at item-and-warehouse level, with optional lot number, expiry date, bin location, and unit cost. This means the same reagent can exist in multiple branches, and each location can have its own quantity, expiry risk, and reorder threshold.

The operational Inventory module is available in both workspaces, but each workspace has a different scope. In the company workspace at /lab, Inventory shows every warehouse and branch owned by the current company. In a branch workspace at /lab/branch/{branch}, Inventory shows only warehouses operated by that branch. This rule applies to the workbench, items and their displayed quantities, warehouses, stock levels, supply requests, receipts, transfers, alerts, and inventory widgets. Inventory reports are centralized separately in the company workspace under Reports.

Company-level catalogue records are shared. Branch users can browse Inventory Items, Suppliers, and the Supplier Catalog so they can identify and request the correct materials, but item and supplier master-data changes are made in the company workspace. Branch users can create their own warehouses when permitted, record branch stock, request supplies, receive vendor stock, and initiate transfers from a current-branch warehouse. A branch can see a transfer when one of its warehouses is either the source or destination; source staff dispatch and destination staff receive.

The workbench

The Inventory Workbench is the starting page for daily monitoring. It combines current insights, shortcuts, alerts, and open workflows in one place. The scope message at the top confirms whether you are viewing All Company Warehouses or Current Branch Warehouses. Use the warehouse filter to focus on one permitted store or storage location. The page shows the current recorded position; use Inventory Reports for document date ranges and movement audits.

The insight cards summarize total inventory value, total SKUs, low-stock items, expiry-risk items, open supply requests, and in-transit transfers. These cards are not decorative metrics. They tell the storekeeper where to look first: a low-stock card points to reorder work, an expiry-risk card points to lot rotation, and an in-transit transfer card points to receiving work that should be completed before the destination branch depends on the stock.

Inventory lists are designed for scanning: select a row to open its full record, then use the actions at the top of the view or edit page for the next valid step. Supply requests, receipts, and transfers show only actions allowed by the current status and your permissions. Item selectors include the SKU, supplier selectors include the supplier code, and warehouse selectors include the branch so similarly named records are easier to distinguish.

Workflow actions

The workbench also exposes the main inventory actions. Inventory Items opens the catalogue where staff maintain item names, SKUs, units, reorder levels, suppliers, and storage rules. Record Opening Stock is intended for initial setup, physical counts, or documented corrections. Request Supplies starts a vendor procurement workflow. Transfer Stock moves stock between warehouses with approval, reservation, dispatch, and receiving states. Receive Vendor Stock posts received lots into warehouse stock. Manage Warehouses keeps branch storage locations accurate. Supplier Catalog keeps vendor SKU, pack size, lead time, and preferred-supplier information organized.

When training staff, make the difference between these actions clear. An inventory item defines what the lab tracks. A receipt adds vendor stock. A transfer moves stock between warehouses. An adjustment corrects an existing stock level and requires notes. Using the wrong action can make reports hard to trust, even if the final quantity looks correct.

Stock-moving documents

Fohosat changes stock through controlled documents and services. A posted receipt creates or updates a stock level and records a Supply Receive transaction. An approved transfer reserves source stock. A dispatched transfer deducts the reserved stock from the source warehouse. A received transfer adds accepted stock to the destination warehouse and keeps the lot, expiry date, and unit cost from the source line when available. Rejected quantities are recorded on the transfer line so damaged, expired, missing, or unusable stock can close the line without adding quantity to the destination warehouse. Manual adjustments write an adjustment transaction and require a reason.

These documents create traceability. Managers can see who requested, approved, dispatched, received, or adjusted stock. The status on each document shows whether the work is still draft, waiting for approval, in movement, partially received, completed, rejected, or cancelled.

Alerts and daily review

Low stock is based on each stock level's reorder level, or the item reorder level when the stock level does not override it. An active catalog item with no balance in the selected warehouse is treated as zero stock and appears as Critical; in the company view it is labeled No warehouse balance. Expiry risk highlights stock levels with an expiry date within the next thirty days. The workbench lists the most urgent low-stock and expiring lines first so staff can decide whether to order, transfer, consume an older lot first, or remove expired stock from use.

Review these alerts at the start of the day and before the busiest sample collection window. In a lab, a missing reagent can block results, delay reports, and force emergency purchasing. A near-expiry lot can also create waste if it is hidden in the wrong fridge or branch store.

Roles and permissions

Inventory permissions are separated by responsibility. Some staff may only view stock. Others can create supply requests, approve transfers, post receipts, manage warehouses, adjust stock, or maintain suppliers. If an action is missing, first check the user role before assuming the page is broken. Many actions are also hidden by status; for example, receipts can only be posted while they are still draft, and transfers can only be dispatched after approval or picking.

Operations staff normally have day-to-day inventory access for the workbench, stock visibility, supply requests, receipts, transfers, and reports. Supplier maintenance, warehouse setup, approval, and manual adjustment permissions should still be assigned only when those duties are part of the person's job.

Owners should keep approval permissions limited to people who understand stock value, expiry risk, and branch operations. Storekeepers can handle most daily preparation, but approval and adjustment rights should be treated like financial controls.

Practical operating rhythm

Start each day from the Inventory Workbench. Review low stock, expiry risk, open transfers, open supply requests, and recent receipts. If a branch is short on a critical reagent, decide whether the fastest safe action is a transfer from another warehouse or a vendor supply request. If a receipt was posted yesterday, confirm the stock appears in the correct warehouse and that lot and expiry data were entered correctly.

During the day, keep stock movement tied to the real-world event. Create the receipt when vendor stock arrives. Post it after quantities, rejected quantities, lot numbers, expiry dates, and bin locations are checked. Dispatch a transfer when items physically leave the source warehouse. Receive it when the destination warehouse confirms what arrived.

Checklist

• Warehouses exist for every branch store, fridge, freezer, and transit location that staff use.
• Inventory items have clear units, categories, reorder levels, reorder quantities, supplier links, and storage conditions.
• Receipts include supplier, warehouse, vendor reference when available, received quantities, rejected quantities, lot numbers, expiry dates, unit costs, and discrepancy notes.
• Transfers move through request, approval, picking, dispatch, and receiving instead of being corrected manually afterward.
• Low-stock and expiry-risk lists are reviewed before the lab depends on the affected items.
• Manual adjustments have a clear reason that another manager can understand later.