Manage inventory
Track warehouse stock, low-stock items, expiry risk, supply requests, receipts, transfers, and inventory reports.
Start from the Inventory Workbench
Open Inventory > Workbench to see the daily stock control surface. The workbench is available when the user can view stock, reports, transfers, or supply requests. It summarizes total inventory value, SKU count, low-stock items, expiry risk, open supply requests, and in-transit transfers.
Use the workbench at the start of each day. It helps the team decide whether to reorder reagents, move stock between warehouses, receive vendor stock, or investigate expiring lots before testing is interrupted.
Use the lists to find a record and select its row to open the full view. The next permitted workflow action appears at the top of supply request, receipt, and transfer pages, while the table Workflow menu remains useful for quick processing. Selectors show extra identity details—such as SKU, supplier code, and warehouse branch—to help you choose confidently.
Choose warehouse and date context
The workbench can be filtered by warehouse and date. Warehouse filtering lets a storekeeper focus on one branch store, main store, fridge, freezer, or specialty location. The date context helps view stock as of a selected day.
Always confirm the warehouse before receiving or transferring stock. A correct item in the wrong warehouse creates operational confusion and can make another branch look short.
Maintain the item and supplier catalogue
Before receiving stock, create inventory items with clear names, units, reorder quantities, supplier relationship, storage requirements, and active status. Open Inventory > Inventory Items to add the item master. If the item already has a small starting balance, use the optional initial stock fields and choose the warehouse, bin, lot number, and expiry date. If the stock count needs review or a documented reason, leave initial stock as zero and use Record Opening Stock instead.
Link supplier catalogue information when vendor SKUs, pack sizes, lead times, or preferred suppliers matter.
A good item catalogue prevents ambiguous receipts. Staff should not have to guess whether "glucose reagent", "GLU kit", and "Glucose R1" are the same item. Use consistent naming and document supplier details.
Record opening stock carefully
Use Record Opening Stock only for initial setup, count corrections, or documented adjustments. Opening stock should include the item, warehouse, quantity, unit cost, lot number, and expiry date when applicable.
Do not use opening stock to hide missing receipts or transfers. If stock came from a supplier, record a receipt. If it came from another warehouse, record a transfer. Inventory history is only useful when movement types match reality.
Receive vendor stock
Use Receive Vendor Stock or the Receipts page to create incoming lots. Record supplier, warehouse, quantity, unit cost, batch or lot number, expiry date, and any discrepancy. Save the draft, review it, then select Post receipt at the top of its page to update stock. Recent receipts appear on the workbench so managers can review what arrived.
Check expiry dates before posting. A reagent received with a short expiry may need manager approval or special handling. If the received quantity differs from the invoice or purchase request, record the discrepancy rather than silently adjusting the number.
Transfer stock between warehouses
Use Transfer Stock when moving items between branches or warehouses. Transfers have source warehouse, destination warehouse, items, quantities, and statuses such as submitted, approved, picking, in transit, partially received, and received.
The sending side and receiving side should both update the transfer. Open the transfer and use the action at the top for its next valid step, or use the list Workflow menu for quick processing. When receiving, enter the quantity that arrived successfully and the quantity rejected because it was damaged, expired, missing, wrong, or unusable. Do not decrease one warehouse and manually increase another; that breaks traceability. For multi-branch labs, transfer history is essential when investigating shortages, expired stock, or delayed testing.
Watch low stock and expiry risk
Low-stock alerts compare on-hand levels with reorder thresholds. Expiry risk highlights lots expiring soon, with stronger urgency when expiry is close. The workbench lists examples so staff can act without opening a full report.
Low stock should trigger a supply request or transfer before work stops. Expiry risk should trigger first-expire-first-out usage, branch redistribution, or disposal according to lab policy. Do not keep expired stock available for operational use.
Use inventory reports
Open Inventory > Reports when you need a formal view. Report types include stock by warehouse, low stock and reorder, expiry risk, transfer aging, supply request status, inventory valuation, consumption cost, supplier spend, lot traceability, adjustment audit, and receiving audit.
Filter by date range, branch, warehouse, supplier, item, and status. Use reports for monthly review, procurement planning, expiry meetings, supplier performance, and audit preparation.
Operating routine
Daily: review low stock, expiry risk, open transfers, open supply requests, and recent receipts. Weekly: compare high-volume items with expected consumption and reorder points. Monthly: review valuation, supplier spend, adjustments, and expired or near-expired lots.
When inventory numbers do not match the shelf, investigate receipts, transfers, adjustments, lot numbers, expiry dates, and warehouse selection before changing quantities. Manual adjustments should have a clear reason and manager review.