In order to effectively utilise the stock module for maximum benefit, there are a few settings to be considered or adjusted first. If you do not have any suppliers set up through Commusoft, these should be set up first. As well as this, it is important that you have imported or manually uploaded a list of your parts. Once you've got your parts in the system and suppliers set up, you can get started adjusting your stock control settings.
Watch a short video helping you get started with our Stock control module:
Choosing your stock inventory system
Establishing the stock inventory system you'd like to use is extremely important. You won't be able to use your stock control module before setting this up. Ensure that the system you will be using is decided before choosing which version of the system you will be using, when this has been chosen, you will not be able to change it.
Choosing 'First in first out', means that the first stock items to be entered will also be the first ones to be taken out. Whereas 'Last in first out' assumes that the last items entered will be the first ones to be taken out. For example, if you have bought a dozen cans over a dozen days, the first you bought would be taken first from the back, in the first in, first out setting, whereas in the last in, first out option, you would be taking the cans from the front as they have been purchased more recently.
Setting up your stock locations
It's important to establish the stock locations you will be using in order to store your goods. It is highly recommended that you set up a 'Stock room' location that you and your coworkers will use. You will need to choose your stock inventory system before you can create any locations:
This location should not be associated with any one person in particular (even if you do have an individual that manages your stockroom exclusively). Outside of this, we recommend setting up the vans for your engineers with their name, the vehicle and then their registration number, for example, Jason's van (BV56 Y2L).
Setting up your parts collection workflow
This is where you can choose how your engineers will go about collecting their parts. This setting will affect your users' mobile app (which should be installed from the app or android store). Setting your picking list to 'off' means that your engineers will be able to access their stock at will and take what they need without liaising with a stockroom manager of any kind. This can be useful as a low-maintenance way of having engineers take what they need, although it can be more difficult for you (or whoever manages the stockroom) Putting your picking list on, however, means that your engineers will have a pre-defined list of stock with their name associated that they can then use their app to scan and collect from a stockroom manager.
Your supplier parts reminder email message
You can set up an email to automatically send out to your suppliers the day before parts are due in order to remind them of what you need. Editing or customising the email body can be done easily in the dialogue boxes provided, it is important to use the correct 'tags' in order to get as much information as possible in this email to avoid you having to follow it up with any other correspondence.
Within the tags you have available (click 'use tagging' to access these), there will be one at the bottom called 'supplier_parts_reminder_list'. This will autofill with the list of necessary parts to be reordered. Make sure to click 'save' when you're happy with your email. If you would like to see a video outlining the ways in which stock control can be utilised, please click here.
Supplier parts undelivered notification
This is another automated email that will be going out to your suppliers to inform them of any parts that are due to be delivered for pending jobs that have yet to be received.
It is important to consider when you want the notification raised - ideally at a point during the day where a workaround can be implemented if parts have not arrived.
How to: Do a stock check
In order to make sure all your stock information and stock levels are accurate and up to date, it is highly advisable to do regular stock check to see what you currently have available. In order to do this, first, you'll need a list of the parts you've currently got registered in Commusoft to cross-reference with to see if it's accurate.
You can do this through your system setting by going to the stock location (simply use the search bar to find it). Once you're on the stock location's page, you can export a list of the parts it contains to a .csv format file (excel). You can then use this to cross-reference with the stock you actually have and make any necessary adjustments.