This article provides detailed information on the key concepts and features related to the Stock or Inventory Module in iVendNext. Understanding these concepts and features will enable you to effectively manage your inventory, track its movement, and optimize stock levels to meet your business needs.
The Stock or Inventory module in iVendNext allows you to manage many aspects of your inventory, including:
Maintaining product and warehouse details
Tracking the movement of products - receipt, transfer, and delivery
Valuation of each product
Optimizing stock levels through real-time reporting
The Stock module integrates with the Purchase, Manufacturing, and Accounting modules.
Item Master: iVendNext is designed for itemized management of sales and purchases, where each item represents a product or service. It's essential to complete the Item Master for successful implementation.
Creating an Item: To create a new item, go to Home > Stock > Items and Pricing > Item. Before creating an item, ensure you have already set up Item Groups, Warehouses, and Units of Measure.
Item Sections: The Item Master contains several sections to store detailed information about the item:
Details: Includes basic information such as item name, group, unit of measure, whether it's returnable, whether it's a fixed asset, etc.
Inventory: This section is divided into subsections:
Auto Reorder: Allows you to configure automatic reordering of inventory when a specified minimum level is reached.
Units of Measure: Allows you to define multiple units of measure for an item and specify conversion factors between them.
Serial Numbers and Batches: Contains options for managing items that require unique identification (serial numbers) or tracking by production lot (batch numbers).
Accounting: Provides fields for associating the item with relevant accounting information, such as default accounts, cost centers, and suppliers.
Purchasing: Contains information specific to purchasing the item, such as the default purchase unit of measure, minimum order quantity, lead time, and whether the item is provided by the customer.
Sales: Includes settings related to the sales of the item, such as the default sales unit of measure, maximum discount, whether to grant commission, and whether to allow sales of the item.
Tax: Contains information related to the tax settings of the item, such as the applicable tax template and tax category.
Quality: Allows you to define quality inspection requirements for the item, including templates for inspection criteria.
Manufacturing: Includes settings related to the manufacturing of the item, such as whether it is used in the manufacturing process and whether raw materials are supplied for subcontracting.
Surcharge: Allows you to add surcharges to the item, such as freight, handling charges, or gift wrapping.
Cross Selling: Allows you to define cross-selling or upselling suggestions for the item.
Classification:
Item Groups are used to categorize items based on shared characteristics. You can create groups like "Raw Material", "Trading", or groups based on product attributes.
Default Values:
You can assign default values to an Item Group, simplifying item creation. These defaults include the default warehouse, buying and selling cost centers, default supplier, price list, and discount amount.
Website Specifications:
You can define website-specific information for an Item Group, including the route, title, and description.
Identification:
Brands, often associated with manufacturers or packers, help identify items. You can create a Brand and link it to relevant items.
Default Settings:
Brands can have default settings, such as a Default Warehouse and Price List. These defaults are applied to sales and purchase transactions involving items of that brand.
Selling Sets:
A Product Bundle groups multiple items that are sold as a single set. For example, a "Smartphone Bundle" could include a phone, charger, and case.
Parent and Child Items:
Parent Item:
This acts as a virtual container for the bundle and is typically a non-stock item.
Child Items:
These are the individual items included in the bundle. Their stock levels are affected when the bundle is sold.
Sales Transactions:
During sales transactions, the parent item represents the bundle. Selecting the parent item automatically fetches its child items in the transaction, affecting their stock levels accordingly.
Offers and Schemes:
Product Bundles can be used creatively to manage special offers. For example, a "Buy One Get One Free" offer can be implemented by setting the quantity of a child item to two within a bundle.
Substitutions:
Item Alternatives allow you to define substitute items for use in manufacturing or sales if the original item is unavailable.
Work Orders and BOMs:
You can enable "Allow Alternative Item" in a BOM (Bill of Materials) or Work Order, allowing you to choose alternative items during stock entry.
Subcontracting:
Item Alternatives are useful in subcontracting scenarios. If a specific raw material is unavailable, you can send an alternative to the subcontractor.
Tracking:
The Manufacturer master allows you to store information about the manufacturers of your items.
Manufacturer Details:
You can record details like the Manufacturer Name, Website, Country, and Logo.
Item Linking:
You can associate a Manufacturer with a specific item in the Item Master.
Additional Details:
You can add an Address and Contact information for each Manufacturer.
Variations:
Item Variants help manage items with multiple attributes, like size, color, or material. This eliminates the need to create separate items for each variation.
Variant Basis:
Variants can be based on:
Item Attributes:
These are predefined characteristics like "Color" or "Size".
Manufacturers:
Variants can be created based on different manufacturers for the same base item.
Template Item:
When creating variants, you start with a "Template Item". This template is not used directly in transactions but serves as the basis for generating variants.
Creating Variants:
You can create single or multiple variants based on selected attributes or manufacturers.
Updating Variants:
Changes made to the template item are automatically reflected in all its variants.
Measurement:
UoMs define the units in which items are measured (e.g., pieces, kilograms, liters).
Whole Numbers:
The "Must be Whole Number" option restricts a UoM to whole number quantities.
Conversion Factors:
You can define conversion factors between different UoMs, ensuring accurate quantity calculations when converting between units.
Detailed Tracking:
Inventory Dimensions provide tracking parameters beyond the standard warehouse, batch, and serial number tracking. You can create custom dimensions to track inventory based on specific needs.
Dimension Creation:
You can link a reference document to create a custom Inventory Dimension. For example, you can use a "Shelf" document to track inventory by shelf location.
Applicability:
You can apply Inventory Dimensions to all inventory documents or specific ones.
Negative Stock Validation:
You can enable validation to prevent negative stock for specific dimensions and warehouses.
Reporting:
Inventory Dimensions can be used as filters in stock balance and ledger reports for detailed analysis.
Storage Locations:
Warehouses represent physical locations where inventory is stored. You can define attributes for each warehouse, such as:
Warehouse Name:
A descriptive name for the warehouse.
Retail Store:
This flag indicates if the warehouse functions as a retail store for point-of-sale (POS) transactions.
Parent Warehouse:
If the warehouse is a sub-warehouse within a larger structure, you can specify the parent warehouse.
Rejected Warehouse:
You can designate a warehouse specifically for storing rejected materials.
Account:
The default account associated with transactions involving this warehouse.
Company:
The company to which this warehouse belongs.
Warehouse Contact: Contact information for the warehouse.
Transit:
Settings related to in-transit movements of inventory.
Types:
You can categorize warehouses by type, such as "Supplier Warehouses", "Stock Warehouses", or "WIP Warehouses".
Stock Balance:
You can easily access the stock balance report for a specific warehouse to view inventory levels, valuation, and other details.
Pricing Structure:
Price Lists are collections of Item Prices used to manage selling and buying rates.
Multiple Price Lists:
You can create multiple Price Lists to cater to different scenarios, such as varying prices based on territory, customer group, or currency.
Customer and Supplier Linking:
You can link Price Lists to specific Customers or Suppliers for automatic price application during transactions.
Item Price Tracking:
To view all Item Prices, navigate to Stock > Stock Reports > Item Price Stock.
Price Records:
Item Price is a record that stores the buying and selling rates for an item. You can create multiple Item Price records for the same item, allowing you to manage price variations based on different factors.
Price List Selection:
You can associate an Item Price with a specific Price List, which can be used for selling, buying, or both.
Features:
Key features of Item Price include:
UOM Specific Prices:
You can set different prices for an item based on the UOM used.
Packing Unit:
Defines the quantity of items that must be bought or sold as a single unit.
Minimum Quantity:
Specifies the minimum quantity required for the Item Price to apply.
Customer/Supplier Specific Prices:
You can link Item Prices to specific Customers or Suppliers.
Batch Specific Prices:
You can define Item Prices for specific batches of an item.
Validity:
Allows you to set a date range for the validity of an Item Price.
Lead Time:
Specifies the lead time in days, which can be used to define different Item Prices based on delivery timeframes.
Note:
Provides a field for adding notes or comments related to the Item Price.
Delivery Costs:
Shipping Rules allow you to define the cost of shipping products to customers or from suppliers.
Rule Definition:
You can create Shipping Rules with specific labels (e.g., "Priority Shipping") and associate them with relevant accounting details, such as the Shipping Account and Cost Center.
Calculation Basis:
Shipping costs can be calculated based on:
Fixed Amount:
A predetermined fixed shipping cost.
Net Total Quantity:
The total quantity of items being shipped.
Net Total Weight:
The total weight of the shipment.
Conditions:
You can define conditions within a Shipping Rule to specify different shipping costs based on quantity or weight ranges.
Discounts and Pricing: Pricing Rules automate the application of discounts or price adjustments based on predefined conditions.
Use Cases: Pricing Rules can address various scenarios, including:
Volume discounts for customers purchasing larger quantities
Special pricing for specific customers
Consistent pricing for items within a specific Item Group
Group-based pricing or discounts for customers or suppliers
Creation: To create a Pricing Rule, go to Home > Accounting > Pricing Rule.
Rule Components: Key components of a Pricing Rule include:
Title: A descriptive name for the rule.
Apply On: Defines the target of the rule – item code, item group, brand, or transaction.
Price or Product Discount: Specifies whether the rule applies a price discount or offers free products.
Item Selection: Allows you to select specific items, an Item Group, or all items.
Warehouse: Restricts the rule to a specific warehouse.
UoM: Limits the rule's application to a specific unit of measure.
Condition: You can add a Python expression to define additional conditions for the rule.
Features: Advanced features of Pricing Rules include:
Mixed Conditions: Allows you to apply the rule based on the combined quantity of multiple items.
Is Cumulative: Enables the rule to apply cumulatively over multiple transactions.
Apply Rule On Other: Triggers a rule on a different item based on the presence of specific items in the transaction.
Party Information: Specifies the applicability of the rule to specific customers, customer groups, territories, sales partners, campaigns, suppliers, or supplier groups.
Quantity and Amount: Defines minimum and maximum quantities or amounts for the rule to apply.
Validity: Sets a date range for the validity of the rule.
Margin: Allows you to define margins based on percentage or amount.
Price Discount Scheme: Defines the specific discount or pricing logic to be applied.
Advanced Settings: Offers fine-grained control over the rule's behavior, including thresholds for suggestions, priority, multiple rule application, and validation options.
Discount Types: Pricing Rules can implement various discount types:
Rate: Sets a fixed price for an item.
Discount Percentage: Applies a percentage discount to the item price.
Discount Amount: Deducts a fixed amount from the item price.
Initial Inventory:
Opening Stock represents the quantity and value of inventory available at the beginning of an accounting period. It's essential to accurately record Opening Stock for proper inventory valuation.
Prerequisites:
Before posting Opening Stock:
Create Warehouses
to represent your storage locations.
Link Warehouses
to the appropriate accounting ledgers for accurate financial tracking.
Non-Serialized Items:
Opening Stock for non-serialized items is entered through the Stock Reconciliation page.
Serialized and Batched Items:
For items tracked by serial number or batch number, follow these steps:
Create Batch and Serial No records in advance.
Go to Stock > Stock Transactions > Stock Entry > New.
Select "Material Receipt" as the Stock Entry Type.
Choose the target Warehouse.
Enter the Item Code, quantity, and basic rate.
Select the Batch No (for batched items) or Serial No (for serialized items).
Save and submit the Stock Entry.
Unique Identification:
Serial Numbers provide unique identification for individual items. This is essential for tracking specific units of a product.
Prerequisite:
To use Serial Numbers, enable the "Has Serial No" option in the Item Master.
Creation:
Serial Numbers are typically generated automatically during transactions when a series is defined in the Item Master.
You can also create Serial Numbers manually by navigating to Home > Stock > Serial No and Batch > Serial No.
Status:
The status of a Serial Number reflects its availability for delivery or sale.
Automatic Generation:
Serial Numbers can be automatically created from Stock Entries or Purchase Receipts if a series is defined in the Item Master.
Details:
You can track various details associated with a specific Serial Number, including:
Purchase or Manufacturing details
Delivery details
Warranty and AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) information
Additional information in the "Serial No Details" section
Group Tracking:
Batch Numbers identify groups of items produced or received together, typically used for items with expiry dates or specific production characteristics.
Prerequisite:
To use Batch Numbers, enable "Has Batch No" in the Item Master.
Creation:
You can create Batch Numbers manually by navigating to Stock > Documents > Batch > New.
Automatic Generation:
Enable "Automatically Create New Batch" in the Item Master for automatic batch creation during Purchase Receipts.
Management:
Key features of Batch Number management include:
Splitting:
Divide a batch into smaller batches.
Moving:
Transfer a batch to a different warehouse.
Expiry Tracking:
Monitor the expiry status of batches.
Transactions:
When dealing with batch items, specify the Batch Number in stock transactions like Purchase Receipts and Delivery Notes.
Linking Serial and Batch Numbers:
This feature, introduced in version 15, allows you to associate multiple Serial Numbers or Batch Numbers within a stock transaction.
Unique Bundles:
Each stock transaction requires a separate Serial and Batch Bundle.
Creation:
Bundles can be created:
Automatically:
For inward entries (Material Receipt) upon submission.
Manually:
For inward entries using CSV import for pre-existing Serial/Batch Numbers.
Automatically (for Outward Entries):
Enable the "Auto Create Serial and Batch Bundle For Outward" option in Stock Settings for outward entries (Material Issue).
Old Serial/Batch Fields:
You can disable these fields at the transaction level if using Serial and Batch Bundles.
Updating Serial/Batch Fields:
By default, Serial/Batch fields in transactions are not automatically updated when using bundles. You can enable this update in Stock Settings.
If you need to enable Serial or Batch Number tracking for an item that already has stock, follow these steps:
Stock Out:
Reduce the current stock to zero using the Stock Reconciliation Tool or a Stock Entry of type "Material Issue".
Inward Serialized/Batched Inventory:
Create a new stock entry of type "Material Receipt" to add the serialized or batched inventory.
Disable Old Items:
Disable the previous item records to prevent their use in transactions.
Rename or Create New Item:
You can either rename the existing item or create a new item with the actual item code if you want to maintain the same code.