ERP Internals/Modules/Inventory
Businesses maintain stocks of items for sale to customers or for inclusion ("raw materials") in the manufacturing of new items ("finished goods"). Inventory ties up a lot of money in most businesses. The Inventory module's job is to minimize the amount of money tied up in Inventory without running out and being unable to fill customer orders. Every ERP package has an Inventory module.
Inventory analysis analyzes inventory items by category, supplier, product ID, date, etc. and combinations thereof. The Analysis function selects, sorts, and summarizes these transactions and presents them in numeric and graphic forms. It supports both pre-defined and ad hoc queries.
Tables
[edit | edit source]The first table is the Item table which contains one record for every inventory item. Each Inventory item includes costing, purchasing, and location information (items can be stocked at more than one warehouse and more than one location within a warehouse). The second table is the Transaction table which contains one record for every transaction (receipt, issue, count, adjustment). There is at least one transaction for every item and there can be many.
Inventory Analysis has a separate, read-only table that is optimized for quick access. Each record in the sales analysis table represents an item receipt. The table is updated once a day.
Data Exchange
[edit | edit source]Inventory receives data from Purchasing and Accounts Payable and sends transaction to General Ledger.