Efficient inventory management is crucial for maintaining optimal stock levels, reducing costs, and ensuring timely order fulfillment. Katana's real-time inventory tracking system automates stock movements based on purchasing, manufacturing, and sales activities, eliminating the need for manual updates.
Tip for costing principles
Tip for costing principles
Check out understanding moving average cost to better comprehend costing principles in Katana.
Understanding stock movements
In Katana, stock levels are dynamically updated through the following activities:
Purchasing: Receiving a purchase order (PO) increases material stock levels.
Manufacturing: Completing a manufacturing order (MO) or outsourced purchase Order (OPO) adds finished products to stock and consumes materials.
Sales: Delivering a sales order (SO) decreases product stock levels.
Stock adjustments: Manual adjustments can be made to correct stock discrepancies.
Navigating the Inventory tab
Access the Inventory tab from the Stock screen to view detailed information on your products and materials at the variant level. Key columns include:
In stock: Current quantity physically available in your warehouse.
Committed: Quantity allocated to open SOs, MOs, or OPOs.
Expected: Quantity anticipated from open POs, MOs, or OPOs.
Safety stock level: Minimum desired inventory level to prevent stockouts.
Calculated stock: Optimal stock level computed as:
In Stock - Committed + Expected - Safety Stock Level
Monitoring the Calculated stock helps in making informed manufacturing and purchasing decisions.
Setting safety stock levels
Safety stock acts as a buffer against uncertainties in demand and supply. In Katana:
Make-to-Stock (MTS): Set safety stock levels for products to ensure availability.
Make-to-Order (MTO): Typically, set product safety stock levels to zero, as items are produced upon order.
Materials: Regardless of MTS or MTO, it's advisable to maintain safety stock for materials to avoid production delays.
Note: Katana does not automatically calculate safety stock levels; they must be set manually for each product and material variant.
Learn how to determine the best level for your safety stock.
Accessing detailed inventory information
Clicking on the quantities in the In stock, Committed, or Expected columns opens a detailed view showing:
Historical stock movements over the past 365 days.
Associated documents like SOs, POs, MOs, OPOs, and stock adjustments.
Changes in average cost and quantity over time.
This feature aids in tracking inventory trends and making data-driven decisions.
Optimizing inventory levels
To maintain optimal inventory:
Regularly monitor the Calculated stock column to identify items needing replenishment.
Avoid excessive surplus to reduce holding costs.
Utilize the Sort function to prioritize items with the lowest calculated stock.
By proactively managing inventory levels, you can ensure product availability and efficient operations.
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