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Tracking an Inventory Location

There are two methods for tracking a part's physical location in an inventory:

• If inventory locations are defined down to the shelf or bin level, attach the inventory level to a bin or shelf, whose fixed location identifies the part.
• Enter a description of the part's inventory location in the Locator fields of the Product Inventory view. This view provides three Locator fields to allow for multiple possible locations; for example, a part called Defective 1 GB HD might be found first in the northeast corner of the San Francisco field office, second on shelf A in the supplies room, and third on shelf B in the supplies room.

Inventory Levels

Inventory levels are categories of products defined by a combination of availability and status. Both availability and status can have a variety of values. Availability values are Customer Owned, In Transit, On Hand, On Order, and Reserved. Status values are Good and Defective.

Table 89 shows some examples of inventory levels for one product.

The Inventory screen records inventory levels and asset numbers for each product in inventory. New products and inventory levels can be added to an inventory in this view, but it is not necessary to create these records manually. When an inventory transaction occurs, products and inventory levels are automatically created if they do not exist. However, products created this way are not assigned Min, Max, and Safety values or a cycle counting class (A, B, or C; X, Y, or Z), so product records may need updating on the Service Inventory screen. For more information, see Inventory Screen.

You can create or update inventory levels by loading them through the EIM_PRODINVLOC table. You can also create or update inventory transactions by loading them through the EIM_INV_TXN table.

Negative Inventory Levels

Negative inventory levels may result from certain inventory transactions. Negative inventory levels are possible only for nonserialized products. Inventory levels may acquire negative values under the following circumstances:

• When the logical inventory does not match the physical inventory (in other words, if the item is on the shelf but the database does not show that it is available).
• When reconciling transactions to or from an External Location. The External Location must have negative quantities so that it can receive inventory from an external source.

Best Practice: Managing Inventory Levels

If the Inventory levels do not exist, they are automatically created by inventory transactions. However, it is recommended that inventory levels be initiated as part of the Authorized Stock List for an inventory location. As part of the Authorized Stock List, the default inventory levels (for example, On Hand - Good) should be created when an inventory location is created or when a new product is added to an inventory location. If your company plans to stock a particular inventory level, then you should not rely on an inventory transaction to create it.

Creating an inventory level when a product is added to an inventory location can be automated by setting up a workflow process. For more information about Siebel workflows and how to set them up, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.

Location Order

Service Inventory can specify a preferred order for using inventory at several different locations. By specifying which location to use first, Service Inventory minimizes the time required for a warehouse clerk to find an item for shipping (pick tickets), to stock inventory (replenishment), or for cycle counting. Location order can suggest order management strategies, like First-In-First-Out (FIFO). However, allocation takes the place of inventory levels and does not follow plans like FIFO or LIFO.

NOTE:  Location Order is for information only. It has no effect on the Fulfillment or Cycle Counting Engines.

Location order is represented by locator numbers (1, 2, and 3). Each locator number is defined by a locator code that applies to a specific warehouse or inventory system. Table 90 shows examples where part H3 may occur at three different inventory locations with different locator codes.

The location order can be any sequence of locator numbers; for example, 123 or 213. Make sure that the location order represents the optimized path through the warehouse.

Inventory locations 1, 2, and 3 (or Locators) are specified for inventory levels in the Inventory screen, Product Inventory view, Inventory Level subview. For more information, see Inventory Level Subview. Location Order appears as a read-only field in the Products screen, Inventory Locations view. Locations (1, 2, and 3) appear as read-only fields in the Cycle Counts screen, Part List view.