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Life Sciences > Inventory Period > Sample Inventory

Sample Inventory

Use the Sample Inventory pages to create, update, and track sample inventory records.

A sample inventory record tells the sales representative about the product that has been categorized as qualifying for dropping a sample. The samples administrator approves the product and assigns a quantity to the sales representative. The sales representative can keep the sample until she can distribute it to a validated physician, clinic, or hospital facility. A sample inventory record can be defined at the product level or at the sample lot level. Rules about the quantity that can be distributed to any given contact are kept in the allocation record for that product sample. The allocation record and the sample inventory record track the process of executing a sales call and dropping a sample or promotional item.

About the Tracking Process for Sample Inventory Records

When the samples administrator sends sample shipments to end users in the field, the sales representative must acknowledge receipt of the sample inventory. The sales representative must physically receive the sample inventory, count it, and acknowledge the quantity. This process forms the starting point for the sample inventory tracking process, and ultimately results in reconciling the inventory at the end of the inventory period.

During an inventory period, the sales representative might have requests from the samples administration manager to perform audits on an inventory. Then, the sales representative uses the sample inventory records to generate an inventory audit report. When an inventory period ends, the inventory is counted and maintained in the sample inventory record and the remaining inventory is copied to the new inventory period. Reconciling the inventory period confirms that the inventory matches the calculations obtained by processing the transaction records for the products. All records must match before the inventory period is considered to be reconciled.