Understanding the difference between Materials and Consumables in Ply is key to tracking inventory correctly and choosing the right workflow for your team. While both represent items you stock and use, they behave very differently once they leave the warehouse.
What is a Material?
Materials are items you want to track individually as they move through your inventory and jobs.
Use Materials when:
You need to track quantities across warehouses, trucks, and jobs
Items are sold or used on specific jobs
Techs need to move, transfer, or consume the item themselves
You want usage to show up clearly in reports
Key behavior:
Materials can be transferred between locations (warehouse ↔ truck)
Materials can be added to jobs
Materials can be marked as used/consumed through activity
Inventory is always tracked at the location level
What is a Consumable?
Consumables are items meant to be used frequently and not tracked once they leave the warehouse.
Use Consumables when:
The item is used across many jobs, not tied to one specific job
You don’t need to track it after it’s issued
You mainly want to know when to restock, not how it was used
Common examples include tape, gloves, sprays, or small fittings.
Key behavior:
Consumables are replenished from the warehouse
Techs can request more consumables, but cannot mark them as consumed
Once issued, consumables are not actively tracked at the job level
Key Differences at a Glance
Can I move a Material to a Consumable?
Yes. You can migrate a Material into a Consumable directly from the Catalog:
Go to Catalog
Expand the material using the arrow on the right
Click the three dots
Select Create a consumable
This pulls in the existing material details so you don’t need to re-enter them. After creating the consumable, you’ll need to manually delete the original material.
Note: Materials can only be migrated one at a time. For large migrations, you can send a list to Support and our Data team can assist.
Can I move Consumable to a Material?
There isn’t currently an option to convert a consumable into a material with a single button click.
To do that you'll need to:
Export your consumables as a spreadsheet (Excel or CSV) from Catalog > Consumables > Export catalog.
Prepare the exported file for import by ensuring the column headers match the materials import template.
Upload the consumable list as materials using Catalog > Materials > Bulk Upload/Update. This allows you to add all your consumables as materials at once, avoiding manual re-entry.
After importing, you may want to delete the original consumables to avoid duplicates.
Which should I use?
If you want techs to:
Track usage per job
Move items between locations
Mark items as consumed
Use Materials.
If you only need to:
Restock items regularly
Avoid tracking usage after issuing
Use Consumables.
If you’re unsure which category fits your workflow, our Support team is always happy to help you decide.
Still need help? Contact Support!