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.
Video Tutorials:
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 a material type in Ply for managing non-stock inventory — items used in the field that don't need to be tracked at the job level. Think of stuff like:
Wasp spray
Shop towels
Booties
Primers
Pipe thread compound
They're small, often cheap, and used all the time, but you still want to know how much you've got, where it is, and when to restock.
Consumables are:
Ordered to the warehouse
Transferred to trucks
Consumed in the field (not billed to jobs)
Tracked only at the warehouse level
They don't clutter your job invoicing or materials list, but you still get visibility and control over usage, transfers, and replenishment.
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
Feature | Materials | Consumables |
Tracked on jobs? | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
Show up on invoices? | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
Require consumption tracking? | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
Used frequently in the field? | ⚠️ Sometimes | ✅ Absolutely |
Auto-replenishment support? | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
Tracking level | Warehouse, truck, and job | Warehouse only |
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 fits your workflow, our Support team is happy to help you decide.
Where to Manage Consumables
Dedicated Consumables tabs live in:
Catalog > Consumables → View all consumables in your system
Stock > Warehouse > Consumables → Track consumables in your warehouse
Stock > Fleet > Consumables → See what's been transferred to trucks
Kept separate from Materials so your workflows stay clean and organized.
How to Create a Consumable
Go to Catalog > Consumables
Click "Add Consumable"
Fill in the details: Name, item number, description, unit of measurement, cost, tags
Assign it to a location: add it to a warehouse
Set min/max quantities for auto-replenishment
Generate a barcode
Click Save to warehouse
💡 Setting min/max quantities allows Ply to automatically add the item to your replenishment list when it’s running low.
Transfer Consumables to Trucks
Once created, you can transfer consumables from a warehouse to a truck. Once on a truck, they're considered consumed — no individual usage tracking needed.
How to transfer:
Go to Stock > Warehouse > Consumables
Select the consumable(s)
Click Transfer
Choose the truck and enter quantity
Hit Confirm
Check Stock > Fleet > Truck > Consumables Tab to see what's onboard.
Replenishment & Purchase Orders
Replenishment:
Set Min/Max values per warehouse
When stock falls below min, Ply adds the item to your Replenishment List
Replenishment happens at the warehouse level only, not from trucks
Creating a PO with Consumables:
Go to Catalog > Consumables
Select item(s) → click Create Purchase Order
Choose a supplier, required date, and ship-to warehouse
Confirm quantities (based on min/max logic)
Click Create PO
Your PO will include both materials and consumables in separate sections ✅
Other Key Features
Barcodes: Print or generate new ones for easy tracking
Bulk actions: Edit, delete, or transfer multiple items at once
Mobile support: Field techs can view + transfer consumables if permissions allow
Permissions: Admins can control who sees or moves consumables
Reporting: Export consumables from Consumables > Export Catalog
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, send a list to Support and our Data team can assist.
Can I Move a Consumable to a Material?
There isn't currently a single-click option to convert a consumable into a material. To do that:
Export your consumables as a spreadsheet (Excel or CSV) from Catalog > Consumables > Export catalog
Prepare the exported file so column headers match the materials import template
Upload the consumable list as materials using Catalog > Materials > Bulk Upload/Update
After importing, delete the original consumables to avoid duplicates