Catalog & Stock
📚 On Ply, 'catalog' and 'stock' are two distinct components of your materials management system:
- Catalog: Think of the catalog as your comprehensive library of materials. It contains detailed listings of all the items you might need for your projects, regardless of their current quantities or locations.
- Stock: Your stock, on the other hand, refers to the actual quantities of materials you have on hand at various locations. It represents the physical inventory that's available for use or sale.
How They Interact:
- When setting up a new stock location, you select items from your catalog and specify the quantities to establish your starting inventory.
- If you have a new item in your FSM or create a new item from an RFQ it will create a record of that item within your catalog and can be moved into your stock location
This separation enhances the functionality of Ply's 'Manage' and 'Buy' products, allowing for efficient inventory tracking and procurement across your business operations.
Catalog Management Overview`
Warehouses VS Trucks
🏠 Ply differentiates between two types of inventory locations for managing your stock:
- Warehouses: These are fixed, immobile locations where your inventory is stored. They serve as central hubs for larger quantities of stock and can accommodate a wide range of materials.
- Trucks: In contrast, trucks are mobile locations. They act as on-the-go warehouses that transport and store the tools and materials necessary for your teams in the field.
Commonalities:
- Both warehouses and trucks can be assigned to employees and are capable of managing inventory.
- For the purpose of inventory counts and location tracking within Ply, both are considered equal — there's no difference in how they are weighted or managed in the system.
This distinction allows you to maintain a clear organizational structure for all your resources, regardless of whether they are stationary or mobile.
What are Movement Statistics in a Stock Location?
📉 Movement statistics are analytical insights provided by Ply to help you understand and optimize the flow of materials in your inventory:
- Items Added: Tracks the number and type of items being stocked into locations.
- Items Used: Monitors materials that are being utilized, giving insight into consumption rates.
- Most Used Items: Identifies the materials with the highest turnover, aiding in more accurate forecasting and inventory management.
Found under the 'Analytics' tab within the stock section, these statistics are crucial for strategic planning, helping your business forecast material needs more effectively and minimize over-purchasing.
How do you transfer a material from catalog to a location?
⏭️ Ply allows you to transfer materials between any of the locations that you’re managing materials in.
How to Transfer Materials from one Location to Another?
You can move materials from one location to another. Follow the steps below in our interactive video:
How To Use Tags on My Items?
Alongside categories, you now have the ability to create tags for your catalog items 🏷️
Utilizing tags allows for even more refined filtering and organization of your inventory. Dive into our video tutorial below to learn how to effectively manage tags:
How To Create And Use Categories on My Items?
Categorizing your stock items helps you stay organized and find what you need quickly! 📦
Whether it's by product type, brand, or function, grouping items makes inventory management a breeze.
For example: for electrical items, you can categorize by cables, switches, outlets, etc. Mechanical items can be sorted into nuts, bolts, gears, etc. And for plumbing, think pipes, fittings, valves, etc. Streamline your inventory for smoother operations 🛠️
- 1️⃣ You can choose your categories in your existing materials:
- 2️⃣ You can create new materials from scratch with their corresponding category:
Activating and Deactivating Materials
Instead of simply discarding valuable materials you no longer need, try for a safer alternative: deactivation. By choosing deactivation over direct delete, you retain control and ensure traceability.
Follow the steps in the video below to deactivate your materials:
1) Go to Your Catalog
2) Select the Material you Need to Deactivate
3) Go to the Stock Tab
4) Click on the button on the right to Deactivate the material
To reactivate your materials, you can do it through the same button, turning it on.
How to Add Multiple UPCs to an Item?
In this video, we'll show you how to effortlessly add multiple UPCs to a single item in our catalog 📦.
Follow along as we guide you step-by-step, starting from your dashboard and navigating to the catalog section. Once there, we'll demonstrate how to find an item and access its details.
The main highlight of this tutorial is our new "Manage UPC" button, which allows you to add UPCs for manufacturers, suppliers, or distributors with ease 🛠️. Plus, we'll cover how to add multiple UPCs for different suppliers.
How to Generate Picklist PDF for Warehouse Management?
In this article, we’ll show you how to generate a picklist PDF for warehouse managers or technicians to efficiently pick specific items for a job.
We will guide you through accessing the picklist tab in stock locations, selecting a picklist with the required materials, and generating a printable PDF.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact our customer success team! We are here to help.