Managing your Material Inventory (Stocks, Lots, and Batches)
We have a number of tools to help you manage your Material Inventory at the level of granularity that you need. For our most granular options, Lots and Batches, be sure to check out our Material Management module. This article will explain how the different levels coexist and why you would want to use each of them.
Material Inventory Hierarchy (Stocks > Lots > Batches > Permanent Containers)
Stocks
A Stock is the total group of a single Material Type at a specific Location. They are used to record and reflect the quantity of a given material type that is in your Inventory, or On Order, at a given time. Stocks also inform your Line Item Order forms by limiting which Materials can be selected within an Order. If a Location does not have Stock of a specific Material, it cannot be selected for Order's assigned to that Location.
For general aMES users, these Stock levels are updated manually when they review their Inventory or place an Order for additional Material. This is often done on a weekly, monthly, or another periodic basis.
Lots* (Ordering / Receiving / Inventory)
*Material Management Feature Only. Lots are used to manage the ordering, receipt, and current inventory of discrete material within your facilities. Material from Lots is issued to the factory floor as Batches so that it may be used in production activities. Material Lots are aggregated by Material Type and Location to yield a Material's Stock level.
Batches* (End-Use / Production of Parts)
*Material Management Feature Only. A specific group of Material that is used for a specific Action (ie. Print Job, Testing, Blending, etc.). This is the most granular material management object and is how user's "Use" their Powder for production activities. The life of, and therefore traceability, a material at your facility is tracked by aggregating the Batch Actions that various batches undergo and reporting them in an easy-to-use way. See the Step-by-Step User Guide Material Management for more details about how you use your batches.
Permanent Containers (Storage and use End-use Material / Material Batches)
*Material Management Feature Only. A uniquely identified container that is able to be reused for the storage and transfer of Material Batches within a Bureau. Permanent Containers help to save unnecessary operations, ensure good powder handling practices, and limit contamination by only allowing specific materials. Material Batches can be loaded into Permanent Containers when unloading a Printer or following a Sieve action.