The Orders feature in Inventory allows members of the Inventory Lab to request items that may be low on stock, expired, or even new items that are not currently part of the Inventory Lab. Items that are requested then flow through a process where they can be approved, denied, and then ultimately received and added to the Inventory Lab.
After an Item has been requested, Lab Managers receive an email as well as in-application notification to alert them to the new request. Order requests will display the current status as Requested, the name of the requester, and the date of the request. The Order Request page displays the options to Approve or Cancel Order as well as all the information about the requested item. You can also download any attachments, such as quotes, that were uploaded to the order request.
Requesting an Existing Item
In the case where the Inventory Lab may be running low on an item or perhaps the current stock has expired, a request can be made to reorder the item. The Reorder option is available from Item Details page and may also be available directly on the Inventory results page.
Note: The columns that display on the Inventory results page are selected by the Lab Managers through the Lab Management feature. Click here to learn more about the Settings option.
When selecting Reorder, the Order Request Form appears and will note the quantity currently available. The form includes the following required fields, many of which will be pre-populated using the information in the current item details:
- Product Name: The name of the inventory item can contain up to 255 characters as well as special characters.
- Inventory Type: An Inventory type must be selected before the item can be requested. Only one inventory type can be selected. For more information on Inventory Types, click here.
- Catalog #: Save time ordering a specific item by entering the catalog # for your Lab Manager. This field can be edited if need.
- Vendor: This field may show a list of previously used vendors. Select from the list of vendors or type in the name of a new vendor.
- Quantity: Enter the amount of the item you wish to order.
- Price: If available, add the price leaving off any denomination symbol. This is typically recorded as the price per unit as provided by the vendor. The order request form will automatically calculate the total cost.
The optional fields include:
- PO #: Add a new PO number or select from the list of formerly used PO numbers.
- Grant #: Add a new Grant number or select from the list of formerly used Grant numbers.
- Date Required: To communicate the urgency of your request to your Lab Manager, enter the date the item is needed by. Date formats will be based on the language/region settings for your browser.
- Notes: Include any pertinent information about a requested item in the notes field.
- Attachments: Upload a PDF, Word, Excel , or image file up to 25MB to the order request. This can be used to attach a quote or any other information that you Lab Manager may need. After orders are received and added to Inventory, these attachments will appear in the item's Attachments tab.
- Send Status Updates: Select the checkbox to receive notifications to follow the status of the order request. Note that you will receive notifications in the Inventory application itself via the bell icon in the main menu.
When the form has been completed, select Request Item. This will send an Order Notificate to the Lab Manager(s) to review the Request.
To learn more about checking an order status CLICK HERE. To learn more about approving or cancelling an order CLICK HERE.
Requesting a New Item
In addition to using the reorder option to request an order for an existing inventory item that is running low or out of stock, users can also place an order request for a new item.
Tip: Search the current Inventory first and before making your request to ensure that the item is not already part of your Inventory. View Search and Locate Inventory Items for additional help.
From the Orders tab, select Request Item and then fill out the form.
The required fields include the following:
- Product Name: The name of the inventory item can contain up to 255 characters as well as special characters.
- Inventory Type: An Inventory type must be selected before the item can be requested. Only one inventory type can be selected. For more information on Inventory Types, click here.
- Catalog #: Save time ordering a specific item by entering the catalog # for your Lab Manager. This field can be edited if need.
- Vendor: This field may show a list of previously used vendors. Select from the list of vendors or type in the name of a new vendor.
- Quantity: Enter the amount of the item you wish to order.
- Price: If available, add the price leaving off any denomination symbol. This is typically recorded as the price per unit as provided by the vendor. The order request form will automatically calculate the total cost.
The optional fields include:
- PO #: Add a new PO number or select from the list of formerly used PO numbers.
- Grant #: Add a new Grant number or select from the list of formerly used Grant numbers.
- Date Required: To communicate the urgency of your request to your Lab Manager, enter the date the item is needed by. Date formats will be based on the language/region settings for your browser.
- Notes: Include any pertinent information about a requested item in the notes field.
- Attachments: Upload a PDF, Word, Excel , or image file up to 25MB to the order request. This can be used to attach a quote or any other information that you Lab Manager may need. After orders are received and added to Inventory, these attachments will appear in the item's Attachments tab.
- Send Status Updates: Select the checkbox to receive notifications to follow the status of the order request. Note that you will receive notifications in the Inventory application itself via the bell icon in the main menu.
When the form has been completed, select Request Item. This will send an Order Notificate to the Lab Manager(s) to review the Request.
To learn more about checking an order status CLICK HERE. To learn more about approving or cancelling an order CLICK HERE.