Tracking Inventory - January Masterclass
Monitor material usage in real-time, associating usage with specific work orders to maintain accurate inventory levels. Understand the process of managing inventory batches, including adding, depleting, and tracking materials used in production.
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Masterclass
Inventory | January 2025 Masterclass
Identity & metadata
Video title
Inventory | January 2025 Masterclass
Date published
January 22, 2025
Duration
22:53
Video type
Masterclass / Webinar
Audience
Purchasing; operations; production leaders; admin
Video summary
In one sentence
Steelhead's Inventory module walks you from setting up an inventory type and item with stock
targets and alert thresholds, through issuing and receiving a purchase order, creating batches and containers
with QR codes, tying inventory to a treatment so it depletes from the work boards,
and using predictive inventory to flag low stock before you even win the job.
targets and alert thresholds, through issuing and receiving a purchase order, creating batches and containers
with QR codes, tying inventory to a treatment so it depletes from the work boards,
and using predictive inventory to flag low stock before you even win the job.
What this video covers
Steelhead's Isabel walks through a full inventory example, starting with inventory types vs. inventory items,
then building a "red powder" item with units, target stock level, alert threshold, billing product,
and a default storage location.
She shows the resulting low-inventory alert, issues a purchase order from Low Inventory Control, receives
it, and creates an inventory batch with a lot number, expiration date, and split containers
with printable QR codes.
She ties the inventory item to a treatment so it can be depleted from the
work boards, creates a test sales order and work order, and depletes inventory from the
work board screen — covering FIFO auto-deplete vs. batch selection, amount-remaining vs. amount-used, and depleting
to the work order vs. the station.
She reviews batch and work order transaction history, then covers touching a batch, depleting or
auditing quantity from the batch screen, moving a batch between locations, assigning a batch owner,
and scanning a batch QR code on an iPad. She closes with depleting in bulk
from Inventory Management, setting up predictive inventory on a part number to flag future low
stock from a quote, and browsing inventory by physical location.
then building a "red powder" item with units, target stock level, alert threshold, billing product,
and a default storage location.
She shows the resulting low-inventory alert, issues a purchase order from Low Inventory Control, receives
it, and creates an inventory batch with a lot number, expiration date, and split containers
with printable QR codes.
She ties the inventory item to a treatment so it can be depleted from the
work boards, creates a test sales order and work order, and depletes inventory from the
work board screen — covering FIFO auto-deplete vs. batch selection, amount-remaining vs. amount-used, and depleting
to the work order vs. the station.
She reviews batch and work order transaction history, then covers touching a batch, depleting or
auditing quantity from the batch screen, moving a batch between locations, assigning a batch owner,
and scanning a batch QR code on an iPad. She closes with depleting in bulk
from Inventory Management, setting up predictive inventory on a part number to flag future low
stock from a quote, and browsing inventory by physical location.
Problem it solves
Shops need to know when they're running low on materials before a job stalls, track
exactly what a job's inventory cost, and know where physical stock is stored — all
without manual counts or spreadsheets. Steelhead ties inventory items to treatments, purchase orders, work orders,
and physical locations, and can even flag a potential shortage before a quote even converts
to an order.
exactly what a job's inventory cost, and know where physical stock is stored — all
without manual counts or spreadsheets. Steelhead ties inventory items to treatments, purchase orders, work orders,
and physical locations, and can even flag a potential shortage before a quote even converts
to an order.
Key capabilities shown
• Inventory types for grouping items, and inventory items with units, target stock, and alert threshold
• Billing product and tax setup on an inventory item
• Default storage location per item, applied automatically to new batches
• Low inventory alerts on the item and on the homepage notification badge
• Issuing a purchase order directly from Low Inventory Control, auto-populated from the stock target
• Vendor SKU storage for ordering the same item from different vendors
• Receiving a PO with receiver notes and files, then creating an inventory batch
• Lot numbers, expiration dates, and splitting a batch into multiple containers with QR codes
• Tying an inventory item to a treatment (one-to-one or shared across multiple items) to enable
work board depletion
• Depleting inventory from the work board: FIFO auto-deplete or batch selection, amount remaining vs. amount
used, work order vs. station level
• Full transaction history on the work order and the inventory batch (who, what, when)
• Touch, deplete, move, and audit actions available directly from the batch screen
• Batch ownership assignment for customer-supplied material
• Scanning a batch QR code on an iPad to jump straight to that batch
• Bulk depletion and transaction filtering from the Inventory Management screen
• Predictive inventory: a part number's expected usage flags a low-stock alert as soon as it's
quoted
• Locations module for browsing inventory by physical storage location, with printable location QR codes
• Billing product and tax setup on an inventory item
• Default storage location per item, applied automatically to new batches
• Low inventory alerts on the item and on the homepage notification badge
• Issuing a purchase order directly from Low Inventory Control, auto-populated from the stock target
• Vendor SKU storage for ordering the same item from different vendors
• Receiving a PO with receiver notes and files, then creating an inventory batch
• Lot numbers, expiration dates, and splitting a batch into multiple containers with QR codes
• Tying an inventory item to a treatment (one-to-one or shared across multiple items) to enable
work board depletion
• Depleting inventory from the work board: FIFO auto-deplete or batch selection, amount remaining vs. amount
used, work order vs. station level
• Full transaction history on the work order and the inventory batch (who, what, when)
• Touch, deplete, move, and audit actions available directly from the batch screen
• Batch ownership assignment for customer-supplied material
• Scanning a batch QR code on an iPad to jump straight to that batch
• Bulk depletion and transaction filtering from the Inventory Management screen
• Predictive inventory: a part number's expected usage flags a low-stock alert as soon as it's
quoted
• Locations module for browsing inventory by physical storage location, with printable location QR codes
How the demo flows
• Opens Inventory, explains inventory types vs. items
• Creates a new inventory type and item with units, stock target, alert threshold, and location
• Saves the item and reviews the resulting low-inventory alert
• Issues a purchase order from Low Inventory Control, auto-populated from the stock target
• Receives the PO and creates a batch with lot number, expiration date, and split containers/QR
codes
• Ties the item to a treatment, creates a test order, and depletes inventory from the
work board
• Reviews transaction history on the work order and the batch
• Covers touch, deplete, move, and audit actions from the batch screen, plus batch ownership
• Shows scanning a batch QR code and bulk depletion from Inventory Management
• Sets up predictive inventory on a part number and triggers a low-stock alert from a
new quote
• Opens the Locations module to browse inventory by physical storage location
• Closes with live Q&A
• Creates a new inventory type and item with units, stock target, alert threshold, and location
• Saves the item and reviews the resulting low-inventory alert
• Issues a purchase order from Low Inventory Control, auto-populated from the stock target
• Receives the PO and creates a batch with lot number, expiration date, and split containers/QR
codes
• Ties the item to a treatment, creates a test order, and depletes inventory from the
work board
• Reviews transaction history on the work order and the batch
• Covers touch, deplete, move, and audit actions from the batch screen, plus batch ownership
• Shows scanning a batch QR code and bulk depletion from Inventory Management
• Sets up predictive inventory on a part number and triggers a low-stock alert from a
new quote
• Opens the Locations module to browse inventory by physical storage location
• Closes with live Q&A
Full transcript
Speaker
Isabel, Deployment Leader at Steelhead, with live audience Q&A
Transcript
[00:00] Sounds good.
[00:00] Well, hello everybody. Welcome to the January masterclass.
[00:05] So today I'm going to be giving you all an overview of inventory.
[00:11] So we'll do a demo and then towards the end we'll have a Q&A session.
[00:16] So feel free to drop questions in the chat as we're going.
[00:20] And then at the end, during the Q and A, feel free to unmute your
audio and ask any questions you have directly.
[00:28] And by the way, my name's Isabel.
[00:30] I'm a deployment leader here at Steelhead.
[00:34] So let's get into it.
[00:38] [opens the Inventory tile] So starting off in Steelhead, we'll want to navigate to the inventory tile.
[00:47] So first to just give everyone an overview of what we have in inventory.
[00:52] We have inventory types and then we also have inventory items.
[00:56] And inventory types are pretty intuitive, I would say.
[01:00] You know, it's things that you would normally group together.
[01:03] We could have a type for paint for powder, maybe lab chemicals or packaging materials.
[01:10] It's really just however you would group items together.
[01:13] [creates a new inventory type] So I am gonna go ahead and create a new inventory type for powder.
[01:19] We'll use that as our example.
[01:24] So once I click into my inventory type, we can go ahead and create our
first item.
[01:31] [creates a new inventory item] So for my item, I'm gonna go ahead and do red powder.
[01:37] I can put a description in here, so maybe it's a dark red powder.
[01:43] I can also add units to this inventory item.
[01:46] So I'm gonna go with pounds.
[01:49] [sets a target stock level] I can also set a target stock level.
[01:52] This will be used for purchase orders.
[01:55] So let's just say my target stock level for this item is gonna be 500
pounds.
[02:01] [sets an alert threshold] I can also set an alert threshold.
[02:03] This will alert me when I'm at or below this threshold.
[02:07] So we'll say maybe 200 pounds is when I want to be alerted to order
more.
[02:13] We can set a product on the inventory item that's used for billing purposes, similar
with taxes.
[02:21] [sets a location and default storage] The next thing we have is a location.
[02:24] So we can set a location on our inventory in order to organize it.
[02:30] So if you had, for example, a location in Steelhead such as a powder storage,
that's what I'm gonna use as my example, you might have it organized by cabinets
within your storage or shelves or something like that.
[02:45] So maybe this red powder I always organize in cabinet one of my powder storage
room.
[02:51] I can go ahead and make that the default location for any new batches that
I am adding into Steelhead.
[02:59] I can also tie my inventory item to a treatment.
[03:02] I can add vendors. I'll save that for now.
[03:05] And then I can also, we can set an inventory net quantity to start with.
[03:10] I'm gonna go ahead and leave that blank so that we can see what that
low inventory alert looks like.
[03:16] [saves the new inventory item] So we'll go ahead and give that a save.
[03:18] And we'll now see I have my new inventory item for red powder.
[03:23] My alert threshold is at 200 pounds and I currently have a remaining quantity of
zero pounds because I didn't put anything in.
[03:31] So that's what this low inventory alert is looking like.
[03:34] And even from the home screen, we'll see it's giving me a notification, a little
red notification there to tell me that I am low on inventory.
[03:45] So naturally the next thing we would want to do is issue a purchase order
for my inventory.
[03:51] [opens Low Inventory Control] And a super easy way to do that is gonna be to go to low
inventory control.
[03:57] I can see anything where I have an inventory item that I'm at or below
the alert threshold.
[04:03] [issues a new purchase order] So I'm gonna check my red powder and let's go ahead and issue a new
purchase order.
[04:11] And I'm gonna be ordering this from Magic City Powder.
[04:16] So it's gonna default to just populating my PO as being red powder.
[04:23] We can also store a vendor SKU on the inventory items.
[04:27] That's helpful if you're ordering different, you know you're ordering the same item from different
vendors.
[04:34] Just gonna leave that the way it is for now.
[04:37] And then what we'll also notice is that stock target is coming through here.
[04:42] So because my on hand amount is zero pounds and my stock target is set
to 500, it's going to automatically populate my PO line by ordering 500 pounds.
[04:54] But you could change this if necessary.
[04:57] So I'll go ahead and say it's a dollar a pound and then let's go
ahead and give that a save.
[05:06] Looks like I gotta actually issue the purchase order.
[05:09] [issues the purchase order] So I'm just gonna set this to being an active purchase order.
[05:15] So now I have issued my PO.
[05:18] The next thing we're going to want to do is receive this inventory once it
comes through the door.
[05:25] [opens the receiving dashboard] So to do that I'm gonna go to my receiving dashboard.
[05:29] I'm going to find my purchase order.
[05:32] So let's type in that vendor.
[05:35] It's gonna be PO number 194.
[05:38] Here's that red powder that I ordered.
[05:41] So we'll go ahead and receive it.
[05:43] [receives the purchase order] And I'm gonna receive all 500 pounds that I ordered and I'm gonna mark it
as receiving it today roughly one o'clock.
[05:54] We can also add any receiver notes.
[05:57] So if we wanna note anything when we receive in this inventory, we can.
[06:01] We can also upload receiver files.
[06:04] So that's super helpful when you have the iPads, if you wanna snap a quick
picture of the inventory that you received.
[06:12] [creates an inventory batch] And now we are going to go ahead and create an inventory batch.
[06:16] So if my powder comes with a lot number, I can go ahead and put
in that lot number.
[06:22] I can also add the expiration date.
[06:25] So maybe my powder expires March 22nd, that inventory unit price is gonna populate 'cause
I filled it in on the purchase order.
[06:36] Then this next area is where I can create containers.
[06:41] So the default is going to be on our inventory batch.
[06:45] It'll automatically have one container, but maybe I received that 500 pounds of powder in
two separate boxes.
[06:53] I could then use my containers so I could set a base name.
[06:59] So maybe I just wanna do box as the base name.
[07:03] [splits the batch into containers] And then I'm gonna add two containers and I'm gonna split this quantity so that
I have 250 pounds in each box.
[07:13] And then what this will allow me to do is then when I am done
receiving my inventory, I can then generate QR codes for each of those different boxes
that can be printed out and stuck on to each box.
[07:28] And then what we'll also notice here is that that default location that I set
on the inventory item is coming through.
[07:36] But if I did wanna change it, maybe I wasn't storing it in cabinet one
this time you can still change that.
[07:44] [saves and generates QR codes] So we'll go ahead and give that a save and it's gonna pop up with
my inventory QR codes.
[07:53] So now I'm done. So if we go back to inventory, we'll see that that
notification I was getting has gone from a four to a three because I no
longer have low inventory.
[08:04] So we can navigate back to my inventory item and we'll see I now have
500 pounds remaining for a total value of $500.
[08:17] And if I scroll down, I have now created an inventory batch and I can
click into this batch, see more details.
[08:25] I can see the two containers that I created as well.
[08:29] And if I needed to print that QR code again, we can see it up
in that top right.
[08:37] So now that I have my inventory item, the next thing we will want to
do is tie it to a treatment.
[08:43] What this will allow us to do is deplete inventory from the work boards.
[08:49] So we can do this either on the inventory item or you can go into
the treatment that you wanna tie it to.
[08:56] I'm just gonna do it from the item.
[08:58] [ties the inventory item to a treatment] So within my red powder, if I scroll down to the bottom, we have two
options.
[09:06] If I have an existing treatment, I can link it to an existing treatment.
[09:10] I'm just gonna create a new one.
[09:12] So I'm gonna name my powder, red powder, I'm gonna assign it to a treatment
group that I made for this masterclass.
[09:24] And then something that's cool is that you can tie multiple inventory items to the
same treatment.
[09:30] So in the case of powder it would likely be one-to-one.
[09:33] But if we were working with something like paint for example, where we have a
catalyst involved, we could have a treatment for red paint and then we could tie
it to both the red paint inventory item as well as the catalyst that we
need for the paint.
[09:47] And then you can set up how many parts to hold you would need.
[09:51] So that's super helpful for operators to see on the floor.
[09:54] In our case, we'll just keep it as a one-to-one relationship.
[09:58] Then I will go ahead and give that a save.
[10:01] So now I have my treatment tied to an inventory item and that's gonna be
super important because that connection is needed to see it in the work boards.
[10:11] So now what I will do is I'm gonna create an order quickly.
[10:17] [creates a sales order and adds a part] So we'll go ahead and use ABC Concrete and I'm gonna save and add parts.
[10:26] And let's just create a new one.
[10:29] We'll use fake part number 123 as our example.
[10:35] Give that a save and then we're gonna be powder coating it.
[10:45] [selects the treatment on the part] Now here's where I can select my treatment.
[10:50] So I'm gonna wanna go ahead and select my red powder and then we will
give it a save.
[11:00] Now I can navigate to my work boards and I'm gonna find my powder coating
line.
[11:10] [opens the work board to deplete inventory] So now if I go into my work boards, I am able to deplete my
inventory from within the work parts screen.
[11:21] So we have two options here.
[11:23] First is that we can deplete it.
[11:26] Second option is we can just mark it as we used the item without necessarily
having to say, you know, I depleted this amount, I'm gonna go ahead and deplete
it in this case.
[11:39] So couple different options here.
[11:41] When depleting the inventory item, the first thing we'll have to decide is if we
want to auto deplete, this would be FIFO or first in first out.
[11:50] So whatever that oldest batch is in Steelhead, that's what we would be depleting from.
[11:56] The other option we could pick is to select the batch from which we want
to deplete.
[12:03] Since we only have one batch doesn't really make a difference.
[12:07] But we can do select batches if we were taking, you know, a certain amount
from our first box and then a certain amount from our second box and we
can set that as a default.
[12:17] And then the next thing we have to decide is how we want to deplete
this.
[12:21] So do we want to deplete it in terms of amount remaining or amount used?
[12:26] So I'm gonna go ahead and do it in terms of amount remaining.
[12:30] So I'm basically saying I have 250 pounds in box one to start with.
[12:36] Now maybe I have 200 in box one and then maybe I took 60 pounds
from box two.
[12:44] So I have remaining 190.
[12:47] So that is how we can choose.
[12:51] So we can either do it in terms of amount remaining or we could select
it and put in how much powder we used.
[12:56] Either one works depending on how you deplete inventory.
[12:59] And then the next option we have, so in our case we're depleting to the
work order.
[13:03] That is going to give you the most accurate job costing information, because then you
can see how much your inventory costed you on the work order.
[13:13] But there are some scenarios where maybe we would only deplete to a station.
[13:17] This is helpful if you're putting certain chemicals into a tank or something where you
don't necessarily need to track it at the work order level.
[13:24] But more so at the station level.
[13:28] So I am depleting to my work order.
[13:31] I could add any sort of comments if I wanted to.
[13:35] Then it's gonna tell me at the bottom we're depleting a total of 110 pounds
on one work order.
[13:42] [depletes inventory to the work order] I'm gonna go ahead and give it a save.
[13:46] And now it's telling me you have used that powder.
[13:51] And something that's nice for visibility is I can click into this work order and
if I scroll down to the bottom it'll give me that history so I can
see what was used on this work order.
[14:04] [reviews batch transaction history] And on the inventory item as well, I find my inventory item, I can click
into it and then I can look at my batch that is created.
[14:19] And if I scroll all the way down to the bottom, I can also see
all batch transactions that are associated with the inventory.
[14:28] So if you're ever wondering what has happened to an inventory item over time and
you wanna look into the batch and see how it's been used, we can see
that there.
[14:39] So it'll give you a history of the transactions, what happened to it, how much
was used, what work order was associated with and also who did it.
[14:49] A couple other things to note while looking in the inventory batch is that other
feature I was talking about, if you want to simply touch the batch.
[14:59] So maybe you want to note that you interacted with it but you don't necessarily
want to deplete it.
[15:04] We can do the touch feature.
[15:07] [opens the batch to deplete from this screen] We can also deplete the batch from this screen.
[15:11] So if we're not depleting on the floor, but maybe we wanna go into the
batch afterwards, we still have the option to do that here and it's the exact
same screen in terms of quantity, remaining quantity used.
[15:24] We can do all of that.
[15:27] The next thing we can do is move the batch.
[15:30] [moves the batch to a new location] So if we want to change the location of a container, I could move it
from cabinet one to cabinet two per se, and then I'll enter in the quantity
that I want to move as well.
[15:46] I can also audit the batch quantity remaining.
[15:49] So this is helpful if for example, maybe we forgot to deplete the inventory in
Steelhead for a couple weeks and the amount is super off, ideally we're always depleting,
we're keeping track of it.
[16:04] But if we do need to audit that amount to correct it, then we can
go ahead and select our box.
[16:11] [audits the batch quantity remaining] I can audit it down to a hundred maybe and I can put a comment,
you know, forgot to deplete and give that a save.
[16:21] And that will adjust our total remaining amount for this batch.
[16:26] And if I scroll back down, we'll see it's now recording that audit transaction.
[16:32] So super helpful for visibility and knowing what has happened to our inventory batches.
[16:40] So that is another example.
[16:42] And then the last thing we can do at the batch level is we can
assign a batch owner.
[16:47] So if we were holding onto powder that was provided by a customer, maybe it
wasn't something you purchased with something your customer supplied, then we could assign it to
an owner and we could say that it's owned by Honda.
[16:59] Honda gave us this powder.
[17:00] So that is helpful for tracking inventory as well.
[17:06] So that's another way we can deplete that inventory.
[17:09] [scans a batch QR code on the iPad] We can use the iPads and scan the batch QR code that was printed out
and then it will take us right to this inventory batch screen to deplete the
inventory or edit any other details that we need to.
[17:23] And if you ever make a mistake or anything like that or we deplete something
incorrectly, we also do have the option to delete the transaction.
[17:32] So that is helpful to know as well.
[17:35] And then another way that we can deplete inventory is through this inventory management.
[17:41] So we have a hyperlink in the corner or if we navigate back to our
main screen, still have that hyperlink here.
[17:49] [opens Inventory Management to deplete in bulk] So we can click into our inventory management.
[17:53] This is nice 'cause you can search by inventory type or that specific item.
[17:59] You can also filter by transactions.
[18:01] So if you're looking for certain items that have been used in the past week
or so, you could filter it by transactions.
[18:11] And from here we can see all the different items and then very easily we
can click this arrow icon and then we can also deplete inventory from this screen.
[18:21] So super easy if you have to deplete a bunch of inventory at once, we
can come to the inventory management screen and deplete from here as well.
[18:33] So three different ways to deplete inventory.
[18:35] You can do it on the work boards, you can navigate directly to the batch
and deplete that way.
[18:40] And then you can also do it from the inventory management screen.
[18:44] And then the last thing I will cover is wanna talk about predictive inventory a
bit.
[18:52] So predictive inventory is super helpful for potential orders that you might receive in the
future.
[18:59] How it works is we can set it up either on the inventory item or
on a part number.
[19:06] So I will go ahead and just do it from the inventory item since that's
where we've been spending most of our time.
[19:14] [sets up predictive inventory on the item] So I'm gonna use my red powder as an example and if I scroll to
the bottom of that inventory item, I can set up a predicted usage for a
part number.
[19:24] So for example, I can pick, let's go with our fake part number 123, I
can pick this part number and I can set up a relationship.
[19:37] So I could say, for example, I think that one part will take two pounds
of powder.
[19:45] We also have some power tool function there, but we're just gonna keep it simple
in the manual mode for now.
[19:51] And I'm gonna go ahead and save that usage.
[19:55] I can also navigate to the part number and I could edit that part number
and set it up on the part number, either one is correct.
[20:03] [creates a quote to test the predicted usage alert] And then if I were to quote a job for this part number, I could
navigate and I could go ahead and create my quote, I could select my customer,
give that a save, and then when I add my part to the quote, I'll
select my process and it'll pull on that red powder as a default.
[20:34] And then let's say I'm anticipating, you know, a hundred parts, I'll go ahead and
give that a save and we'll see it's going to trigger a low inventory alert.
[20:47] So if I hit show alerted items, it's gonna tell me I currently have 290
pounds on order and my current predicted usage is going to be 200 pounds for
this quote.
[21:00] So this is super helpful if you know, maybe you're not guaranteed to get this
order in, but if you do get this order then we would potentially need to
order more.
[21:11] We would be below our threshold.
[21:13] So predictive inventory is great to set up that relationship between the inventory and the
part number so that way you don't run out of that item if you do
win that job.
[21:27] And then one last thing I'll show.
[21:30] I was talking about locations.
[21:33] So if you're ever curious what inventory you have stored where you can also find
that in the locations module of Steelhead.
[21:43] [opens the Locations module] So I was using my powder storage so I can click on my overall powder
storage location and then within that location I created sub locations.
[21:54] I stored my powder in cabinet one, so I can navigate to that cabinet one
and I can see all the inventory items that I have in this location in
Steelhead.
[22:07] And we can also generate a QR code for this location and you could print
it out so you could also very easily scan that with the iPad.
[22:14] It'll take you right to this location and Steelhead and you can see everything you
have in cabinet one without even having to go out on the shop floor.
[22:23] So super helpful to have that visibility there.
[22:28] And I think that concludes everything that I wanted to cover for inventory.
[22:37] So we can now move on to the Q and A session.
[22:42] If anyone has any questions, I will stick around.
[22:50] Feel free to unmute yourself or leave it.
[00:00] Well, hello everybody. Welcome to the January masterclass.
[00:05] So today I'm going to be giving you all an overview of inventory.
[00:11] So we'll do a demo and then towards the end we'll have a Q&A session.
[00:16] So feel free to drop questions in the chat as we're going.
[00:20] And then at the end, during the Q and A, feel free to unmute your
audio and ask any questions you have directly.
[00:28] And by the way, my name's Isabel.
[00:30] I'm a deployment leader here at Steelhead.
[00:34] So let's get into it.
[00:38] [opens the Inventory tile] So starting off in Steelhead, we'll want to navigate to the inventory tile.
[00:47] So first to just give everyone an overview of what we have in inventory.
[00:52] We have inventory types and then we also have inventory items.
[00:56] And inventory types are pretty intuitive, I would say.
[01:00] You know, it's things that you would normally group together.
[01:03] We could have a type for paint for powder, maybe lab chemicals or packaging materials.
[01:10] It's really just however you would group items together.
[01:13] [creates a new inventory type] So I am gonna go ahead and create a new inventory type for powder.
[01:19] We'll use that as our example.
[01:24] So once I click into my inventory type, we can go ahead and create our
first item.
[01:31] [creates a new inventory item] So for my item, I'm gonna go ahead and do red powder.
[01:37] I can put a description in here, so maybe it's a dark red powder.
[01:43] I can also add units to this inventory item.
[01:46] So I'm gonna go with pounds.
[01:49] [sets a target stock level] I can also set a target stock level.
[01:52] This will be used for purchase orders.
[01:55] So let's just say my target stock level for this item is gonna be 500
pounds.
[02:01] [sets an alert threshold] I can also set an alert threshold.
[02:03] This will alert me when I'm at or below this threshold.
[02:07] So we'll say maybe 200 pounds is when I want to be alerted to order
more.
[02:13] We can set a product on the inventory item that's used for billing purposes, similar
with taxes.
[02:21] [sets a location and default storage] The next thing we have is a location.
[02:24] So we can set a location on our inventory in order to organize it.
[02:30] So if you had, for example, a location in Steelhead such as a powder storage,
that's what I'm gonna use as my example, you might have it organized by cabinets
within your storage or shelves or something like that.
[02:45] So maybe this red powder I always organize in cabinet one of my powder storage
room.
[02:51] I can go ahead and make that the default location for any new batches that
I am adding into Steelhead.
[02:59] I can also tie my inventory item to a treatment.
[03:02] I can add vendors. I'll save that for now.
[03:05] And then I can also, we can set an inventory net quantity to start with.
[03:10] I'm gonna go ahead and leave that blank so that we can see what that
low inventory alert looks like.
[03:16] [saves the new inventory item] So we'll go ahead and give that a save.
[03:18] And we'll now see I have my new inventory item for red powder.
[03:23] My alert threshold is at 200 pounds and I currently have a remaining quantity of
zero pounds because I didn't put anything in.
[03:31] So that's what this low inventory alert is looking like.
[03:34] And even from the home screen, we'll see it's giving me a notification, a little
red notification there to tell me that I am low on inventory.
[03:45] So naturally the next thing we would want to do is issue a purchase order
for my inventory.
[03:51] [opens Low Inventory Control] And a super easy way to do that is gonna be to go to low
inventory control.
[03:57] I can see anything where I have an inventory item that I'm at or below
the alert threshold.
[04:03] [issues a new purchase order] So I'm gonna check my red powder and let's go ahead and issue a new
purchase order.
[04:11] And I'm gonna be ordering this from Magic City Powder.
[04:16] So it's gonna default to just populating my PO as being red powder.
[04:23] We can also store a vendor SKU on the inventory items.
[04:27] That's helpful if you're ordering different, you know you're ordering the same item from different
vendors.
[04:34] Just gonna leave that the way it is for now.
[04:37] And then what we'll also notice is that stock target is coming through here.
[04:42] So because my on hand amount is zero pounds and my stock target is set
to 500, it's going to automatically populate my PO line by ordering 500 pounds.
[04:54] But you could change this if necessary.
[04:57] So I'll go ahead and say it's a dollar a pound and then let's go
ahead and give that a save.
[05:06] Looks like I gotta actually issue the purchase order.
[05:09] [issues the purchase order] So I'm just gonna set this to being an active purchase order.
[05:15] So now I have issued my PO.
[05:18] The next thing we're going to want to do is receive this inventory once it
comes through the door.
[05:25] [opens the receiving dashboard] So to do that I'm gonna go to my receiving dashboard.
[05:29] I'm going to find my purchase order.
[05:32] So let's type in that vendor.
[05:35] It's gonna be PO number 194.
[05:38] Here's that red powder that I ordered.
[05:41] So we'll go ahead and receive it.
[05:43] [receives the purchase order] And I'm gonna receive all 500 pounds that I ordered and I'm gonna mark it
as receiving it today roughly one o'clock.
[05:54] We can also add any receiver notes.
[05:57] So if we wanna note anything when we receive in this inventory, we can.
[06:01] We can also upload receiver files.
[06:04] So that's super helpful when you have the iPads, if you wanna snap a quick
picture of the inventory that you received.
[06:12] [creates an inventory batch] And now we are going to go ahead and create an inventory batch.
[06:16] So if my powder comes with a lot number, I can go ahead and put
in that lot number.
[06:22] I can also add the expiration date.
[06:25] So maybe my powder expires March 22nd, that inventory unit price is gonna populate 'cause
I filled it in on the purchase order.
[06:36] Then this next area is where I can create containers.
[06:41] So the default is going to be on our inventory batch.
[06:45] It'll automatically have one container, but maybe I received that 500 pounds of powder in
two separate boxes.
[06:53] I could then use my containers so I could set a base name.
[06:59] So maybe I just wanna do box as the base name.
[07:03] [splits the batch into containers] And then I'm gonna add two containers and I'm gonna split this quantity so that
I have 250 pounds in each box.
[07:13] And then what this will allow me to do is then when I am done
receiving my inventory, I can then generate QR codes for each of those different boxes
that can be printed out and stuck on to each box.
[07:28] And then what we'll also notice here is that that default location that I set
on the inventory item is coming through.
[07:36] But if I did wanna change it, maybe I wasn't storing it in cabinet one
this time you can still change that.
[07:44] [saves and generates QR codes] So we'll go ahead and give that a save and it's gonna pop up with
my inventory QR codes.
[07:53] So now I'm done. So if we go back to inventory, we'll see that that
notification I was getting has gone from a four to a three because I no
longer have low inventory.
[08:04] So we can navigate back to my inventory item and we'll see I now have
500 pounds remaining for a total value of $500.
[08:17] And if I scroll down, I have now created an inventory batch and I can
click into this batch, see more details.
[08:25] I can see the two containers that I created as well.
[08:29] And if I needed to print that QR code again, we can see it up
in that top right.
[08:37] So now that I have my inventory item, the next thing we will want to
do is tie it to a treatment.
[08:43] What this will allow us to do is deplete inventory from the work boards.
[08:49] So we can do this either on the inventory item or you can go into
the treatment that you wanna tie it to.
[08:56] I'm just gonna do it from the item.
[08:58] [ties the inventory item to a treatment] So within my red powder, if I scroll down to the bottom, we have two
options.
[09:06] If I have an existing treatment, I can link it to an existing treatment.
[09:10] I'm just gonna create a new one.
[09:12] So I'm gonna name my powder, red powder, I'm gonna assign it to a treatment
group that I made for this masterclass.
[09:24] And then something that's cool is that you can tie multiple inventory items to the
same treatment.
[09:30] So in the case of powder it would likely be one-to-one.
[09:33] But if we were working with something like paint for example, where we have a
catalyst involved, we could have a treatment for red paint and then we could tie
it to both the red paint inventory item as well as the catalyst that we
need for the paint.
[09:47] And then you can set up how many parts to hold you would need.
[09:51] So that's super helpful for operators to see on the floor.
[09:54] In our case, we'll just keep it as a one-to-one relationship.
[09:58] Then I will go ahead and give that a save.
[10:01] So now I have my treatment tied to an inventory item and that's gonna be
super important because that connection is needed to see it in the work boards.
[10:11] So now what I will do is I'm gonna create an order quickly.
[10:17] [creates a sales order and adds a part] So we'll go ahead and use ABC Concrete and I'm gonna save and add parts.
[10:26] And let's just create a new one.
[10:29] We'll use fake part number 123 as our example.
[10:35] Give that a save and then we're gonna be powder coating it.
[10:45] [selects the treatment on the part] Now here's where I can select my treatment.
[10:50] So I'm gonna wanna go ahead and select my red powder and then we will
give it a save.
[11:00] Now I can navigate to my work boards and I'm gonna find my powder coating
line.
[11:10] [opens the work board to deplete inventory] So now if I go into my work boards, I am able to deplete my
inventory from within the work parts screen.
[11:21] So we have two options here.
[11:23] First is that we can deplete it.
[11:26] Second option is we can just mark it as we used the item without necessarily
having to say, you know, I depleted this amount, I'm gonna go ahead and deplete
it in this case.
[11:39] So couple different options here.
[11:41] When depleting the inventory item, the first thing we'll have to decide is if we
want to auto deplete, this would be FIFO or first in first out.
[11:50] So whatever that oldest batch is in Steelhead, that's what we would be depleting from.
[11:56] The other option we could pick is to select the batch from which we want
to deplete.
[12:03] Since we only have one batch doesn't really make a difference.
[12:07] But we can do select batches if we were taking, you know, a certain amount
from our first box and then a certain amount from our second box and we
can set that as a default.
[12:17] And then the next thing we have to decide is how we want to deplete
this.
[12:21] So do we want to deplete it in terms of amount remaining or amount used?
[12:26] So I'm gonna go ahead and do it in terms of amount remaining.
[12:30] So I'm basically saying I have 250 pounds in box one to start with.
[12:36] Now maybe I have 200 in box one and then maybe I took 60 pounds
from box two.
[12:44] So I have remaining 190.
[12:47] So that is how we can choose.
[12:51] So we can either do it in terms of amount remaining or we could select
it and put in how much powder we used.
[12:56] Either one works depending on how you deplete inventory.
[12:59] And then the next option we have, so in our case we're depleting to the
work order.
[13:03] That is going to give you the most accurate job costing information, because then you
can see how much your inventory costed you on the work order.
[13:13] But there are some scenarios where maybe we would only deplete to a station.
[13:17] This is helpful if you're putting certain chemicals into a tank or something where you
don't necessarily need to track it at the work order level.
[13:24] But more so at the station level.
[13:28] So I am depleting to my work order.
[13:31] I could add any sort of comments if I wanted to.
[13:35] Then it's gonna tell me at the bottom we're depleting a total of 110 pounds
on one work order.
[13:42] [depletes inventory to the work order] I'm gonna go ahead and give it a save.
[13:46] And now it's telling me you have used that powder.
[13:51] And something that's nice for visibility is I can click into this work order and
if I scroll down to the bottom it'll give me that history so I can
see what was used on this work order.
[14:04] [reviews batch transaction history] And on the inventory item as well, I find my inventory item, I can click
into it and then I can look at my batch that is created.
[14:19] And if I scroll all the way down to the bottom, I can also see
all batch transactions that are associated with the inventory.
[14:28] So if you're ever wondering what has happened to an inventory item over time and
you wanna look into the batch and see how it's been used, we can see
that there.
[14:39] So it'll give you a history of the transactions, what happened to it, how much
was used, what work order was associated with and also who did it.
[14:49] A couple other things to note while looking in the inventory batch is that other
feature I was talking about, if you want to simply touch the batch.
[14:59] So maybe you want to note that you interacted with it but you don't necessarily
want to deplete it.
[15:04] We can do the touch feature.
[15:07] [opens the batch to deplete from this screen] We can also deplete the batch from this screen.
[15:11] So if we're not depleting on the floor, but maybe we wanna go into the
batch afterwards, we still have the option to do that here and it's the exact
same screen in terms of quantity, remaining quantity used.
[15:24] We can do all of that.
[15:27] The next thing we can do is move the batch.
[15:30] [moves the batch to a new location] So if we want to change the location of a container, I could move it
from cabinet one to cabinet two per se, and then I'll enter in the quantity
that I want to move as well.
[15:46] I can also audit the batch quantity remaining.
[15:49] So this is helpful if for example, maybe we forgot to deplete the inventory in
Steelhead for a couple weeks and the amount is super off, ideally we're always depleting,
we're keeping track of it.
[16:04] But if we do need to audit that amount to correct it, then we can
go ahead and select our box.
[16:11] [audits the batch quantity remaining] I can audit it down to a hundred maybe and I can put a comment,
you know, forgot to deplete and give that a save.
[16:21] And that will adjust our total remaining amount for this batch.
[16:26] And if I scroll back down, we'll see it's now recording that audit transaction.
[16:32] So super helpful for visibility and knowing what has happened to our inventory batches.
[16:40] So that is another example.
[16:42] And then the last thing we can do at the batch level is we can
assign a batch owner.
[16:47] So if we were holding onto powder that was provided by a customer, maybe it
wasn't something you purchased with something your customer supplied, then we could assign it to
an owner and we could say that it's owned by Honda.
[16:59] Honda gave us this powder.
[17:00] So that is helpful for tracking inventory as well.
[17:06] So that's another way we can deplete that inventory.
[17:09] [scans a batch QR code on the iPad] We can use the iPads and scan the batch QR code that was printed out
and then it will take us right to this inventory batch screen to deplete the
inventory or edit any other details that we need to.
[17:23] And if you ever make a mistake or anything like that or we deplete something
incorrectly, we also do have the option to delete the transaction.
[17:32] So that is helpful to know as well.
[17:35] And then another way that we can deplete inventory is through this inventory management.
[17:41] So we have a hyperlink in the corner or if we navigate back to our
main screen, still have that hyperlink here.
[17:49] [opens Inventory Management to deplete in bulk] So we can click into our inventory management.
[17:53] This is nice 'cause you can search by inventory type or that specific item.
[17:59] You can also filter by transactions.
[18:01] So if you're looking for certain items that have been used in the past week
or so, you could filter it by transactions.
[18:11] And from here we can see all the different items and then very easily we
can click this arrow icon and then we can also deplete inventory from this screen.
[18:21] So super easy if you have to deplete a bunch of inventory at once, we
can come to the inventory management screen and deplete from here as well.
[18:33] So three different ways to deplete inventory.
[18:35] You can do it on the work boards, you can navigate directly to the batch
and deplete that way.
[18:40] And then you can also do it from the inventory management screen.
[18:44] And then the last thing I will cover is wanna talk about predictive inventory a
bit.
[18:52] So predictive inventory is super helpful for potential orders that you might receive in the
future.
[18:59] How it works is we can set it up either on the inventory item or
on a part number.
[19:06] So I will go ahead and just do it from the inventory item since that's
where we've been spending most of our time.
[19:14] [sets up predictive inventory on the item] So I'm gonna use my red powder as an example and if I scroll to
the bottom of that inventory item, I can set up a predicted usage for a
part number.
[19:24] So for example, I can pick, let's go with our fake part number 123, I
can pick this part number and I can set up a relationship.
[19:37] So I could say, for example, I think that one part will take two pounds
of powder.
[19:45] We also have some power tool function there, but we're just gonna keep it simple
in the manual mode for now.
[19:51] And I'm gonna go ahead and save that usage.
[19:55] I can also navigate to the part number and I could edit that part number
and set it up on the part number, either one is correct.
[20:03] [creates a quote to test the predicted usage alert] And then if I were to quote a job for this part number, I could
navigate and I could go ahead and create my quote, I could select my customer,
give that a save, and then when I add my part to the quote, I'll
select my process and it'll pull on that red powder as a default.
[20:34] And then let's say I'm anticipating, you know, a hundred parts, I'll go ahead and
give that a save and we'll see it's going to trigger a low inventory alert.
[20:47] So if I hit show alerted items, it's gonna tell me I currently have 290
pounds on order and my current predicted usage is going to be 200 pounds for
this quote.
[21:00] So this is super helpful if you know, maybe you're not guaranteed to get this
order in, but if you do get this order then we would potentially need to
order more.
[21:11] We would be below our threshold.
[21:13] So predictive inventory is great to set up that relationship between the inventory and the
part number so that way you don't run out of that item if you do
win that job.
[21:27] And then one last thing I'll show.
[21:30] I was talking about locations.
[21:33] So if you're ever curious what inventory you have stored where you can also find
that in the locations module of Steelhead.
[21:43] [opens the Locations module] So I was using my powder storage so I can click on my overall powder
storage location and then within that location I created sub locations.
[21:54] I stored my powder in cabinet one, so I can navigate to that cabinet one
and I can see all the inventory items that I have in this location in
Steelhead.
[22:07] And we can also generate a QR code for this location and you could print
it out so you could also very easily scan that with the iPad.
[22:14] It'll take you right to this location and Steelhead and you can see everything you
have in cabinet one without even having to go out on the shop floor.
[22:23] So super helpful to have that visibility there.
[22:28] And I think that concludes everything that I wanted to cover for inventory.
[22:37] So we can now move on to the Q and A session.
[22:42] If anyone has any questions, I will stick around.
[22:50] Feel free to unmute yourself or leave it.
Taxonomy tags
Steelhead product area
Inventory; Purchasing; Locations
Feature / module
Inventory types and items; Low Inventory Control; Receiving; Inventory batches and containers; Work boards; Inventory
Management; Predictive inventory; Locations
Management; Predictive inventory; Locations
Workflow category
Inventory setup; purchasing and receiving; shop-floor depletion; predictive planning
Topics covered
Setting up inventory items and stock targets; low inventory alerts; batches, containers, and QR codes;
depleting inventory from the work board; batch transaction history; predictive inventory on part numbers; inventory
by location
depleting inventory from the work board; batch transaction history; predictive inventory on part numbers; inventory
by location