Stock control maintenance overview

Integral to Civica Cx Contractor are robust and efficient stock control systems that consolidate those key inventory tasks that are required to support a housing organisation's overall works fulfilment obligations, including warehouse storage and van stocks, material turnover, tracking, transfers between stores and reordering. This holistic approach to inventory management empowers direct servicing departments to optimise productivity and efficiency along the supply chain, whilst also ensuring that sufficient stock is continually available to operatives at the right locations - referred to as 'stores' - to meet customer expectations. The term 'store' describes a space (such as a warehouse), an area within a building, or a vehicle (van, truck, etc.) that is used to hold material parts for the completion of reactive and planned repairs or regular equipment servicing. Within the system there are three store types available for configuration:

• Main Store - This label is traditionally reserved for a physical 'brick and mortar' building, serving as the central distribution hub for all material parts routinely stocked by the organisation. Typically, several 'main stores' may be created to reflect the distribution network and geographical spread of property maintenance contracts.
• Sub Store - This additional categorisation allows a main store to be divided into subsidiary compartments, and it is likely that many sub stores will be created within each 'parent' record to reflect the way in which stock is held, either physically in different zones and allocated shelving units, or for larger establishments, regionally within towns, cities and industrial estates.
• Van Store - As direct servicing departments will have many operatives - resources - making frequent repair visits across their area of coverage, all vans within their vehicle pool are classified as 'stores' in their own right, holding sufficient material parts to conduct all assigned jobs.

Where multiple stores are created across these supported classification types - particularly relevant for organisations which serve tenants in numerous locations across the country - they will invariably stock a consistent range of common items. Similarly, the breadth of parts carried on each repair van will reflect the accredited trades provided by specific contractors, whether that be plumbing, heating, joinery, plastering, etc. By configuring a series of material store templates, comprising the relevant part codes aligned to the overlapping trades, these can then be used as the foundation for replicating identical - or very similar - stores again and again. So, for instance, a fleet of fifty vans could be generated very easily and rapidly using this approach.

When adding a part to a materials store template, a number of stock control methodologies are available to replenish items back into stores once the quantities are reduced to predefined minimum thresholds: Reorder Level (the trigger value used to initiate the purchase of additional stock); Imprest Holding Level (an agreed stock quantity level that is used to determine the repeat replenishment value); Kanban Quantity (the just-in-time stock value required to meet continual demand without keeping additional items in reserve).

Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of stock control maintenance, including:

• To create a new materials store template
• To add a part code to a materials store template
• To clone a materials store template