Kanban Inventory Management
Kanban Inventory Management is a premium feature within Stratosphere that allows you to simplify inventory management and increase efficiency during the restock of your kanban inventory. Stratosphere standardly tracks individual items tagged with RFID tags. But with the Kanban Inventory Management feature, kanban bins, rather than individual items, are RFID-tagged and tracked, allowing a more cost-effective inventory management solution for low-cost inventory, such as medical-surgical supplies. When all products contained in a bin have been used, the bin is placed on the Kanban Read Point, and the system will update to indicate the bin needs to be restocked.
When the Kanban Inventory Management feature is enabled for your organization, the following functionality will become available in Stratosphere:
- Within the Kanban Inventory Management feature, users with the "Organization Management" role can opt to enable Kanban Notifications, which are email notifications for kanban inventory that needs restock or is stocked out. See the Enabling Kanban Alerts and Editing Kanban Alerts sections below for more information.
- The Kanban Read Point Management page will become available. Terso devices used with the Kanban Inventory Management feature are called Kanban Read Points. These Read Points can be viewed and managed in Stratosphere. See Kanban Read Points for more information.
- The Non-RFID Product Catalog will be available in the left sidebar to users with the "Product Management" role. The Non-RFID Product Catalog will also include a new tab for Bin Management, where users with the "Product Management" role can manage kanban bin inventory. See the Non-RFID Product Catalog and the Managing Kanban Bins pages for more information.
- The Location Edit page will be updated to include a new tab for Bin Management, where users with the "Product Management" role can manage kanban bin inventory. See the Locations and Managing Kanban Bins pages for more information.
- The Kanban Inventory Report will be available to users with the "Website Access" role, providing an overview of the kanban inventory, including stocking status and estimated in stock range for bins for each product for the locations the user has access to. See the Viewing the Kanban Inventory Report section below for more information.
- The Kanban Restock Report will be available to users with the "Website Access" role, helping to simplify the restock process by providing a summary list of all products and quantities needing restock and details on what needs to be restocked in each inventory location. See the Viewing the Kanban Restock Report section below for more information.
- The Kanban Restock widget in the Stratosphere dashboard will be available to users with the "Website Access" role. This widget provides the counts of products that need to be restocked and that are stocked out for the viewing user's assigned locations.
Use of Kanban Inventory Management requires your organization to subscribe to the feature. If you would like to learn more, please contact us.
The Kanban Restock Report provides a pick list of kanban inventory needing to be restocked in the user's selected accounts and locations and displays what quantities of products need to be restocked and where. It includes the Kanban Restock Summary, which shows the total amount to restock for each Non-RFID product for all selected accounts and locations, and the Kanban Restock by Location, which shows the Non-RFID products, amounts needing restock, and bin-specific details per stocking location. Each column in the report is sortable and filterable, and all data in the report is searchable via the search bar in the top right. Downloading and printing are also available. To populate the report, select at least 1 account or location.
The Kanban Restock Report contains the following sections and columns:
- Kanban Restock Summary - Displays the total amount to restock for each Non-RFID product for all selected accounts and locations, and the Kanban Restock by Location, which shows the Non-RFID products, amounts needing restock, and bin-specific details per stocking location.
- Non-RFID Product Name - The name of the Non-RFID Product that needs to be restocked
- Non-RFID Product # - The number, or code, of the Non-RFID Product that needs to be restocked
- Critical Product - If the Critical Product field is checked for the Non-RFID product, this column will have the value Yes. Otherwise, it will have the value No.
- Total # of Units to Restock - The number of units needed to restock of that non-RFID product for all selected accounts and locations
- Kanban Restock by Location - Displays the Non-RFID Products to restock, amounts needing restock, and bin-specific details per stocking location.
- Location Name - The name of the inventory location where the Non-RFID Product needs to be restocked
- Non-RFID Product Name - The name of the Non-RFID Product that needs to be restocked for that inventory location
- Non-RFID Product # - The number, or code, of the Non-RFID Product that needs to be restocked for that inventory location
- # of Items to Restock - The number of units needed to fully stock all bins needing restock of that product in that location
- Status - The stocking status of the Non-RFID Product in that inventory location. Statuses include "Needs Restock" and "Stocked Out"
- When a row in the report is expanded, the report displays the following additional columns:
- RFID Tag EPC - The unique RFID tag number associated with the kanban bin
- Stocking Level - The number of units of the Non-RFID Product that should be stocked in the bin for the bin to be considered fully stocked
- Bin Status - The stocking status of the individual bin. Statuses include "In Stock" and "Out of Stock"
- Shelving Unit - The shelving unit where the bin is located
- Shelf - The shelf where the bin is located
- Slot - The slot where the bin is located
- Bin Color - The color of the bin
- Bin Description - A free-text description of the bin
The Kanban Inventory Report displays stocking status and estimated stock range for each product in your Kanban inventory per location. Rows can be expanded to show bin details for each product and location pair. Each column in the report is sortable and filterable, and all data in the report is searchable via the search bar in the top right. Downloading and printing are also available. The Kanban Inventory Report contains the following columns:
- Non-RFID Product Name - The name of the Non-RFID Product
- Non-RFID Product # - The number, or code, of the Non-RFID Product
- Location Name- The name of the location where the kanban inventory is stored
- Status - The stocking status of the product in that inventory location. Statuses include "In Stock", "Needs Restock", and "Stocked Out"
- In Stock Range - The estimated range of units in stock for that Non-RFID product for that inventory location based on the stocking levels of the bins that have a status of "In Stock" for that Non-RFID Product and location pair
When a row in the report is expanded, the report displays the following additional columns:
- RFID Tag EPC - The unique RFID tag number associated with the kanban bin
- Stocking Level - The number of units of the Non-RFID Product that should be stocked in the bin for the bin to be considered fully stocked
- Bin Status - The stocking status of the individual bin. Statuses include "In Stock" and "Out of Stock".
- Shelving Unit - The shelving unit where the bin is located
- Shelf - The shelf where the bin is located
- Slot - The slot where the bin is located
- Bin Color - The color of the bin
- Bin Description - A free-text description of the bin
Enabling Kanban Inventory Management requires your organization to subscribe to the feature. If you would like to learn more, please contact us.
Enabling Kanban Inventory Management requires the "Organization Management" role to be granted in your user record. Contact your system administrator to add this capability.
To begin tracking inventory using the Kanban Inventory Management feature:
- Go to the organization page
- Select the "Add/Remove Features" tab
- Toggle the "Kanban Inventory Management" feature on
- Click "Save Changes"
Editing Kanban Inventory Management alerts requires the "Organization Management" role to be granted in your user record. Contact your system administrator to add this capability.
The Kanban Inventory Management feature includes a setting to enable email alerts when kanban inventory requires replenishment. To configure this setting:
- Go to the organization page
- Select the "Add/Remove Features" tab
- To enable the Kanban Inventory Alerts functionality, toggle Kanban Inventory Alerts on.
- Add, edit, and remove email addresses and update alert types as needed. With the Kanban Inventory Alerts functionality, you can enter up to 10 email addresses to receive Kanban inventory notifications and select the desired alert type. Alert types include:
- All Alerts - Receive email notifications for all restock needed and stockout events
- Only Critical Product Alerts - Receive email notifications for restock needed and stockout events for Non-RFID Products with the "Critical Product" field checked for your organization
- Only Stockout Alerts - Receive email notifications for only stockout events for all Non-RFID Products for your organization
- Critical Product and Stockout Alerts - Receive email notifications for restock needed and stockout events for Non-RFID Products with the "Critical Product" field checked and for stockout events for Non-RFID Products without the "Critical Product" field checked for your organization
- Click "Save Changes"
It is recommended that you use distribution lists for Kanban Inventory Alerts, so that updates are needed less frequently.
Disabling Kanban Inventory Management alerts requires the "Organization Management" role to be granted in your user record. Contact your system administrator to add this capability.
- Go to the organization page
- Select the "Add/Remove Features" tab
- To disable the Kanban Inventory Alerts functionality, toggle Kanban Inventory Alerts off.
- Click "Save Changes"
Disabling Kanban Inventory Management requires the "Organization Management" role to be granted in your user record. Contact your system administrator to add this capability.
- Go to the organization page
- Select the "Add/Remove Features" tab
- Toggle the "Kanban Inventory Management" feature off.
- Click "Save Changes"
- Confirm your intention to disable by pressing "Save Changes" in the resulting popup