What is Inventory Transfer?
Inventory transfer refers to the movement of goods or products from one location to another within a company's supply chain or inventory system. This can involve the physical transfer of items from one warehouse to another, from a retail store to a distribution center, or between different business units or departments within an organization. Inventory transfers are typically tracked and recorded in a company's inventory management system to ensure accurate accounting and inventory control.
Why do we need Inventory Transfer?
Businesses need inventory transfers for several important reasons:
Demand Variability: Customer demand for products can vary significantly across different locations and regions. Inventory transfers allow businesses to redistribute stock to meet this variable demand more effectively. For example, during a seasonal sales spike, a retailer might transfer more inventory to a store in a high-traffic area.
Store Replenishment: Retail businesses regularly transfer inventory from distribution centers to individual stores to replenish stock as it's sold. This ensures that products remain available to customers and avoids stockouts.
Optimizing Capital: Holding excess inventory ties up capital that could be used for other investments. By transferring inventory to locations where it is more likely to be sold quickly, a business can optimize its capital allocation.
Customer Service: Ensuring that products are available when and where customers expect them is crucial for providing good customer service. Inventory transfers can help meet customer demand promptly.
In essence, inventory transfers are a vital part of inventory management and supply chain optimization, helping businesses respond to changing market conditions, reduce costs, improve customer service, and make efficient use of their resources.
How should we do it with Magestore Retail Management Software?
1. Outgoing Requests
1.1. How to manage the Outgoing Request?
There will be a list of when you access the Inventory Transfer sub-menu. In this list, you can see all the outgoing requests belonging to the current source with some important information such as the status of the request (show the progress of that request), the person who created the request, the source that the current warehouse will transfer the products to,…
In addition, to see the details of the request or take actions related to that request, you can click the View button to redirect to the Outgoing Request details.
1.2. How to create a new Outgoing Request?
To create a new request, you can click on the New Inventory Transfer button. After that, you will be redirected to the Outgoing Request details, and it will be empty like this.
1.2.1. Outgoing request details.
As you can see in the above picture, in the Request details, you can manage the products that need to be transferred through some important information such as qty in the sending source (In-Stock), qty of that product in the receiving source (Qty in Receiving Source), cost of the product (Cost),… In addition, if you do not want to transfer a product anymore, you can click the Remove button to remove that product from the Request details.
1.3. How to add the product to the request details?
To add products that you want to transfer, there are 3 ways:
Click on the Add Product button
Scan the product barcode
Use the Import function
1.3.1. Add products by using the Add Product manually function
In the Request details, you can click on the Add Product button to redirect the Add Product to the Inventory Transfer page
On this page, you can base on some important information such as In-stock qty (qty in current source), Qty in Receiving Source,… to select to add the product that you want to transfer more carefully. After selecting products, you can click on Add Selected Product to add the selected products to the details page.
1.3.2. Add products by scanning product barcode
In the Request details, you can scan the product barcode to add products if you already have products on hand.
After scanning successfully, the product will be added to the details and look like this.
1.3.3. Add products by importing products by CSV file
If you already have a plan including products and qty that you want to transfer, you can use the Import function. After clicking on the Import button, the import CSV popup will show like the below picture.
The uploaded file must be CSV, and the format must be followed like the below picture in order to import successfully.
1.4. How to fill in the qty that you want to transfer for each product in the Request details?
There are 2 ways:
Fill in the Sending Qty field
Scan the product barcode
1.4.1. Increase the qty that you want to transfer by filling in the sending qty field.
In the Requests details, you fill in the Sending Qty field with the qty that you want to transfer for the product.
1.4.2. Increase the qty that you want to transfer by scanning the product barcode.
In the Request details, you scan the product barcode to increase qty of the product that is already added to the details. Each scanning will increase qty by 1
1.5. How to notify the receiving source about a new incoming inventory transfer?
In the Outgoing Request details, you can click the Email button to send the notification through email. The email will look like the below picture
As you can see in the email, the content will include some information such as the sending source (Sending from), the day that this transfer request is created(Created at), the person who created the request (Created by), and the contact of the sending source (phone and email).
1.6. How to save the data of the Request details to avoid losing the data that you already filled in?
When you want to do other functions of RMS, but you already edited the details page such as adding the products into the details page or filling in the sending qty of a product line, you can use the Save function. After clicking on the Save button, the data in the Request details will be saved, and you can move to another page and back to that Request later to do the transfer.
In addition, if you forget to save the data before moving to another page, there will be a Back Confirmation after clicking the Back arrow in order to alert you that you should save the data to avoid losing it.
1.7. How to download the Request details as the document for the business?
There are 2 functions that help you to save the Transfer Request as documents: Print PDF and Export CSV
1.7.1. Print PDF
If you do not have enough devices for the staff to take action on RMS, you can print the Request details into the PDF for the staff to take the next action on the Outgoing Request such as filling in the sending qty for each product. In addition, you can also print the PDF of the Request details with Sent or Canceled status to record it in your business’s documents.
After clicking on the Print PDF button, The PDF will be downloaded to your device, and it will look like the below picture.
1.7.2. Export CSV
If you want to save the Request details as a CSV file in order to process the data in the details, you can use the Export CSV function. After clicking on the Export CSV button, the CSV will be downloaded to your device, and the CSV will look like the picture below (An example of a Request details with Pending status).
1.8. How to cancel the Outgoing Request?
When you do not want to do the transfer anymore or the current Transfer request has some problem, you can use the Cancel function. After clicking on the Cancel button, the Cancel Confirmation popup will show to alert you like the below picture.
After canceling the Request successfully, the status will change to Cancelled, the Request details can not be edited anymore, and you only can use Email, Print PDF, Export CSV functions.
1.9. How to complete the Outgoing Request?
After adding products that need to be transferred and filling in the sending qty for each product, you can click on the send button, and the Send Confirmation popup will show.
In case you do not fill in the sending qty field for all the products that are displayed on the Request details, after clicking on the Send button, the content of the Send Confirmation popup will change like the below picture in order to alert you before completing the Outgoing Request. You can still send the transfer request including the products that are filled in the sending qty field to the receiving source.
After sending the Transfer request successfully, the status will change to Sent, the Request details can not be edited anymore, and you only can use Email, Print PDF, Export CSV functions.
