Here you can set up and manage your inventory store transfer and restocking rules. The Inventory Administration section comprises three tabs:

Please contact your ServiceChannel representative to enable this feature.

Setting Up Rules for Inventory Store Transfers

Each inventory store transfer that you are going to create in Inventory Manager will be associated with a work order. Transferred parts will be listed as materials on such work orders. Before you create a transfer, define default parameters for all work orders created in the event of inventory transfers.

⦿ How to Set Up Store Transfers

Click the hamburger menu, and select Admin > Inventory > Inventory Administration section.
Make sure you are on the Rules tab. Then, specify the following information for work orders that are going to be associated with store transfers:
1. Work Order Category
  Expand this section to view the best practice.
  BEST PRACTICE
  
  Create the Inventory Transfer category in the Admin module to easily manage transfer work orders. Ensure that the category is associated with the proper GL code in your Admin settings. This will allow you to properly account for inventory transfer costs.
2. Priority
  Expand this section to view the best practice.
  BEST PRACTICE
  
  We recommend that you create a new priority for store transfers with the default 0 hrs ETA. Since all inventory transfers are immediate, they will be created with the scheduled date matching the call date.
3. Work Order Status
  Expand this section to view the best practice.
  BEST PRACTICE
  
  Keep in mind that when the Open status is picked for transfers, inventory transfer work orders will be visible in the SC Provider mobile app.
4. Work Order Extended Status
5. Trade: To set the default trade for all store transfers, pick the required option from the Trade drop-down list.
  Expand this section to view the best practice.
  BEST PRACTICE
  
  Ensure that the trade you select here is associated with the proper GL code in your Admin settings. This will allow you to properly account for inventory transfer costs.
  If you want Inventory Managers to decide themselves which trade should be associated with each store transfer, you can let them select the required trade when they are creating a store transfer. Read about the Require Trade Selection option below for more details.
6. Require Trade Selection: Select this checkbox if you don’t want to impose a default trade and provider for store transfers. In this case, Inventory Managers will be able to decide themselves which trade should be set on a store transfer work order and which one of your providers should perform the transfer. When creating a store transfer in Inventory Manager, users can pick the required trade and provider. It allows you to be more flexible in terms of GL codes as you ensure the store transfer WO gets associated with the right GL code and the parts are billed correctly.
7. Default Provider
  Expand this section to view the best practice.
  BEST PRACTICE
  
  If you do not have an FTM internal provider, we recommend that you create one and assign this provider to all locations that may request inventory parts to be shipped from a warehouse. Make sure that the provider is also assigned to the trade that you select in your inventory transfer rules.
  Please note that the provider in this context is actually your organization's Inventory Manager who is responsible for transferring inventory items.
  
  When the Require Trade Selection checkbox is selected, your default provider preference isn’t taken into account. Inventory Managers will be asked to pick the required provider when creating a store transfer.
  Should you want to restrict store transfers to a single trade and provider combination, ensure that the Require Trade Selection checkbox is cleared.
Click Save.

Once you have specified all the required parameters and saved your settings, you can get down to creating store transfers.

If you have not yet assigned employees who should be responsible for creating and managing transfers in your organization, read Subscriber Permissions to learn how to enable the corresponding permissions for your employees.

Work orders for store transfers will be created strictly by the book:

Transfer-related work orders will belong to the specified category and trade.
They will have the predefined priority.
They will be submitted with the status you’ve set.
They will be dispatched to the default provider.
The not-to-exceed (NTE) amount of such work orders will equal the number of parts transferred multiplied by the part price per unit.
Transfer-related work orders will be created for the destination location — the location that is supposed to receive the requested items.

Parts Purchasing

When external providers are performing service on a work order and it requires a part(s) to finalize the job and change the work order status to In-Progress/Parts on Order, there is the ability to add an additional step which includes you. This requires providers to specify the specific part(s) needed to complete the work order. When the option is turned off, providers will not be required to include you during the part(s) checking or ordering process.

Checking Inventory First

You can incorporate the Checking Inventory First for Internal Providers to search and locate the part(s) if they are in stock and available within your inventory. If not checked, internal providers can go ahead and submit a Non-Catalog request.

When Checking Inventory First checkbox, external providers are not able to access the Parts Order in Provider Automation.

Requiring Parts Extended Status

Adding an extend status allows for the option to add parts purchasing whenever a work order’s status has been changed to that specific extended status. You can add as many extended statuses to the parts purchasing as you would like.

Restocking Options and Schedule

Inventory restocking allows you to automate the process of replenishing a location that has had a reduction in inventory. The automated process is run based on the rules you configure under the Restocking Options and Schedule tab.

Tab where you can configure restocking schedule and rules

Restocking is available for warehouses and trucks only.

When the time comes to restock parts to ensure that the location has enough on-hand quantities, Inventory Manager takes the required part quantity from the primary supply location to replenish the inventory.

Configuring the restocking process is performed in 2 steps.

Step 1

You can specify how and when you want to have your warehouses and trucks restocked.

⦿ How to Set Up the Restocking Process

Click the hamburger menu, and select Admin > Inventory > Inventory Administration section.
Switch to the Restocking Options and Schedule tab.
Decide for which inventory location type you want to configure the restocking schedule: warehouses or trucks.

Restocking settings you set up here get applied to all inventory locations of the Warehouse and/or Truck types.
Under the corresponding inventory location type, select the Restocking Option:
1. Based on the part’s minimum and maximum values
2. Based on the number of parts used
  
  Learn more about Restocking Options.
Pick the days of the week when the location inventory should be restocked. Restocking transfers will be created on this day for any parts at these locations that need to be restocked.
Pick the time and time zone for the restocking to occur.

To avoid issues with generating restocking transfers, please confirm your time zone.
Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Restocking Options

The restocking process depends on the restocking method you apply.

METHOD 1. Based on the part’s minimum and maximum values at a location.

Min and max quantities of a part

When you opt for this method, ensure that Minimum and Maximum Quantities are provided for your parts in stock records.

Part detailed view showing the part min and max quantities at the location

As soon as the part on-hand quantity meets or falls below the minimum, the system will request the restock of the part, bringing it back to the maximum. By setting minimum and maximum quantities, you can ensure that there is at least the minimum amount of inventory on hand at all times.

METHOD 2. Based on the number of parts used.

Image showing how restocking process happens when the second restocking method is applied

The concept here is only to replenish what has been used. On the scheduled date, Inventory Manager automatically creates restocking transfers to restock all the parts that have been used since the last restocking at warehouses and/or on trucks. The part quantity to be restocked will equal the part quantity taken from the inventory location since the last restocking.

Step 2

Your next step is to specify which parts should be included in or excluded from the auto-restocking process. By default, all your inventory parts are included in the restocking process. By clearing the Auto Restock checkbox in the overlay for editing part information in your Parts Catalog, you exclude the part from the process.

Restocking Process

In line with the above settings, restocking will take place on the specified date, at the specified time, across the selected locations (warehouses and/or trucks), for the specified parts.

On the scheduled date, Inventory Manager checks for parts that should be restocked and automatically creates a restocking transfer.
You can view the restocking transfer details in Inventory Manager > Transactions tab.
You can take action on restocking transfers by moving them to the required status along their journey:

From Open to Picking
From Picking back to Open if required
From Picking to Shipped
From Shipped to Received

Learn more about Restocking Transfer Statuses and Lifecycle.

GWP Equivalents for Refrigerant Parts

Each refrigerant part group you have loaded in Inventory Manager can be assigned the corresponding Global Warming Potential (GWP) equivalent.

GWP allows comparisons of the global warming impacts of different refrigerant gases. The larger the GWP, the more the given gas warms the Earth compared to CO2.

GWP Equivalents tab in Inventory Administration

Why Is Identifying GWP Important?

Identifying the GWP values of the refrigerants contained in refrigeration in HVAC units helps Facility Managers in the following ways:

VISIBILITY: It adds visibility into carbon emissions, helping FMs calculate carbon emissions from their equipment.
EFFICIENT REPORTING: It helps FMs in reporting to the sustainability department regarding their impact on sustainability.
ASSET ANOMALIES: It gives FMs the ability to identify assets that are contributing to global warming so that FMs can make adjustments to those assets.

To use this functionality, ensure that your account configuration meets the following requirements:

The corresponding feature is enabled for you. Please contact your Customer Success Manager to turn it on.
You have the Administrator role set in Admin > Inventory > Subscriber Permissions.
You are assigned the Refrigerant Tracking Admin user role in Admin > Permissions > Users.

Navigating the GWP Equivalents Page

GWP equivalents tab showing the refrigerant part groups and their GWP equivalents and values

Refrigerant Part Groups

The column lists all of your refrigerant part groups that you have uploaded in Inventory Manager. Information in this column cannot be edited.

GWP Equivalent

Here you select the required GWP equivalent for each refrigerant part group. These are industry-standard names as specified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Once you select the equivalent, the remaining fields get filled out automatically.

Refrigerant Common Name

More common name of refrigerant.

High GWP

The column indicates if the refrigerant is classified as having a high GWP. You will see either Yes or No here.

GWP Value

Global warming potential (GWP) values relative to CO2. GWP values allow you to compare the emission impacts of different gases. The larger the GWP value, the more the given gas warms the Earth compared to CO2.

Refrigerant Common Name, High GWP, and GWP Value are populated automatically based on the database values loaded by ServiceChannel.

Assigning GWP Equivalents to Refrigerant Part Groups

We recommend that you assign GWP equivalent to all of your refrigerant part groups to ensure accurate reporting on carbon emissions.

⦿ How to Assign GWP Equivalents to Refrigerant Part Groups

Click the hamburger menu, and navigate to Admin > Inventory > Inventory Administration.
Switch to the GWP Equivalents tab.
For each Refrigerant Part Group presented in the first column, select the corresponding GWP Equivalent in the second column.

You can assign the same GWP equivalent to more than one refrigerant part group.

Once the GWP equivalent is selected, the remaining fields (Refrigerant Common Name, High GWP, and GWP Value) are populated automatically based on the database values loaded by ServiceChannel. It is not allowed to update these three fields manually.

Your changes on this page are saved automatically.

Getting the Report on the Total GWP and CO2 Impact of Your Refrigerants

Now that you have set up GWP equivalents for your refrigerants, you can get a detailed report on the total GWP and CO2 impact of your refrigeration and HVAC units in the Refrigerant Tracking Dashboard in Analytics. Learn more about it in Refrigerant Tracking Dashboard.

Inventory Cycle Count

Cycle Counts allows for configuring and performing physical counts of parts at inventory locations. You can configure the cycle count based on:

Date	Able to select a specific date for the Cycle Count.
Location	Select all locations. Select specific inventory location type(s). Specific location(s).
Count Type	Select all parts. Select specific part type(s). Select specific individual part(s).

Scheduling Inventory Cycle Count

When creating a cycle count, there is the option of deciding on whom conducts the actual count. You can create cycle counts to be conducted by FTM and/or external technicians or Non-FTM called Planned Maintenance Cycle Count. There is the opportunity to create a cycle count to be conducted by the FTM and create one that is conducted by the assigned external technician. It is having that flexibility of assigning cycle counts to specific technicians and able to directly oversee the cycle count within the Inventory module.

⦿ How to Schedule a FTM Cycle Count

Admin → Inventory → Inventory Administration.
Click the Cycle Count link to view the page.
Optional: Create a unique name.
Optional: Add a description for the cycle count.
Select a Due Date.
Select the Location option.
Select the Count Type option.
Click the Create button to finalize the Cycle Count setup.

Cycle Counts cannot performed on the same day, it must be at least one day after the initial setup.

⦿ How to Schedule an External Provider Cycle Count

Admin → Inventory → Inventory Administration.
Click the Cycle Count link to view the page.
Click the link within the sentence on the middle of the page to open the Planned Maintenance landing page
Click the Create button to open the scheduling page
Use the drop-down arrow to select Cycle Count
Optional: Create a unique name for the Planned Maintenance Cycle Count
Use the drop-down arrow to select a Trade and Category
Use the drop-down to select Count Type
1. All Parts: Indicates you are selecting every part within your inventory
2. Part Type: Indicates you are selecting specific Part Type(s) within your inventory
3. Select Part: Indicates you are selecting a specific part(s) within your inventory
Based on Count Type select, use the drop-down arrow to select part
Optional: Use the textbox to type in Asset Type
Optional: Use the drop-down arrow to add a label
Type-in a Service Description in the textbox
Optional: Click the checkbox to add Append Service Window to the Problem Description
Optional: Click the checkbox to add Append Frequency to the Problem Description
Optional: Use the drop-down arrow to add a Location Note Header
Optional: Add an email address for recipients
Optional: Check or uncheck the boxes for Auto Dispatch, Auto Complete, and Auto Invoice
Optional: Add Frequency to the Cycle Count
Add a Service Start Date
Use the drop-down arrow to select your Service Repeats
Use the drop-down arrow if you want to service to end
1. Add a date if you selected Specific Date
Add Frequency Description in the textbox
Use the textbox to indicate the following:
1. Generate in Advance
2. Time Offset
3. Length of work order
  1. Use the drop-down arrow to change from days to months
4. Optional: Grace Period
Use the drop-down arrow to select a Currency
Select an assignment rule for the Planned Maintenance Cycle Count
Use the checkbox for the following
1. Add to New Locations
2. Generate Service ID
3. Suspend Closed Location (automatically checked)
Click the Add Locations button to add locations
Select location(s) for the Planned Maintenance Cycle Count
Click the Submit button to add Cycle Count to Planned Maintenance

Cycle Counts cannot performed on the same day, it must be at least one day after the initial setup.

Editing a Scheduled Cycle Count

When a Cycle Count has been added and becomes available, you can take action by editing the scheduled Cycle Count information. There are filters available when searching for particular scheduled cycle count to edit.

⦿ How to Create a Scheduled Cycle Count

Locate the Scheduled Cycle Count from the list.
Click the Pencil icon under the Actions column to edit the Scheduled Cycle Count.
Make any changes to the Scheduled Cycle Count.
Click the Save button to update the Scheduled Cycle Count.

Save changes to Scheduled Cycle Count

Clicking the Reset button removes all the information that was added and selected on the Scheduled Cycle Count.

Please contact your ServiceChannel representative to enable Planned Maintenance Inventory Cycle Count.

In this Article

Related Articles

Page:

Creating Transfers
Page:

Inventory Administration
Page:

Inventory Transfers
Page:

Receiving Inventory Transfers
Page:

Refrigerant Tracking Dashboard
Page:

Taking Action on Standard and Restocking Transfers
Page:

Transfer Types
Page:

Viewing Transfers

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