Supply Room / Inventory Tracking

AngelTrack can keep your supply-room inventory records, integrated with your vehicle checklists for automatic tracking of resupply and replenishment.

For each of your stations, your AngelTrack server offers tracking of its supply room, integrated with the checklist system for automatic calculation of resupply takings.

The system is accessible from the "Products List" icon in the Supervisor sidebar, and from two of the status-cards on the Supervisor Home page.

It can be utilized by any employee who has Captain, Lieutenant, HR, or Administrator privileges, although its initial configuration must be performed by someone with Captain, Lieutenant, HR, or Administrator privileges.

Configuration

To begin using supply room tracking, follow these steps:

1. Login to AngelTrack with Captain, HR, or Administrator privileges.
2. You must already have all of your station records configured. In AngelTrack, each station is  potentially a supply room.
3. Navigate to the Supervisor Home page, and find and click the "Products List" item in the supervision sidebar. The icon looks like a cardboard box.
4. Find and click the "Category List" link to visit the Category List Editor. Deactivate any product categories that you do not store in your supply room(s).
5. Create records for all of the products in your supply room(s), using one of the methods listed in the subsection below.
6. If not already done, link all relevant checklist items to their matching product records, by following the instructions below in the Checklist Integration section.
7. If not already done while creating your product records, take inventory of each station's supply room, and input the quantities using the "Supply Room" tab of each station's record in AngelTrack. It is best to do this on a Saturday evening after all vehicle restocking has been done, and then roll out the checklist integration on the following Monday, so that nobody takes anything from the supply room in-between the time you perform inventory and the time your crews begin using AngelTrack's resupply tracking.
8. Train crews to use the Resupply page when restocking their vehicle after its morning checkoff. Be sure to also teach them about the Automatic Perpetual Inventory Maintenance feature, discussed in its own section further below.

Creating or importing your product list

Here are three different ways to create your product list:

• Method 1: Use your existing checklists. If you already have your vehicle checklists the way you like, then you can use those checklists to create the matching product records, which saves a few steps. To learn how to do this, scroll down to the section below on Checklist Integration.
• Method 2: Manual input.  From the Products List, and click the button to add a new product. Complete the form, and optionally proceed to the page for adding minimum/desired quantities to each station's supply room.  When creating a new product you can pair it with a checklist item, so that each completed checklist can generate a list of products needed from the supply cabinet to bring all levels up to minimums. For example, you might have a product record for "Latex gloves - large", and you might have a checklist item in a vehicle checklist for "Box of latex gloves - large" with a minimum value of 2. If a vehicle checkoff shows only 1 box of gloves found onboard, AngelTrack can tell the crew whether the supply room has the necessary item, and it can also track the supply room's remaining levels after replenishment in order to generate a resupply order. 
• Method 3: Import a starting list.  Contact AngelTrack support and ask whether we already have a "Most Common EMS Products List" for your preferred supplier, which we could import for you. If we do, then your only task is to link your checklist items to the imported product records, by following the instructions below in the Checklist Integration section.

Limitations

Each of your station records in AngelTrack can have only one supply room, though you can have as many stations as you like, each with its own supply room.

Products are tracked in whole-number quantities, i.e. the system cannot apportion one-half or two-thirds of a unit. For example, a crew performing a resupply must take at least one box of gloves or gauze pads, they cannot take half a box.

Each checklist item can link to only one product record; therefore, if a checklist item requires two separate products for replenishment, then you must split it into two separate checklist items, each linking to one of the product records.

The quantity of each product cannot exceed 9999. If you carry high-count products like cotton swabs or gloves, they must be tracked by the box.

There is a built-in list of product categories. You can freely deactivate or reactivate whichever categories you need, but you cannot modify the categories or add new categories. (That said, if you identify a missing category, then please contact AngelTrack Support and propose it as a permanent addition to the system.)

Since product categories control AngelTrack's inventory system, it will be easier for your crews to resupply, and easier for your station chiefs to restock, if you arrange your supply room to match AngelTrack's product categories, since AngelTrack's resupply tickets and restock orders are always organized by category.

The vehicle resupply system -- discussed below -- is built atop AngelTrack's checklist system, and checklists are always pinned to shifts. Thus, any resupply of a vehicle's onboard products must begin with a checklist, and thus, with a shift record. In other words, if a supervisor all by himself wants to recheck and restock a vehicle, he must first put himself on a shift in that vehicle, and then he can run the vehicle checklist and generate the resupply ticket.

Inventory Status Report / Supply Room Shortfall Reports

Shortfall reporting and reordering makes use of the inventory levels you set for each product in AngelTrack:

• Quantity minimum: If the quantity falls below this level, then it's time to reorder.
• Quantity desired: Bring the quantity back up to this level when reordering.
• Quantity currently on-hand

For example, in your Headquarters supply room, suppose you want to reorder large gauze pads whenever the quantity on-hand drops to 30 boxes. And suppose you want to bring the quantity back up to 60 boxes when you reorder. To accomplish this, edit the product record for large gauze pads and set the quantities for the Headquarters station to:

• Minimum = 30
• Desired = 60

AngelTrack's reorder system utilizes these quantities when generating the necessary purchase orders for you; more about that below.

You can also pull reports for all products whose quantities on-hand fall below either of those thresholds. Shortfall reporting for your supply rooms is accomplished using Report Builder, which has a category named "Supply Rooms" for this purpose.

There is a built-in report named "Supply Room Shortfalls" to get you started in rolling your own shortfall reports.

Furthermore, at any time you can visit the Products List page, accessible from the Supervision sidebar, to see agencywide quantities and shortfalls for all products. However, these are grand totals; to visualize shortfalls for a particular station or category, use Report Builder.

Checklist Integration and Resupply

AngelTrack's checklist system integrates with your supply room's perpetual inventory, as crews replenish their vehicles throughout the week and indicate what quantities of each product they took from the supply room.

Each time a crew member fills out a vehicle or station checklist in which any checklist items have linked product records, AngelTrack will offer the crew a "Resupply" button. The button opens the resupply form which the crew member uses to draw the necessary items from the station's supply room, like this:

1. On the checklist, suppose the crew member indicates that item "IV kit" has two units onboard, where there ought to be three.
2. Because the "IV kit" checklist item has a linked product record, AngelTrack offers the "Save and Resupply" button at the bottom of the checklist page. The crew member clicks this button after finishing the checklist.
3. The resupply page appears, showing the matching product record named "IV kit", and suggesting that the crew member take a quantity of one, leaving nine left in the supply closet.
4. While fetching the IV kit from the supply closet, the crew member notices that only eight kits are left, not nine, due to an error in the inventory records. On the resupply page, the crew member decrements the "nine left" response to "eight left" in order to log the correction.
5. When the crew member finishes filling out the resupply page and saves, AngelTrack does all of the following:
   1. Decrement the station's remaining supply of the "IV kit" product from ten to eight;
   2. Log the taking of one IV kit for the vehicle;
   3. Log an inventory correction of minus-one IV kits;
   4. Update the vehicle checklist to increase the quantity of "IV kit" onboard from two to three, which satisfies the checklist's minimums.

The crew member can repeat this process again if more shortfalls are noted while restocking the vehicle.

Linking checklist items to products

The checklist integration depends on linkages between products and checklist items. For example, if you have a checklist item for "Exam gloves - Large", you must link it to a product record for exam gloves in size large. This is easy to do, just visit your checklist, and for each checkoff item that should link to a product, do the following:

1. Set a minimum value for the checklist item, if it doesn't already have one.
2. Click the plus sign that appears in the "Product" column, to open the Product Add page.
3. Fill out the new product and save, and optionally complete the initial quantities chart to show how many you presently have on-hand.

You will then be returned to the checklist, and you will see the linkage appear.

If you later deactivate the linked product, the linkage will remain (in case you reactivate it) but it will no longer be included by the resupply workflow performed by crews.

Non-numeric checklist item types

The system can utilize AngelTrack's non-numeric checklist item types. For example, you might track your small exam gloves quantity using an OK Full / OK Middle / OK Low / Below OK checklist item. If that item falls below minimum, AngelTrack will suggest the crew take one unit from the supply room to replenish it. The crew is free to take more than one, but AngelTrack will mark the checklist shortfall as satisfied by one unit of replenishment.

Resupply automatic designation of station supply room

The resupply page automatically connects to the supply room of the station where the crew is posted for the shift of the associated checklist, if that station has any product quantities allotted for its supply room; otherwise, the resupply page automatically connects to the supply room of the station where the crew's vehicle is based.

For example, suppose a vehicle "Medic2" is based at station "West", and suppose that station has a supply room where a hundred products are allotted. Suppose a crew goes on-shift in Medic2 from West station, but then get posted somewhere else, such as at a posting location named "Midtown Post". When that crew finishes their checklist and opens the resupply page, AngelTrack will check to see if Midtown Post has any products allotted. If it does, then the resupply page connects to that inventory; otherwise, the resupply page connects to the inventory at West station.

The crew then has the option to change their resupply station as needed.

Checking stock at other stations / Resupply from multiple stations

Because the resupply page offers the crew a dropdown-list of stations from which to resupply, the crew can use it to check stock at other stations, to see where to find the items they need.

Furthermore, because they can utilize the resupply page as often as needed, they can perform a partial resupply at one station, then later swing by a different station to pick up additional supplies. AngelTrack keeps track of it all in its inventory records.

Automatic Perpetual Inventory Maintenance

When a crew member completes a checklist and opens the respective Resupply Page, AngelTrack shows them all shortfalls (as noted in the checklist) for which there are linked product records, along with the quantities known to be in the supply room. The crew member can also check quantities available at other stations.

The Resupply Page will be pre-loaded with all the necessary quantities to pull, plus an indication of the quantities expected to remain in the supply room after the taking. This is where automatic maintenance of your perpetual inventory occurs!

Suppose the Resupply Page knows the crew needs two boxes of gloves, of the 10 known to be in the station's supply room. Thus, the Resupply Page will say:

Need 2, Take 2, Leaving 8

...plus up-arrow/down-arrow controls to adjust the quantity taken and the quantity left behind.

If the crew member decides to take three, he can click the up-arrow, and then the Resupply Page will say:

Need 2, Take 3, Leaving 7

Now suppose the crew member takes the three boxes, and notices that only six boxes will be left, due to a discrepancy in the recorded quantities on-hand. All the crew member needs to do is click the down-arrow on the "Leaving" quantity, so that it now reads:

Need 2, Take 3, Leaving 6

Upon saving the Resupply Page, AngelTrack will update its inventory records to show the following:

• This supply room now has 6 boxes of gloves on-hand;
• Crew member X took 3 boxes of gloves for checklist Y aboard vehicle Z; and
• Crew member X noted an inventory correction of -1 boxes.

In this manner, your supply room inventory will tend to self-correct, whenever crew members have the energy to spot-check the quantities left behind after pulling products.

All of the aforementioned inventory record-keeping can be reviewed and analyzed later.

Reorder Queue

The Reorder Queue appears as a status card on the Supervision home page, showing the quantity of products at stations whose levels are below minimum, and below desired. For example, if the status card shows "4+10", then there are four products at stations whose quantity is below minimums, plus 10 more products at stations whose quantity is below desired.

You can click the status card to visit the Reorder Queue, which shows a grid of all products in need of reordering, i.e. whose quantities on-hand have fallen below the configured minimums... along with distributor and SKU information.

The Reorder Queue has some additional filter options to use when preparing your order:

• Using the Stations dropdown list, you can zoom in on one particular supply room i.e. on one particular station, and create a purchase order just for it alone, rather than a single combined order for all shortfalls at all stations.
• You can also reorder quantities of products which are above minimums but below their "full" quantities. For example, suppose your station keeps a minimum level of 20 boxes of large exam gloves on-hand, and right now it might have 36 boxes, and its top-up amount is 60 boxes. The Reorder Queue will not suggest you re-order large exam gloves, but if you activate the ☑ Include quantities above minimum but below desired tickybox, then it will offer to include 24 boxes of gloves in the purchase order, so as to bring the level fully back to 60 boxes.
• By default, the Reorder Queue will automatically subtract the quantities of all outstanding purchase orders, so that you don't order something a second time. If you deactivate the ☑ Subtract active purchase orders tickybox, then the quantities already ordered (but not yet arrived) can be ordered again.
• By default, the Reorder Queue also hides deactivated products. You can untick that filter checkbox to go ahead and include those products, if any are below mininums. In fact you can activate and deactivate products right from the Reorder Queue, if their quantity runs low and you decide to discontinue their use. 

Creating a purchase order

When you click the "Start Order" button, AngelTrack will create a new purchase order, and include whatever products and quantities are currently showing in the Reorder Queue's grid. Therefore it is best to perform all filtering, and if necessary any quantity adjustments, before creating the purchase order, rather than editing the purchase order later.

The items in the purchase order will be sorted by the station, and then by the product category, and then by the product name, unless you preemptively sort the Reorder Queue's grid in a different way before creating your purchase order.

After creating the new purchase order, AngelTrack will transfer you to your Purchase Orders List page where you can view it, edit it, print it, mark it submitted, and/or cancel it.

Purchase orders for multiple distributors

If there are multiple distributors involved, the Reorder Queue will create one separate purchase order for each distributor, containing only the products sourced from them.

You can deselect the ☑ Create a separate purchase order for each distributor tickybox to force AngelTrack to create a single purchase order containing all products from all distributors.

Purchase Orders List

The purchase orders you create from the Reorder Queue will appear in your Purchase Order List, accessible from a status card on the Supervision home page. That status card always shows the current number of purchase orders marked "Awaiting submit" and "Awaiting fulfillment". For example, if there are two purchase orders awaiting submit, and three more purchase orders submitted and awaiting fulfillment by the distributor, then the status card will show "2+3".

Click the status card to visit the Purchase Order List and review your outstanding orders.

Printing a purchase order

Purchase orders can be printed right from the Purchase Orders List, by clicking the print or PDF icons. There are also print links on each Purchase Order Edit page.

Purchase order workflow

Each purchase order has an Order Status field, indicating its position along the workflow. Every purchase order begins at "Awaiting submit", meaning, the purchase order is waiting for you to send it to your distributor.

When you do send it in, return to the Purchase Orders List, find the order again, and click the "Mark as submitted" button. When you do that, provide the order number issued to you by the distributor.

Later, when the shipment arrives, return to the Purchase Orders List, find the order again, and click its ID to open the Purchase Order Edit page. Switch to the "Items" tab and go down the list, comparing all expected quantities against the packing slip to verify that all numbers still match. If the distributor sent you less or more than expected, use the edit feature in the Items list to tell AngelTrack the corrected quantity. Once that's done, switch back to the purchase order's "Settings" tab, and change its status to "Completed", and save. AngelTrack will then apply all product quantities to the inventory of your supply room(s).

If you cancel an order before it ships, tell AngelTrack that you did so, by opening the Purchase Order Edit page and switching the order status to "Cancelled".

Auditing a Supply Room / Taking Inventory

As discussed above in the "Automatic Perpetual Inventory Maintenance" section, your supply rooms' inventory will self-correct over time, as crews indicate corrected amounts for items as they pull them. But even so, you will probably perform a monthly or at least an annual inventory.

To perform an inventory of a station:

1. Visit your Stations List, available in the Supervisor sidebar.
2. Select the station you want.
3. Switch to the Supply Room tab.
4. Click the "Audit" link that appears at the upper-right side of the page.
5. The audit form is already filled out with quantities known to be on-hand. Make corrections as necessary.
6. To add new a product to the supply room, uncheck the ☑ Hide products not allotted to this station tickybox, and then input the new product's quantities where appropriate.
7. To completely remove a product from the supply room, set all its quantities to zero.
8. Save when finished.

After you save, your quantity corrections will take effect, and will appear as journal entries for that supply room and for the associated products.

You can return to your audit later if you wish to make further modifications.

Supply Room Journals

Every supply room (i.e. every station) and every product record has a journal, showing all additions and subtractions. You can review the journal from the relevant Station Edit or Product Edit page. Three different events can cause a journal entry:

• A crew member running a checklist visits the supply room for resupply;
• A supervisor consummates a purchase order, adding its quantities to the supply room; or
• A supervisor performs an audit, notating any quantity discrepancies.

There will not be a journal entry if you manually adjust a product quantity in a supply room.

Crew Achievement Ribbon

AngelTrack has a crew achievement ribbon that it automatically awards to crew members and supervisors, for the number of times that he or she made a correction to a supply room quantity, to reward them for taking the time to use the on-the-fly-correction feature during resupply of their truck.