u/After_Side1341

Can anyone tell me if Smart Count Suite App can show you a bin that wasn't counted?

For example, Rack 1 has 20 bins on it.

If we create an inventory count for all the items we THINK are on Rack 1, because you count by item and not location, the inventory count can look something like:

15 items
25 bins (some items are in bins on other racks, some items may be in multiple bins on rack 1)

But if you sort it by bin, actually, it returns only 18 bins on rack 1 and the other 7 bins are elsewhere.

Meaning you have 2 bins on Rack 1 that aren't counted, and have the potential to be missed entirely.

It's easy to check when an item was last counted.

But how do we know the last time a BIN was counted?

If Smart Count can't do that - are the different apps that can?

We need a much, much better solution for physical inventory this January because we HAVE to ensure that both every item AND every bin is counted and right now, we can't be confident that NetSuite saying "0 on hand" is accurate. I know we have inventory hanging out in the warehouse that NetSuite doesn't know it exists, or it's physically in a different bin than NS has, and the potential to just MISS stuff is very high without better counting software.

I am also and open to consultants or firms who special in NetSuite inventory counting - if you wanna send a pitch, reach out to wendy.emerson@inerttechnology.com

This is just a rant, because while I do like where I work, some frustrations are beginning to build.

Anyone whose following my posts knows my business is kind of a mess because we're a small business trying to become a medium business.

We're also a manufacturer who did not have an inventory system. All items were in QuickBooks as non-inventory.

Which means changing behavior to accommodate the reality of inventory is HARD.

Today's "this is not a technical problem, this is a people problem."

You cannot just add an item to the description of another item and send them both as one thing. That is not how inventory works.

You need two line items, or an assembly, or a kit. There are 3 correct ways of doing this and someone how none of them have happened.

I don't think it's a training issue - this particular team has been drilled and drilled on the different item types and has been a huge help in identifying things that need to be kits or assemblies.

But then something like this happens and it's just more time I'm spending chasing down information to once again tell someone they're doing it wrong. Which everyone is tired of hearing, and I'm tired of saying.

So yeah - just looking for commiseration, no real advice needed on this. People are imperfect and that's ok. But today the frustration is real.

Thanks to all who commented!

Not bad for a day's work. I had to chain together 2 custom records because this is non-GL impacting.
(Need to add a date to the log entries but otherwise, this is pretty much exactly what I wanted)

You can use a barcode scanner to enter item and bin, and I can probably apply the same thing to to the job ID, which would be great. It limits data entry to just qty. I do need to also solve for UOM but one thing at a time.

https://preview.redd.it/3z26ak1akegh1.png?width=863&format=png&auto=webp&s=42acc8b9fd88560f33433068b9775297c8b44c08

Edit: a little more clarity to define the problem I'm trying to solve, which is
"How do we know when inventory has been physically taken from a shelf?"

Right now, anyone can go grab anything that need.

Yes, SOME inventory is pre-stage in a WIP bin (each bin number = the job number, so very clean tracking)

SOME inventory gets consumed via the work order and/or an inventory adjustment

But not ALL inventory.

Because 100% of components are not picked and pre-staged before production begins. So the production techs go grab what they need from the shelf.

They could write this down on a piece of paper - we tried that. The volume of data entry was more than I could keep up with, and the recording of part numbers was inconsistent and sometimes entirely absent.

So I need an automated solution, that doesn't impact inventory, because we are doing the inventory impacts via native NetSuite transactions, but to do that, we have to know what was taken from the shelf, how many, for what job.

All right - this me brainstorming because I am the only NetSuite person at my job and so I don't have co-workers to bounce ideas off of.

When don't have a WMS. We also are not currently using BOMs (long story, work in progress, please just accept that's my current limitation).
We also do not have WIP and routing.

We need to have a way to track inventory when someone takes it off the shelf to use it on a job.

I was thinking of creating a custom record that is just "Inventory Log."
Someone takes a tablet and a scanner and starts a new "Inventory Log"
Go and grabs the item from the shelf.
Scans the item, scans the bin (both would have barcode) to populate the "Inventory Log", then enters the quantity they took, and the related job ID.
No GL impact, no inventory impact, literally just a list of item, qty, bin, job number.

We can work with the rest of it manually until we get BOMs up and running, though even then, we're going to need someone way of cross-checking "hey this item wasn't on the BOM but I used it" because it's going to be awhile before we're down to the level of precision we really need to be at.

Thoughts? Opinions? Advice? Better solutions? I've never created a custom record before and I don't want to over engineer a solution.

I am reviewing the Oracle documentation on how to scan barcodes
https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/netsuite/ns-online-help/section_N2218627.html#To-use-popup-windows%3A

I want to use my iphone to scan the barcode. Do I need an app? If so, which one?

We intend to use Code 128 format.

Edit: gonna go with a bluetooth scanner

I have a custom field on my item record called Engineering Part Number.

Does anyone know if there is a way to add this field to a BOM Revision AND make it searchable so that you can source the item from the custom field instead of from the Item Name/Code?

So you search for the Engineering part number, and it returns the Item Name/Code.

Or some other way of achieving this?

Engineering PN is what is sounds like - it ties back to how the part is identified in our CAD system. There is a long and convoluted reason we aren't just using what parts are called in the CAD system as the NetSuite Item Name/Code, just accept that as a limitation right now.

Here's a visual of what I mean. I want to do all of this while creating or editing a BOM revision.

https://preview.redd.it/yiooozm03sfh1.png?width=613&format=png&auto=webp&s=12e2a2c3e42d61290fb67647cf393d984fde8e3d

Hitting a wall in my workflow.

Trying to create workflow that send an email when a project task is changed to "Completed"

I can't get the state transition to evaluate to TRUE.

My project task enters the workflow just fine when I change it from "Not Started" to "In Progress."
Then I go in and Edit and change to "Completed"
But it still evaluates to false and never exists the workflow.
Here is my log.

Please help. Been going in circles all morning.

https://preview.redd.it/shpfd8ck6sdh1.png?width=958&format=png&auto=webp&s=2c62eb0c644beb280c8fb1166b890ce663cad948

Advice needed: a more stream-lined way to handle this.

So - we make science equipment and this equipment as has an analyzer that reads the oxygen levels inside the box. The analyzers wear out and are returned to us as part of a swap program: we send you a new analyzer, you send us the old analyzer. We then re-calibrate the used analyzer and becomes part of inventory that we can send out to customers who are part of this analyzer swap program. We have this part down pat.

BUT:

Sometimes, there's an intermediary step where we have to send the analyzer to a vendor to pull the data from it before we re-calibrate it. This is our current NetSuite process:

Note: this is serialized inventory! Each analyzer has a serial number.

The customer sends us the analyzer and we receive it into inventory. (RMA and then Item Receipt once we physically get it)

We send the analyzer to the vendor - but we still own it. (Transfer Order; Item Fulfillment to send it; Item Receipt so now it's in the vendor warehouse in NetSuite)

We have PO with the vendor for the service they are providing (Purchase Order)

The vendor sends us back the analyzer with some paper work (PO Item receipt for services. Inventory Transfer for the analyzer). Now we have the paperwork for the customer, and the analyzer back into our warehouse.

That's just a lot of steps - 8 individual NetSuite transactions. Any thoughts on how to streamline?

The obvious question: no, the customer cannot ship the analyzer to the vendor. We have good reasons for that.

This also isn't a high volume thing so it's okay if stays onerous and painful - but I did think was worth asking if anyone had ideas.

I have a custom field on my item record called "Engineering Part #"

I want this to show up on my Bill of Materials Revision.

I think I need to create a second custom field (because BOM Revisions are an "Other Record" but how do I get it to source from the Item Record?

Or is there a way to add the item field directly to the BOM Revision without needing to add a second custom record?

I am doing an inventory count in NetSuite. When I go to approve it it gives me an error that says I only have 51 available and enter a different count. It doesn't tell me what item. How do I find out which item is throwing the error?

I spent all day on this data entry so I'm kind of losing my mind here.

Same as subject line. This is a "How To" for anything searching in the future.

Accounting > Accounting Preferences > Order Management
Show Non-Inventory Items on Printed Forms is set to TRUE

Show Additional Items on Packing Slips is set to "All Items on Order" or to "Unfulfilled Items on Order"

Both will work.

Tested this with Standard Packing Slip Advanced PDF template. Customizations on your form may muck around with this