Item vs Item-Warehouse in SyteLine, Explained Like You're Starting Tomorrow

What Does the Item Record Control?

The item record is the part's definition, and it applies across the company. On the Items form you set things like:

• Description and drawing or revision information
• Stocking unit of measure (each, feet, kilograms, and so on)
• Product code, which decides which GL accounts the item's transactions use
• Source: purchased, manufactured, or transferred
• Cost type and cost method
• Lead time, order policy, and the planner or buyer responsible

These settings describe the part itself, so they do not change from one warehouse to another. A circuit board has the same unit of measure and drawing wherever it is stored.

If you are new to the system, pair this with the 10 SyteLine screens every new user should learn first.

What Does the Item-Warehouse Record Hold?

An item-warehouse record exists for each warehouse where the item is stocked. A plant, an off-site warehouse, and a consignment location would mean three item-warehouse records for the same part.

Each one holds warehouse-level information:

• On-hand quantity in that warehouse
• Quantities committed to jobs and customer orders
• Planning settings for that warehouse, such as safety stock or reorder point

This is why the same item can be plentiful in one building and short in another. Planning works warehouse by warehouse.

What Does the Item-Location Record Show?

Inside a warehouse, stock sits in specific locations: a pick bin like A-04-02, bulk storage, a receiving area, or a quality hold area. The item-location record holds the quantity in each, and by lot for lot-tracked items. You see it on Item Stockroom Locations.

If the warehouse holds 500 bolts, they might be 300 in the pick bin, 150 in bulk, and 50 on quality hold. Each location also has a rank, which tells SyteLine which location to suggest first. When the pick bin is empty but the system shows stock, this is where you find out where the rest is, and whether a move was never recorded. Why SyteLine inventory doesn't match the shelf covers tracing those moves.

Why Isn't On-Hand the Same as Available?

On-hand tells you what is in the building. It does not tell you what is free to use. Two things reduce it:

1. Commitments. Components needed by released jobs and finished goods needed for open customer orders are already spoken for.
2. Non-nettable locations. Locations can be flagged as nettable or non-nettable. Stock in a non-nettable location, such as a quality hold or MRB area, is not counted as usable supply.

So if a warehouse shows twenty units on hand, fifteen are committed to a job releasing this afternoon, and three are on quality hold, you can promise two.

Use the Item Availability form, which shows on-hand together with the demand and supply that affect it, before you commit stock to a customer. This is also central to entering a customer order without making a mess.

Are Item-Warehouse and Location Records Created Automatically?

Partly, depending on your setup. In many configurations, SyteLine creates an item-warehouse record for the default warehouse when a new item is added. Other warehouses need their own records before the item can be stocked or planned there. Location records are normally created when stock is first received or moved into a location, subject to your location rules.

For new items, the safe habit is to confirm the item-warehouse record and its planning settings exist for every warehouse that will stock the part, and that its primary location is set, before releasing purchase orders or jobs.

A Composite Example

This is a composite of a pattern that comes up often, not a single client.

A lighting manufacturer gets a rush request for twenty fixtures. A coordinator sees twenty-two on hand on the item record and promises Thursday shipment.

On Thursday nothing ships. Twelve of the fixtures are in the main warehouse but already committed to an earlier project. The other ten are in a quality hold location at a second warehouse, waiting for rework after a finish problem. Usable, uncommitted stock is zero, and the plant has to schedule overtime to build twenty more.

The coordinator did not mistype anything. She read a company-wide on-hand figure as if it answered "what can I ship?"

Quick Reference

• Item (item): The part's definition: unit of measure, product code, source, cost settings, lead time.
• Item-warehouse (itemwhse): Per-warehouse on-hand, commitments, and planning settings.
• Item-location (itemloc): Per-bin and per-lot quantities, with location rank; shown on Item Stockroom Locations.
• Nettable flag: Decides whether stock in a location counts as usable supply.
• Item Availability: Use it to see what can actually be promised.

FAQ

Can one item exist in more than one warehouse?

Yes. An item can have an item-warehouse record for each warehouse, with its own quantities and planning settings, so stock and reorder rules are managed separately at each site.

What is the difference between allocated and reserved stock?

Allocated generally means quantity committed to demand such as a job or customer order line. A reservation goes further and sets aside specific stock, in a particular location or lot, for a specific order line, so it cannot be used for anything else.

Does stock in a quality hold location count as available?

Not if the location is set up as non-nettable, which is the usual practice for hold and MRB locations. Check the location's nettable setting rather than assuming.

How does SyteLine decide which bin to pick from first?

Each item-location has a rank. The location ranked first is treated as the primary location and is suggested first for picking and issuing.

If customer service and production keep reading inventory screens differently, ClearCutOver can help you set up clear availability checks and location rules.

ClearCutOver is an independent SyteLine resource and is not affiliated with Infor. Infor, SyteLine, and CloudSuite are trademarks of Infor.