Decrementing Inventory

Lots vs Inventory

In Uncountable, lots represent specific batches of ingredients ordered from a supplier, while inventory tracks the quantities of ingredients available at a lab location.

Lots are useful for capturing details such as batch-specific properties and COAs. On the other hand, inventory tracking focuses on the actual amounts of each ingredient available for use at a given lab location. This ensures scientists and technicians have the necessary materials available for experiments.

Users will also often add new inventory to a new or existing lot. In this way, inventory allows us to capture both batch-specific properties and quantities available.

Benefit of Inventory

Since inventory can include lot information, using the Inventory Item column allows users to capture both inventory and lot details for in one step.

Another benefit of using inventory is that if an ingredient in a recipe is linked to inventory, we can “decrement” the amount used from the total inventory at the lab location. This helps maintain accurate records of ingredient usage, helps with reordering when supplies run low, and ensures the lab has enough materials on hand before submitting a lab request.

Associating Ingredients with Inventory

To associate an ingredient with inventory, follow these steps:

1. Use the search action bar to add the Inventory Item column to the Enter Recipe page.
2. In the Inventory Item column, you’ll see a list of available inventories for each ingredient.
3. Select the desired inventory from the dropdown menu to link it with that ingredient.

Note: If an ingredient is linked to a lot via the Lot column, selecting inventory will override any lot information.

Decrementing Inventory

Once ingredients are linked to inventory, you can easily subtract the amount of ingredient used from the total inventory amount available at a location. This is done using the Decrement Inventory sidepanel, modal, or Inventory Item column.

Decrement Inventory Sidepanel

To access the sidepanel, use the search action bar and select Decrement Inventory Sidepanel.

For each recipe in view, the sidepanel details:

• Ingredient (A): Ingredients used in the formulation.
• Inventory Item (B): The ingredient’s inventory item, if linked via the Inventory Item column.
• Quantity Available (C): The amount of that ingredient’s inventory available for use.
• Quantity Used (D): The amount of the ingredient’s inventory used in that recipe.

Benefit of the Decrement Inventory Sidepanel

The Decrement Inventory sidepanel offers a clearer way to track inventory changes directly within your workflow. When inventory is decremented, an arrow icon appears next to the ingredient in the sidepanel, indicating the action (A). Hovering over an ingredient within a step reveals how many times it has been decremented. In the screenshot below, note that Polymer 1 has already been decremented once in this step.

Additionally, warning messages highlight recipes in view that have already had inventory decremented (B). This enhances traceability and helps prevent accidental multiple decrements, ensuring more accurate inventory management.

To decrement inventory from within the sidepanel, take the following steps:

1. Select all ingredients whose inventory you want to decrement.
2. Click the blue “Decrement” button.

This will update the Inventory amount for each ingredient, with changes reflected in the Quantity Available column.

Decrement Inventory Modal

Users can also update inventory using the Decrement Inventory modal. To access, use the search action bar and select “Decrement Inventory”.

Within the modal, the table provides the following details:

• Lab: The lab where you want to update inventory amounts.
• Units: The units for the selected ingredients.
• Ingredient: The ingredient being used in your recipe.
• Lot: The specific lot associated with the ingredient (if applicable).
• Inventory: The inventory source for the ingredient.
• Available: The current amount of the ingredient in that inventory.
• Needed: The quantity required for your formulation.
• Selected: The amount to decrement from inventory. This defaults to the “Needed” value but can be adjusted manually.

To decrement inventory from the modal, take the following steps:

1. Select the lab where the inventory update will be applied.
2. Choose the appropriate units.
3. Adjust the values in the Selected column if needed.
4. Click “Submit” to apply the changes.

Inventory Item Column

In addition to those methods, users can quickly decrement inventory by clicking the arrow icon next to an ingredient in the Inventory Item column. This will automatically subtract the amount of ingredient used in the recipe (i.e. 10 g of Polymer A) from the selected inventory.

Using Ingredients from Multiple Inventories

In some cases, users may need to source ingredients from multiple inventories. This can be done directly in the Inventory Item column by selecting “Add Additional Inventory Amount”.

In the modal, use the Add Inventory Amount dropdown to select additional inventories, and specify the quantity to draw from each inventory in the Measured Value column.

In the example below, a recipe requires 100 g of Polymer A. Using the Add Additional Inventory Amount modal, we can allocate 20 g from one inventory and 80 g from another.

When using multiple inventories for an ingredient, decrementing works as expected across all methods. Whether you decrement via the modal, sidepanel, or Inventory Item column, the system will subtract the specified amounts from each inventory as defined in the Add Additional Inventory Amount modal.