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Airvend/PicoVend Inventory Management: Best Practices
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Airvend/PicoVend Inventory Management: Best Practices
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Table of Contents

Purpose

This is a comprehensive guide to AirVend’s recommended practices for inventory management.

 

Updating to Par from Device

Filling a machine and updating it to par is the best way to make sure inventory stays accurate. This greatly reduces the chance of mismatched info as well as input error. There are two ways to update a machine to par:

  1. Updating to par from the device is the most accurate way to make sure the Refill Date/Time match exactly when the machine was physically filled.
  • On the AirVend device attached to the machine, press "Contact Us."
    • On PicoVend press "Help"
  • In the same spot, press the Settings button. This button has an icon that looks like a wrench on AirVend and a cog on PicoVend

    AV_Inventory_1.png
  • This will bring you to the Admin Login screen. Enter the same username and password that you use on AV Live and press login.

    AV_Inventory_2.png
  • The following page is the Admin page. Press the "Service Completed" button at the top when finished filling the machine to par. This will notify AV Live that the machine has been updated to par and automatically update the Refill Date/Time to the time of the button press.

    AV_Inventory_3.png

Updating to Par from AV Live

  1. Update to par from AV Live should be used if the AirVend/PicoVend device was offline while the machine was being filled or the operator simply forgot to update through the Admin Page. As long as the operator remembers what time the machine was filled, this option will be just as accurate as updating to par through the device. Either of these Update to Par methods will help to keep inventory as accurate as possible.
  • Log into Av Live.
  • From the Machine Manager page, press on the "Update" button of the machine you wish to update to par.

    AV_Inventory_4.png
  • A pop-up window will appear asking you to verify that you wish to update to par and giving you the option to change the date and time of the refill.

    AV_Inventory_5.png

 

Quantity Added

The Quantity Added option for managing inventory is typically not recommended for complete machine refills. This option is optimal for tracking minor inventory changes that have been made without treating it as a machine refill as it will not change the Refill Date/Time. This provides the operator with the ability to add or subtract product from their vending machines and only having to remember how much product was adjusted. Then they can enter those adjustments using the Quantity Added method in AV Live. Our software will gather all sales since the previous refill date and subtract those from the adjusted inventory. This process eliminates the possibility of sales made between the time the operator adds product to the machine and the time they enter it into AV Live not being accounted for in the inventory.

i.e. An operator is doing their rounds to all of their machines to fill inventory. One location is mostly full except one slot has been depleted and shows 0 On Hand in AV Live. They fill that slot, leave the rest as they were, and then continue on their route to their other machines. When they get back to AV Live to report their inventory changes two hours later, they go to Quantity Added and report that they placed 10 items in that slot and click "Update." In those two hours before updating AV Live, there were 3 more vends on that slot. The following results show how this scenario would have been handled on the old version of AV Live and how it is now being handled on the new version of AV Live:

Old version (v2017.10.5): The Refill Date/Time setter for Quantity Added would have defaulted to the current time of the operator reporting the inventory updates. It would have set that time when the operator clicked "Update." Since there were 3 items sold since the operator placed 10 in the machine, the Current On Hand amount should be 7. However since the refill date defaulted to a time after those sales took place, they would not be subtracted from the inventory and that slot would show 10 items on hand even though the physical machine only has 7. Data would be incorrect and refill reports would be thrown off.

New version (v2017.11.2): The Refill Date/Time setter for Quantity Added would have defaulted to the PREVIOUS refill date and been disabled. This would keep the same previous refill date and add 10 to the On Hand amount. It then would have recalculated all sales since the previous refill date and seen that there were 3 more sales made. Those sales would then be subtracted from the 10 that the operator had just added and the On Hand amount would show 7 as it should. All sales and inventory would be accounted for and refill reports would work as expected.

For more information on how to use Quantity Added, please see the article AirVend Startup Guide - Step 6: Setup Inventory Tracking.

 

Update On Hand Quantity

The Update On Hand Quantity option is useful for operators who want to refill their whole machine but not update everything to par. This option overrides the Current on Hand amounts for each slot by allowing the operator to manually enter what each value should be. It also allows operators to set the Refill Date/Time so they can set it to when they were at the physical machine and take into account any sales that have happened since that time. For more information on how to use Update On Hand Quantity, please see the article AirVend Startup Guide - Step 6: Setup Inventory Tracking.