Inventory Tracking

[MrLentz]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has a good way of tracking raw material inventory such as hardware and leather usage?

Ideally I was thinking of an online based program that also serves as an order manager that will automatically deduct inventory ...but maybe that's overkill!

Anyhow I just eyeball it right now - but wondering what y'all do, small or big shops.

Thanks!!

[YinTx]

I've just built an excel spreadsheet to do the work. Not the best, I've used real MRO programs such as SAP and Maximo for materials purchasing, warehouse inventory and usage, so I know what it can look like, but for someone small like me, I can't justify spending much $$ on a new program. I think some have used Quicken and other programs, but I don't know how well it works. I am very interested in knowing what others do as well.

YinTx

[cgleathercraft]

My previous job was working in the supply chain part of IT where we programmed/maintained/upgraded systems exactly like that. They can be a huge pain in the arse if not used consistently. One specific case I can remember is when we set up inventory control for a single item in the warehouse that was ran very poorly. Items were ordered on an as needed basis but not consistently accounted for so double ordering was very common. Found over $50K worth of unusable inventory that we sent back. The supplier took it but said never do that again lol. After the system was up and running for that particular piece of the company the double ordering was completely eliminated along with missing inventory.

I've worked on my own inventory control program for leather and supplies off and on over the past couple of years and haven't really had anything pan out like I prefer. If there is enough interest in seeing something like this then I would like to hear what everyone would like to be able to do. No it wont do your taxes for you lol, but it may be able to help with the cost of items.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

I called the folks at Shop Talk a few years ago to ask this very question, thinking they might know of something. The closest they could find was for a shoe repair shop. Just going by the description, it didn't even come close to what I envisioned. I worked for a short time at a vet clinic and we used a program called Cornerstone structured specifically for the veterinary industry, and a program like that, only for a saddle shop would fit my needs perfectly. As mentioned above though, consistency and accuracy is the key, and I do wonder if I would have the self discipline to enter everything when it needs to be entered. I think we have such a unique trade, and not enough of us in numbers, to make it worthwhile for anyone coming up with a complete program tailored to our industry that could be marketed at an affordable price.

[stelmackr]

I've just built an excel spreadsheet to do the work. Not the best, I've used real MRO programs such as SAP and Maximo for materials purchasing, warehouse inventory and usage, so I know what it can look like, but for someone small like me, I can't justify spending much $$ on a new program. I think some have used Quicken and other programs, but I don't know how well it works. I am very interested in knowing what others do as well.

YinTx

Well, I use a spreadsheet for the inventory and use the actual weight of the leather to calculate COGS (Costs of Goods Sold). I have a little article that kind of explains my business start up and talks about Leather Inventory. The article is here

Basically, I weight the leather as I received it on a scale and record the weight in ounces. Then at the end of the year I reweigh the leather and a spreadsheet calculates the costs for me.

I also have a simple journal speadsheet where I enter all transactions and the columns create the entries for the IRS schedule C.

Hope this helps.

Bob Stelmack

[byggyns]

If you use Excell & have lots of standard designs, you can create formulas to calculate usage of materials. Have 1 sheet that tracks each item you make, then another that uses a formula to translate that into amount of leather, snaps rivets, thread, etc. used. After you set up the formulas, you would only need to enter the quantity of each item you produce, have an extra field for any custom orders or waste, and then use that to track inventory.

If you do lots of variations in colors of thread or hardware, it would be just copying the formula and changing a few fields in them. you would just have to make sure you recorded the correct item as it was made: brown wallet, white thread; Black 20" collar, red thread nickel hardware, etc.

I haven't played around with any databases recently, but that might be the best way to go. Setting those up takes forever, though.

I don't do leather as a business, so I can't really say how easy it would be to even get the spreadsheet set up & into operation. But, at teh office, I've had to set up lots of multi-page spreadsheets to compile results, and that seems similar.

[UKRay]

This problem affects almost every leather worker I know. We are, generally, one person operations and barely have enough time to get the orders finished without adding data input to our workload.

I run a busy 'one man and dog' workshop here in the UK. To give you an idea, I'm currently buying in around 12-1500 square foot of leather every month but have no way of keeping track of the amount I'm using other than by looking at the stock shelves and estimating the inventory. To be honest, I'm not sure a spreadsheet would actually help me as I don't have time to keep noting down what leather I'm using on individual jobs.

The same goes for buckles and hardware. I buy the stuff in boxes and once a month (or thereabouts) I count what is left and order more accordingly. It would be incredibly useful to know what should be there, but where do I get the time from to write it all down in a spreadsheet or database?

I tried developing a data sheet for each project with all the inventory information listed. That was an interesting exercise and after about three days of misery I went back to making stuff and enjoying life again... I have never found the time or enthusiasm to pick it up again.

Short of employing someone (and that isn't going to happen!) to keep track of stuff, I'm going to continue to rely on Mk1 Eyball and a fading memory... Unless you have a better idea!

Ray

[Samgt8]

This problem affects almost every leather worker I know. We are, generally, one person operations and barely have enough time to get the orders finished without adding data input to our workload.

I run a busy 'one man and dog' workshop here in the UK. To give you an idea, I'm currently buying in around 12-1500 square foot of leather every month but have no way of keeping track of the amount I'm using other than by looking at the stock shelves and estimating the inventory. To be honest, I'm not sure a spreadsheet would actually help me as I don't have time to keep noting down what leather I'm using on individual jobs.

The same goes for buckles and hardware. I buy the stuff in boxes and once a month (or thereabouts) I count what is left and order more accordingly. It would be incredibly useful to know what should be there, but where do I get the time from to write it all down in a spreadsheet or database?

I tried developing a data sheet for each project with all the inventory information listed. That was an interesting exercise and after about three days of misery I went back to making stuff and enjoying life again... I have never found the time or enthusiasm to pick it up again.

Short of employing someone (and that isn't going to happen!) to keep track of stuff, I'm going to continue to rely on Mk1 Eyball and a fading memory... Unless you have a better idea!

Ray

While I'm new to leather working. Quickbooks has a pretty good inventory tracking system. If you are looking for a bona fide all inclusive business solution software checkout Quickbooks Enterprise Accountant. Unfortunately it's not the cheapest in the world at $70/month. But cheaper than hiring someone. Quickbooks allows you to enter an item which covers how much leather you use within a certain project, as well as other costs such as hardware, dies, ect. The benifit is as long as you use fairly the same amount of leather per product, you only need to change the quantity that you have of your finished product and your costs and inventory are automatically tracked.

Hope this helps!

Sam