The inventory in Zedonk is split into Raw Materials Inventory and Products Stock Inventory. Even if you only work with finished goods, you can still use Zedonk to account for the materials required to package your products (bags, boxes, stickers, swing tags).
Your inventory is seasonal, meaning that it will change as you change the season you are working in. You can easily move closing/available stock from one season to another using the Move Stock from Another Season tool.
You have the option to enter your opening stock, if you already have stock. You can make manual positive and negative stock adjustments (in case something gets damaged, soiled, lost, found).
As you are marking raw materials and products as received (by creating 'book-ins') from your Suppliers and Manufacturers, the inventory levels will update automatically.
We will go through every process to ensure you are aware of your stock levels - whether for your internal analysis or for financial reporting.
Manage and monitor your Product Stock Inventory
The Products Stock Inventory displays your stock activity by the Product ID (Style, Fabric and Colour fields) and size in the season you are working in (highlighted in the orange box in the top right corner of Zedonk). You can click on each stock figure to see the calculation breakdown. You can also view the history of the Closing stock activity by clicking on the 'History' button.
By default, you will only see the products/sizes that have any movement (for example, the opening stock has been set, adjustment has been made, production order has been created with the product/size etc.). Some of the columns may not be relevant to how you operate your stock, so take your time to review all the columns and display/hide the ones you are most interested in using the Select/Move/Filter tool. Once you have done that, save your Zedonk layout to retain the changes.
To learn more about what each column means, review the following Zedonkopedia lessons:
Enter your Opening Stock figures for Product Stock Inventory
If you already have Products in stock (perhaps you were using a different system before Zedonk), you must inform Zedonk of the quantities. This will be beneficial financially as you will avoid producing what you already have in stock.
If stock is leftover from a previous season and you have already entered the Product stock figures, you can use the Move Stock from Another Season tool.
You can skip this step if you do not have any Opening Stock for your Products (perhaps you are starting a new collection).
Products Stock Inventory in Zedonk can be separated into multiple locations if you have upgraded your Zedonk subscription to include the Multi-Location Products Inventory. You can easily identify this if you see the locations dropdown at the top of your Products Stock Inventory module.
Now that you understand how the Products Stock Inventory works in Zedonk, enter the Opening Stock figures either manually:
Or in bulk, using the Opening Stock - Data Import Tool template that you can download from Zedonk:
Make Product Stock Inventory Adjustments
You may notice differences in stock numbers when making quarterly/annual inventory counts. You can investigate the source of these differences (waste, damage, internal use) and adjust the figures to maintain accurate stock inventory records. Inventory adjustments are important because they help you reflect changes that may not be in official records and maintain responsible accounting practices.
Set Low Product Stock Alerts
Zedonk can highlight when the Closing Stock or Projected Stock for a specific products/size is below a minimum level set by you. This is beneficial when you need to ensure certain products/sizes are never out-of-stock and you do not incur losses from potential sales.
Generate Product Stock Reports
There are 21 Product Stock inventory reports that you can instantly generate within the Products Stock Inventory module. They can help you quickly identify your opening stock, adjustments, pending units from your production, received units from your production, shipped/unshipped delivery notes, what you still have to order and what you are left with (Available to Sell/ATS stock). Review each one of them to master your Zedonk skills:
Perform a product inventory count (Stock Check)
Stock Checks/Stock Counts are often performed within a specific stock pool/season to count how much inventory you have on hand (closing stock), of selected/all products.
There are two main methods of performing a Stock Check: a rolling/cyclic stock take, and a physical stock take. The most common method is the rolling/cyclic stock take (of selected products).
You can perform an inventory count directly in the Products Stock Inventory module, either manually:
Or if your Zedonk subscription includes the Scanning module, you can perform it with the scanner connected to your device:
Manage and monitor your Raw Materials Stock Inventory
The Raw Material Stock Inventory is separated into:
- Main Inventory - this is your Main Inventory (your Studio/Warehouse)
- Manufacturer Inventory - this is your Manufacturers' Inventory. Note that each Manufacturer will have a separate inventory that you can select from the drop-down menu at the top of the Manufacturer Inventory List View. If you manufacture in-house, you will have a separate Manufacturer Inventory dedicated to any products you manufacture in-house.
Enter your Opening Stock figures for the Raw Materials Stock Inventory
Now that you understand how the Raw Material Inventory works in Zedonk, enter the Opening Stock figures for both your Main Inventory and your Manufacturers' Inventories, either manually:
- Raw Materials Inventory - Manufacturer Inventory - Set Opening Stock
- Raw Materials Inventory - Manufacturer Inventory - Set Opening Stock
Or in bulk, using the Opening Stock - Data Import Tool template that you can download from Zedonk:
Make Raw Materials Stock Inventory Adjustments
You may notice differences in the raw materials stock numbers when making quarterly/annual inventory counts. You can investigate the source of these differences (waste, damage, internal use) and adjust the figures to maintain accurate stock inventory records. Similar to the Products Stock Inventory, Raw Material Inventory adjustments are important because they help you reflect changes that may not be in official records and maintain responsible accounting practices.
Create Dispatch Notes to move your Raw Materials Stock from your Main Inventory to the Manufacturers' Inventory
Dispatch Notes allow you to transfer your raw materials stock between your Main Inventory, and your Manufacturer Inventories. Some Dispatch Notes are created automatically (for example, when raising a Purchase Order that needs to be shipped directly to one of your Manufacturers).
Set Low Product Stock Alerts
Zedonk can highlight when a Raw Material's closing stock or projected stock is below a minimum level set by you. This is particularly important to ensure uninterrupted production workflow and to avoid production delays.
Perform a raw material inventory count (Stock Check)
Similar to Product Stock Checks/Stock Counts, Raw Material Product Stock Check/Stock Counts are often performed within a specific stock pool/season to count how much inventory you have on hand (closing stock), of selected/all products.
There are two main methods of performing a Stock Check: a rolling/cyclic stock take, and a physical stock take. The most common method is the rolling/cyclic stock take (of selected raw materials).
You can perform an inventory count directly in the Raw Materials Stock Inventory module:
Export a report of your Products and Raw Materials Inventories
Any of the views you have displayed in the Products and Raw Materials Inventory modules can be exported in the CSV format, just ensure all the columns are visible (you may wish to display cost columns, such as Closing Cost, Available Cost columns for the financial details):
For the most comprehensive reports available in Zedonk, you will need to go to the Reports module. Some of the reports you may want to explore are listed below:
Products Stock Inventory reports:
- 'Reports' > 'System Reports' > 'Products' > 'Inventory' > 'Full Product Inventory'
- 'Reports' > 'System Reports' > 'Products' > 'Inventory' > 'Product Inventory Value'
- 'Reports' > 'System Reports' > 'Products' > 'Inventory' > 'Full Product Adjustments'
Raw Materials Inventory:
- 'Reports' > 'System Reports' > 'Materials' > 'Inventory' > 'Full Raw Material Inventory'
- 'Reports' > 'System Reports' > 'Materials' > 'Inventory' > 'Full Manufacturer Raw Materials'
- 'Reports' > 'System Reports' > 'Materials' > 'Inventory' > 'Full Material Adjustments'
- 'Reports' > 'System Reports' > 'Materials' > 'Inventory' > 'Full Manufacturer Material Adjustments'
Schedule a report of your Inventories to arrive in your mailbox
The stock figures in both Products and Raw Materials inventories are live, so it is best practice to schedule your Products and Raw Materials reports to arrive to your email mailbox. This will ensure that you can always review any historical inventory data that was in Zedonk. You can use any of the reports mentioned in the previous paragraph, customise it, then schedule it to arrive on a regular basis (for example, at the start/end of the month).