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Inventory Glossary
Inventory Glossary

The Inventory section from A to Z

Héctor Emperador avatar
Written by Héctor Emperador
Updated over a week ago

[A]

Average cost

It is the average of the purchase costs of a product. It is calculated by dividing the total value of purchases made by the number of units of the product in stock. It is used as a reference to evaluate the average monetary value of the products stored in the company, and is automatically recalculated with each new purchase, as the average value of the stock based on the value of the purchase invoices.

The average cost is applied in stock reports, and is editable, so it can be adjusted manually.

Automatic stock system

[B]

Barcode

Barcode is a graphical representation of data used to quickly and accurately identify products. It consists of a series of bars and spaces of different widths that represent digits or alphanumeric characters. The barcode is printed on a label and can be scanned by a barcode reader to obtain the information contained in it, such as the product number or price. It should not be confused with the factory code or the serial number. Indicate the barcode of the product when creating it is necessary to be able to scan it later.

Bill of materials

The bill of materials (Bill of materials = BOM) is a detailed list of all the materials or components necessary to manufacture a product. Provides specific information about each component, including its name, SKU, quantity required, or purchase price. In Holded, these components are previously created products, and will be consumed in manufacturing orders or fast manufacturing.

[C]

Catalog B2B

The Holded online Catalog B2B allows you to offer your customers the possibility of purchasing your products online in an easy, direct and personalized way. You can configure the products you want to display in the catalog and assign the rate that corresponds to each client. Your customers can buy your products through the catalog as if it were an online store. They just have to add the products they want to the shopping cart and create the order.

Category

Within product properties, categories are attributes that are assigned to products to classify and organize them in different contexts. They allow you to filter and export products in lists, and they appear in documents and catalogs, facilitating the search according to specific characteristics.

For example, you can use the "Season" category to distinguish summer and winter products, or the "Gender" category to separate products for men, women, and children. Unlike variants, categories do not have their own SKU or price; In addition, the same category ("Kids") will be shared by the different variants of the same product (size S in blue, size S in black, etc.).

Ultimately, its usefulness lies in improving the management and internal organization of products at Holded.

Control Panel

The control panel, within Inventory section, provides you with a global view of your products, your stock, and their related documents (sales orders, purchase orders and delivery notes). This way you can access all Inventory features from a single place. It is divided into areas, from which you can access product management, warehouse management, order management, operations, and product properties.

Cost

The "cost" refers to the initial value of a product or service, without taxes, at the time of registering said product in Holded.

Current stock

This is the total number of units of product in the warehouse at a given time.

[E]

eCommerce (electronic commerce)

It refers to the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet. In this business model, commercial transactions are conducted online, typically on websites or mobile applications, allowing consumers to select products, make payments, and receive deliveries from the convenience of their electronic devices. eCommerce covers a wide range of activities, from individual online stores to marketplace platforms where multiple sellers offer their products. It is a fundamental form of commerce in the digital age, facilitating the globalization of commerce and the expansion of online businesses.

[F]

Factory code

The factory code is a unique code assigned during the manufacturing process of a product to identify it internally within the manufacturing company. It may contain information such as the manufacturing date, the production line or other data relevant to the internal management of the company. It should not be confused with the barcode or the serial number.

[I]

Incoming stock

This is the stock linked to your purchase orders, although you have not yet received it in the warehouse (that is, you have not yet clicked on “Receive units” within purchase orders). However, you could virtually count on it.

Inventory (stock)

Inventory is the set of products or materials that you have available in your company for sale or use in your production processes. You can use the Inventory section of Holded to keep track of your products and materials, including virtual stock, selling price, or to track your purchases and sales, generate inventory reports, and track trends. sale and purchase of your products.

Inventory Gem

The Inventory gem is a paid resource that powers the basic functionalities of the Inventory section. You can purchase it at the Holded Store.

Once activated, it allows you to follow the complete product cycle, thus accessing advanced product management for your company (sales and purchase orders, delivery notes, stock management, mass actions, management of multiple warehouses, products with attributes, synchronization with e-commerce, etc.).

[L]

Logistics stage (pipeline)

Pipelines (also called funnels) are states or phases that you can create and assign to your orders, delivery notes or sales documents. For example, if you sell a product and you want to know if the order is in the warehouse, is in transport or has already arrived at the destination, you can create as many stages as you want in order to have exhaustive control of your documents.

Lot

A lot (batch) is a set of products manufactured in the same period of time and under similar conditions. Products within a lot often have similar characteristics and properties. The lot number is assigned to identify all products that belong to a particular lot. This information is useful for quality control, product tracking and, if necessary, to recall specific lots from the market.

You will be able to manage your batches from the product sheet, and also specify the start date and end date, as long as you activated them when creating the product.

[M]

Manufacture (fast manufacturing)

Also called "material reversal", it is a functionality of the Manufacturing gem that adds the stock of manufactured products, while at the same time consuming the materials that make it up. In addition to adjusting the stock, it involves an update of the average cost of the manufactured product, as well as a record in the stock history. This operation does not generate any documents.

Manufactured product

A manufactured product is one created from other previously existing products, considered “materials”, that make up it. In terms of supply, manufactured products are produced in the seller's own facilities, unlike purchased products, which are purchased from a supplier (you can use the "Supply" filter in the listings). At Holded all products that are not manufactured are considered purchased products. You must activate the Manufacturing gem to be able to use them.

Manufacturing gem

The Manufacturing gem is a resource whose activation allows the management of the entire manufacturing process of manufactured products. You will be able to add lists of materials to your products, create manufacturing orders and consume materials in each production. Apart from having the Manufacturing gem activated, it is also necessary to have the Inventory gem activated to enjoy its use.

Manufacturing order

A manufacturing order in Holded is a request for the production of a specific product. This document breaks down the materials required and allows editing of quantities and prices before production. Once created, the manufacturing order not only automatically increases the stock of the manufactured product but also discounts the consumption of the materials involved in the process.

Manufacturing price

In manufactured products, it is the result of the sum of the prices of the list of materials that make up the product. It is automatically recalculated when the unit purchase price of the bill of materials changes.

Manufacturing stage

Manufacturing stages are customizable states or phases that you can create and assign to your manufacturing orders. They indicate where the order is in the manufacturing process.

For example, if you manufacture a product and you want to know if the order is in the design, production, quality control, or distribution phase, you can create as many stages as you want to have exhaustive control of your traceability and processes.

These stages must be changed manually in the orders.

Marketplace (eCommerce)

Within the context of eCommerce integrations, marketplace refers to a centralized space where you can connect your online store with various sales channels and additional services. This allows you to manage eCommerce operations, such as sales, inventory, shipping, etc. in a unified and efficient way. Holded offers integrations with multiple eCommerce platforms and related applications to simplify online store management and improve visibility and control over eCommerce operations.

Material reversal

Also called Material Reversal, it is an adjustment, in manufacturing processes, through which the units of materials used to produce a product are subtracted from the inventory, while the units of the manufactured product are added, maintaining a record. accurate stock levels.

Materials requirement (necessary amount)

Within the context of manufactured products, the materials requirement is the specific quantity of each component or material that is required to produce a particular manufactured product, considering the minimum production quantity.

[O]

Operations

The operations section of the control panel is an Inventory > Control panel subsection that allows you to control and monitor the operations and processes related to your products and your stock. In this section, you can access the functionalities of updating and transferring stock, printing barcodes, or importing and mass updating products through Excel.

Options set

An option set, within a product with Holded variants, is a set of attributes that are applied to a specific product to create different variants of it. An example would be a t-shirt available in different sizes and colors.

S, M and L would be options within the 'Size' set; blue, white, black, would be options within the 'Color' set. These options are used to create product variants, each with its own part number, price, etc.

The total set of option sets gives rise to a group of variants.

[P]

Packing

In logistics, packing refers to the process of packaging or packaging products in preparation for shipping or transportation, including affixing labels, barcodes, and other types of tracking information. It is an important activity in the supply chain, as proper packaging of products can help protect them during transport, minimize risks of damage and reduce losses.

Picking

The picking process is fundamental in the preparation of orders in warehouses and has a significant impact on the productivity of the logistics chain. In many cases, this process becomes the bottleneck in the chain, meaning it limits the efficiency of the entire operation. Approximately 70% to 80% of productive time in warehouses is dedicated to picking.

Price list

The price list is the section of the Product Panel where all the rates you have created are gathered together with their names and descriptions.

Some examples of rates could be Sales, Black Friday or Premium Customers.

Product

A product is the record of a stock item that allows you to consult the information on its purchase and sale, in addition to maintaining a detailed record of its characteristics, whether tangible (shape, size, color...) or intangible (brand, company image, service). In Holded, products have more fields and more information than services. In case you need to control your stock or segment by families, use the products better. You can manage your products from the product list and from the product chart. Check the available product types here.

Product chart

The product chart is a digital summary that shows all the characteristics of a product, as well as related information. Once you have registered a product, you can access its file by clicking on it and thus obtain a more detailed view than in the list view.

Product List

The product list is a list that shows by rows all the products that you have registered in the Inventory section, as well as their basic characteristics by columns. Within the list, you can click on any product, accessing its file to obtain a detailed and global view. From the product list, you can create products, import them, update stock, or perform other advanced actions such as filtering, segmenting, or customizing your list.

Product Pack

A product pack is a group of items that are sold together. Normally, despite being different, the items in a pack have some aspect in common. For example, a yarn store could create a pack with all the items necessary to make a knitted sweater (needles, wool, scissors, tape measure...), and sell them together.

Product properties

Product properties are a series of options or characteristics through which you can better define or limit your products, facilitating their subsequent management. Access them from the control panel, or from Settings > Inventory, and create your categories and groups of variants (for example, size and color), different rates for the same product, or even logistical stages or pipelines that define the status of your shipments.

Product scanner

In most businesses, labeling using a barcode scanner has become widespread. This system, combined with an ERP such as Holded, offers great advantages, facilitating the traceability, picking, and inventory of your products, also streamlining their labeling and subsequent reading when working with them.

Holded's product scanning functionality also allows you to connect your products with the platform's documents automatically.

Product with lots

A product with batches in Holded is a product that is divided into groups or lots for management and control. These lots can be used to control and monitor the expiration date of the products or to control their traceability. In Holded, you can activate the Inventory gem to manage your products with batches.

Product with serial numbers (SN)

A product with serial numbers is a product that has a unique number assigned to each unit that is manufactured or distributed. These serial numbers are used to keep track of each unit of a product, which can be useful in case of need to track the traceability of the products or to keep track of their warranty. . By creating a product with serial numbers in Holded, you will be able to assign a serial number to each unit of that product and keep track of each one of them. In Holded, you can activate the Inventory gem to manage your products with serial numbers.

Product with variants

A product with variants consists of different versions that differ in some eligible option (color, size, shape...). That is, each of the possible combinations of product options constitutes a variant and has its own SKU (for example, the size S variant in blue, the size S variant in black, etc.). In Holded they are available by activating the Inventory gem.

Purchase order

A purchase order is a request or request for goods or services from a specific supplier. This request specifies said goods or services, as well as price, quantity, payment and delivery conditions, among others. This is a commercial document that obliges the buyer to accept delivery of the products or services they have requested, provided that the agreed terms are met.

The buyer prepares the purchase order that is sent to the supplier of goods or services, and the supplier, in turn, issues the sales order to the buyer. Both the purchase order and sales order are binding documents when accepted.

Purchase price

The tax-free amount of a product or service, used in purchasing documents, such as invoices or purchase orders. The value of this field is fixed, that is, it is not calculated automatically, but can be edited manually. Depending on the context, the purchase price is also known as a subtotal.​

Purchased product

In the Holded manufacturing scope, all products that are not manufactured are considered purchased products.

Purchase shipment

The purchase shipment in Holded is a function that allows you to record the receipt of goods from your suppliers. Unlike expenses, it does not generate accounting entries, although if you have the automatic stock system activated, it does perform a stock movement, adding units to the inventory.

When you click on "Receive units", in a purchase order, a purchase slip is automatically generated, thus documenting the receipt of material in the system. This feature is essential for recording each delivery of goods in a detailed and accurate manner.


[R]

Rates

Rates are additional prices that can be assigned to a product alongside its main rate or price. This way, you can choose the rate you need depending on the moment.

You can assign them to your products, your contacts, or your Holded documents, and consult them in the price list section. Some examples of rates could be Sales, Black Friday or Premium Customers.

Reserved stock

It is the stock linked to sales orders that is still in the warehouse (that is, you have not yet pressed “Send units”, although you virtually no longer can count on it).

[S]

Sales order

A sales order is a document that comprises a contractual agreement between a sales organization and a requester for the delivery of products or the provision of a service with a defined price, quantities and deadlines. The sales order creates a link between seller and buyer, recognizes the fact of a sale, and is usually generated right after the customer submits a purchase request.

Sales price

The tax-free amount of a product or service, used in sales documents such as sales invoices, sales orders, and delivery notes. Depending on the context, the sales price is also known as a subtotal.

Sales shipment

The sales shipment is a document that records deliveries of products to customers. Like the purchase invoice, it does not generate accounting entries but performs stock movements, reducing the units available in inventory. When you create an invoice, you can link it directly to a sales order to document the physical delivery of goods to the customer.

When you click "Ship units" on a sales order, a sales order is automatically generated, documenting in the system the shipment of the units and subtracting the stock from your inventory. This feature is crucial to keep a detailed record of transactions and ensure efficient inventory management.

Serial number

Serial numbers (SN) are unique alphanumeric codes typically used to identify a particular product within a large batch of products. Unlike the factory and lot code, the serial number is uniquely assigned to each unit of product.

They are useful in quality control, and are usually applied to products that are susceptible to being copied, pirated or stolen (electronics, software, movies, books, etc.).

Like lots, you can manage serial numbers from the product sheet, where you can edit the SN, price, barcode, start and end dates, etc.

Shipment

The term "shipment" (or delivery note) refers to an essential document in inventory management and business transactions. The packing slip acts as proof of delivery or receipt of goods between companies or individuals.

In the context of Holded, the "Purchase shipment" documents the receipt of goods from a supplier, while the "Sales shipment" records the delivery of goods to a customer.

The use of packing slips is not mandatory, although if orders are placed continuously, packing slips are often attached, and then, at the end of each month, all invoices are sent together. These documents are crucial for tracking stock movement and establishing a detailed history of business transactions on the platform.

Simple product

It is the product with the simplest features, included in all Holded plans. It contains basic information such as your name and description, as well as a rate or amount that will appear when creating a sales invoice for it. A simple product is, in short, one that does not have variants, serial numbers, lots, nor is it part of a product pack.

Simple stock system

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)

It is a unique code used to identify and manage a particular product or service. It is often used to keep track of inventory and to track orders and sales. The SKU is essential to identify your products when importing invoices or when integrating with your online store. It is necessary to be able to differentiate products in the Sales by Product report.

Stock (general)

Stock refers to the set of products or materials that a company has in stock and that it can use to satisfy the demands of its customers. One of the functionalities offered by the Inventory gem is stock management, which includes keeping a precise record of the number of units of each product or material that are in inventory, as well as managing the entries and exits of products in the store.

Stock alarm

A stock alarm is an alert that can be activated within stock management. Thanks to it, you will be able to establish the minimum number of units that you want to have in your stock, so that the alert is activated whenever there is a quantity below the desired level. Learn how to set a stock alarm here.

Stock system

Holded offers you the possibility to choose between an automatic and a simple stock system. The main difference between the two lies in the way inventory control is carried out.

  1. Simple stock system: This system requires manual management of product inputs and outputs, the user must manually update the current stock, generate minimum stock alerts and generate reports. This system is suitable for small businesses with small inventory and little inventory change.

  2. Automatic stock system: This system is more advanced and automates much of the inventory control process. Product entries and exits are automatically recorded as sales or purchases are made, the system automatically updates current stock, generates minimum stock alerts and generates reports. This system is suitable for companies with a larger inventory and greater movement in it.

Subtotal (price)

It is the tax base, that is, the amount without taxes used in purchasing documents, such as invoices or purchase orders. Unlike average cost, the value of this field is fixed, it is not calculated automatically, but it can be edited manually. The sum of the subtotal plus taxes constitutes the total.

Supplier

A supplier is a company or individual that supplies goods or services to another company. Suppliers can be an important part in the management of a business's activities, since they supply the products or services that are necessary for the operation of the company. In Holded, users can keep track of their suppliers and manage their relationships with them more efficiently, including assigning multiple suppliers to a single product.

Supply

Filter that, both in the lists and in the product sheet, allows you to divide the types of products between purchased and manufactured.


[T]

Tag

Tags allow you to mark elements such as contacts, products, documents and entries within Holded. Thus, tags make it easier for you to consult and analyze the information that you have added to the platform. You will be able to filter these elements quickly in the corresponding list or perform a detailed analysis of your business.

Taxes (price)

The tax rate is applied to the subtotal of a product or service, constituting its total price. In Holded you can simultaneously add an option for each of the two types of taxes available (VAT, Withholding, Equivalence surcharge).

Total (price)

It is the amount with taxes included. It is automatically calculated from the subtotal and taxes. Normally it is editable, although if you modify it the subtal will also be modified.

Tracking number

The tracking number is a unique code assigned to a package or shipment of merchandise that allows you to track its location and status throughout its transportation process. This number is provided by the courier or transportation company responsible for the shipment and is used to provide senders and recipients with real-time information about the location and progress of their shipment, including details such as pickup dates, pick-up points, transit and estimated delivery dates.

In Holded you can enter this, as well as other data provided by the carrier, in the "Tracking" section, within the order or delivery note form.

[V]

Variant

Variants are different versions available of the same product, which are distinguished by selectable options such as color, size, shape, among others. Each unique combination of these options forms an individual variant that, unlike categories, has its own SKU and associated price. This allows for more precise product management and a more personalized shopping experience for customers, who can choose the specific combination they want, for example, "size S in blue", or "size S in black".

The variants are displayed in the product card, in the documents received (in the "Description" field), in the documents generated in Holded, in the inventory view of orders, and in the Catalog B2B.

Variants are combined to form variant groups.

Variant group

In Holded there is the possibility of creating groups that bring together variants. Each group encompasses the combination of all eligible product options that belong to a common context. This simplifies the creation and management of products by applying the variant group without the need to configure each case manually from scratch.

Options form option sets; The set of option sets forms the group of variants; and each product variant takes options from different sets, as shown below:

Virtual stock

The virtual stock results from calculating the current stock, less the reserved stock, plus the incoming stock.

[W]

Warehouse

A warehouse is a physical or virtual location where the control and management of the company's products or inventory is carried out. In Holded, you can create and manage multiple warehouses and assign each of them a specific location, as well as keep detailed control of product incoming and outgoing and track stock in real time. You can also select the warehouse of origin to send your products, generate reports on the movement of inventory in each warehouse and make strategic decisions to optimize the management of your warehouses and improve the efficiency of your company.

Yield quantity (minimum batch size)

In the context of manufactured products, the yield quantity or minimum batch size is the lowest number of units of the final product that can be manufactured using the invested quantity of each component in the bill of materials. That is, it is the quantity you produce with the materials and units that you specify in the list of materials.

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