Transfer Baskets for Consumable Inventory and MRO Inventory

Transfer Baskets are designed for tracking items by quantity - whether you're moving 10 batteries or 50 spare parts. The system automatically deducts quantities from the source location and adds them to the destination. The system records who sent and received each transfer, when movements occurred, and maintains complete audit trails - eliminating manual counting errors and inventory discrepancies.  The system can be used for Consumable Inventory or MRO Inventory. 

a1. Managing Consumable and MRO Inventory

Transfer Baskets track items moving from storage to usage points, revealing consumption patterns. Medical offices track gloves, masks, and gauze moving to exam rooms, identifying unusual usage patterns. Auto shops document parts and fluids moving to service bays, tracking which technician received what. Manufacturing facilities transfer MRO supplies like lubricants, spare parts, and safety equipment from central warehouses to production lines, monitoring maintenance supply consumption and ensuring critical parts are available to prevent costly downtime.

a2. Receiving from Suppliers

Set up each supplier as an address in Scanlily to create a comprehensive receiving system. When inventory arrives, create a transfer basket at the supplier's address, add delivered items with quantities, set your location as destination, and receive to complete the process. This documents what you received, when it arrived, and who checked it in, maintaining complete receiving history for accounts payable matching. Examples: restaurants set up addresses for produce distributors and meat suppliers; manufacturers create addresses for industrial supply companies and parts vendors.

a3. Transferring Between Company Locations

Multi-location businesses track inventory movements between sites with complete documentation. Field service companies transfer supplies from warehouses to service vehicles. Multi-store retailers balance inventory between locations. Manufacturing operations move raw materials from receiving to production areas and transfer finished goods to shipping. Maintenance teams distribute MRO supplies between facilities.

a4. Key Advantages

Transfer Baskets deliver accuracy through automatic quantity adjustments, accountability with clear transfer records, visibility with real-time inventory views across locations, compliance with audit trails for regulatory requirements, efficiency through bulk transfers, and seamless integration with Scanlily's container and quantity tracking features.

b. Using Transfer Baskets

This section demonstrates how to create and use transfer baskets to move items between locations. In this example, we'll transfer batteries from a headquarters location that has inventory to a field office that needs supplies.

b1. Understanding the Transfer Process

The transfer basket workflow consists of four main steps:

1. Create a basket at the source location

2. Add items with quantities to the basket

3. Submit the basket for transfer

4. Receive the basket at the destination

Let's walk through a complete example.

b2. Viewing Current Inventory

Before creating a transfer, you can check your current inventory levels. Navigate to your Containers page to see items at different locations.

In this example, we have Battery Shelf containers at three locations:

Headquarters: Has 20 of each battery type

Field Office: Has 0 of each battery type

New York Office: Set up but empty

 

The headquarters location shows four different battery types with 20 units each.

 

The field office shows the same items but with 0 quantity - this is where we need to transfer inventory.

b3. Creating a Transfer Basket

To begin a transfer:

1. Click the menu button in the upper left

2. Select the basket icon

3. Click "Create Basket"

 

 

Name your basket (e.g., "basket 1" or "Weekly Supply Transfer"). The system will automatically set your current location as the source address.

b4. Setting the Destination

Before adding items, you must specify where the basket is going:

The Address field shows your current location (headquarters in this example). This is where items will be transferred FROM.

 

Click on Destination Address and select where you want to transfer items TO (Field Office in this example). You can also specify a Destination Location if you have specific locations set up within that address.

b5. Adding Items to the Basket

Once the destination is set, you can add items to your basket. There are two methods:

Method 1: Search Click the "Search" button under "Add items to basket"

Search for and select the items you want to transfer.

Method 2: Scan QR If your items have QR codes, click "Scan QR" to quickly add them by scanning.

When adding items with tracked quantities, you'll see a popup:

This shows:

• The item name

• Current quantity at the source location (20 in this example)

• A field to enter how many you want to transfer

Enter the quantity to transfer (e.g., 2) and click OK. The system will:

• Add 2 units to the basket

• Reduce the source location quantity from 20 to 18

Repeat this process for each item you want to transfer.

b6. Managing the Basket

After adding items, you can:

• View all items in the basket at the bottom of the screen

• Add a QR code to the basket itself for easy scanning later

Adding a QR by Scanning

 

Generating a QR

To add a QR code to the basket, click the QR scanner icon next to the ID field or the + symbol to generate a new QR code. This is useful for tracking the physical basket or box during transport.

b7. Submitting the Basket

When all items are added and ready for transfer:

1. Click the three dots menu at the bottom right

2. Select "Submit Basket"

Once submitted:

• The basket status changes to "Submitted"

• Items are deducted from the source location

• The basket can no longer be edited

• The system records who submitted it and when

b8. Receiving the Basket at Destination

When the physical items arrive at the destination:

1. The receiving person scans the basket QR code or navigates to the basket

2. The basket will show as "Submitted" with all transfer details

You can see:

• From: HQ

• To: Field Office

• Items in the basket (AA Batteries, 1632 Lithium Batteries)

3. Click the three dots menu and select "Receive Basket"

The system shows all the details including:

• Source and destination addresses

• Date submitted and who submitted it

• Complete list of items with quantities

4. Click "Receive Basket" to complete the transfer

After receiving:

• The basket status changes to "Received"

• Items are added to the destination location inventory

• The system records who received it and when

b9. Verifying the Transfer

After completing the transfer, you can verify the quantity changes:

At the source location (Headquarters):

 

 

The quantities have been reduced by the transferred amounts:

• 1632 Lithium Batteries: Now 18 (was 20)

• AA Batteries: Now 18 (was 20)

At the destination location (Field Office): 

The quantities have been increased by the transferred amounts:

• 1632 Lithium Batteries: Now 2 (was 0)

• AA Batteries: Now 2 (was 0)

b10. Best Practices

Use Descriptive Names: Give your baskets meaningful names like "Weekly Restock - Field Office" or "Supplier Delivery 01/15"

Scan QR Codes: When possible, use QR scanning for faster, more accurate item addition

Verify Before Submitting: Double-check quantities before submitting - baskets cannot be edited after submission

Timely Receiving: Receive baskets promptly upon arrival to keep inventory accurate

Physical Basket QR: Consider putting a QR code on the physical box or basket for easy scanning at destination

Document Everything: The system automatically tracks who did what and when, providing complete accountability

c. Setting Up Transfer Baskets

Before you can use Transfer Baskets, you need to configure your addresses and ensure your items are properly set up at multiple locations. This section walks you through the essential setup steps.

c1. Prerequisites

To use Transfer Baskets, you need:

• A Scanlily Business subscription

• At least two addresses configured in your system

• Items that exist at one or more addresses

c2. Managing Addresses

Addresses represent physical locations where inventory can be stored or transferred. These can be your business locations, supplier addresses, customer sites, or any location relevant to your inventory flow.

To access address management:

1. Click the gear symbol in the top navigation

2. Select "Subscriber Profile"

3. Click on "Address" at the bottom of the profile screen

You'll see your primary address and any other addresses you've configured. Each address can have multiple "Locations" within it (such as specific rooms, departments, or storage areas).

 

Examples of addresses you might set up:

• Supplier addresses (e.g., "ABC Wholesale", "Fresh Foods Distributor")

• Your business locations (e.g., "Headquarters", "Field Office", "NY Office")

• Customer locations for deliveries

• Warehouse or storage facilities

 

c3. Understanding Master and Child Items

Scanlily uses a master/child relationship for items that exist at multiple addresses:

Master Item (M): The main item record containing full details like brand, model number, and description

Child Items: Simplified records at other locations that inherit details from the master

In this example, "1632 Lithium Batteries" has:

• Master at HQ with 18 units

• Child at Field Office with 2 units

 

c4. Adding Items to New Locations

To enable transfers to a location, the item must exist there (even with 0 quantity). Here's how to add an item to a new location:

1. Navigate to the master item you want to add to a new location

2. Click the setup icon (three lines with a plus) next to the quantity field

3. Click the gear symbol for setup options

4. Select "Add Location"

5. Choose the address from the dropdown menu

6. Enter the initial quantity (can be 0)

7. Click "Add Location"

After adding the location, you'll see the item now exists at all three addresses:

c5. Organizing Items in Containers

While optional, adding items to containers at each location helps keep your inventory organized and makes items easier to find during transfers.

To add an item to a container:

Once you have created the container, then on the Container page click an option under "Add item to containers":

a. "Without QR" - Creates new items directly inside this container.
Use this when you want to add items that don't exist in your system yet and you want to do it without first scanning a QR code. Depending on access level, it provides the option to add multiple items from one image.

b. "Search" - Finds and adds existing items from your inventory to this container.
Use this when you've already created items elsewhere and want to organize them into containers.

c. "Scan" - Scans a code to add items to this container.
What happens depends on the type of code:

• Scanlily QR codes: Creates a new item if the QR hasn't been used, or adds the existing item if it's already in your system

• UPC codes (Business customers only): Creates a new item with product information pulled from the UPC database, or adds the existing item if that UPC is already in your system

• Proprietary barcodes: Adds an existing item that already has this barcode in its ID field (cannot create new items with proprietary barcodes from this screen)

 

c6. Setup Best Practices

For Supplier Receiving:

• Create an address for each supplier

• Add all items you purchase from that supplier to their address with initial 0 quantity

• This enables you to create transfer baskets when deliveries arrive

For Multi-Location Businesses:

• Set up all physical locations as addresses

• Add relevant items to each location, even if starting with 0 quantity

• Consider using consistent container names across locations

For Consumable Tracking:

• Create addresses for storage areas and usage areas

• Set up items at both source and destination locations

• Use descriptive location names within addresses (e.g., "Supply Room", "Exam Room 1")

c7. Common Setup Scenarios

Retail Store Example:

1. Add supplier addresses: "ABC Wholesale", "XYZ Distributors"

2. Add your store address: "Main Store"

3. For each product, create master item at your store

4. Add child items at each supplier address with 0 quantity

5. Now ready to receive deliveries via transfer baskets

Service Business Example:

1. Add warehouse address: "Central Warehouse"

2. Add vehicle/technician addresses: "Van 1", "Van 2"

3. Add all tools and parts to warehouse (master items)

4. Add same items to each van with initial quantities

5. Ready to transfer supplies to service vehicles

Restaurant Example:

1. Add supplier addresses for each vendor

2. Add storage locations: "Walk-in Cooler", "Dry Storage"

3. Add usage locations: "Kitchen", "Bar"

4. Set up ingredients at all relevant locations

5. Track deliveries from suppliers and movement to prep areas

Once your addresses and items are properly configured, you're ready to start creating and using transfer baskets for efficient inventory management.