# Inventory Overview

## Inventory Dashboard overview

The Inventory Dashboard is the inventory hub for reviewing stock signals and opening an
operational destination, which is the page where you handle the signal. Use it when you need
to move from an inventory signal to replenishment, receipts, backorders, purchasing, or an
operations exception. A perspective is a dashboard view for a particular operational question.
The dashboard offers four perspectives: **Warehouse manager**, **Buyer / planner**,
**Ops director**, and **CFO / finance**.

The classic **Inventory Overview** page is a separate operation-type page. It is not the
dashboard described here.

| If you need to… | Go to |
| --- | --- |
| Find stock alerts, open operations, and current inventory measures | [Understand the perspectives and lists](#understand-the-perspectives-and-lists) |
| Open the inventory hub | [Open the Inventory Dashboard](#open-the-inventory-dashboard) |
| Move from a signal to replenishment, receipts, backorders, purchasing, or an exception | [Choose an operational destination](#choose-an-operational-destination) |
| Work with transfers or returns | [Inventory transfers and returns](doc:inventory-transfers-and-returns) |
| Configure replenishment and warehouse operations | [Warehouses and replenishment](doc:warehouses-and-replenishment) |
| Maintain products, packages, or delivery data | [Products, packages, and delivery](doc:products-packages-and-delivery) |
| Review inventory reports | [Inventory reporting](doc:inventory-reporting) |
| Resolve an unavailable perspective or empty list | [Handle unavailable perspectives and data-dependent lists](#handle-unavailable-perspectives-and-data-dependent-lists) |

Before choosing a destination, review [Before you start](#before-you-start).

## Before you start

**Prerequisites**

- You have access to the Inventory menu.
- Your account has at least one dashboard perspective available. The available perspectives
  determine which view you can select.
- You have the inventory signal or operational issue you want to review in front of you.

The dashboard is read-only for metrics and uses navigation controls to open operational
destinations. It has no data-entry fields, required markers, or field-level validation.

When you are ready, [open the Inventory Dashboard](#open-the-inventory-dashboard).

## Open the Inventory Dashboard

Use this procedure to start from the Inventory menu. The menu contains a separate
**Inventory Overview** entry and an **Inventory Dashboard** entry; select the dashboard entry
for the hub described on this page.

**Steps**

1. Open the Inventory menu.
2. Choose the destination that matches your need.

   | If you need to… | Select |
   | --- | --- |
   | Review stock signals and continue to an operational destination | **Inventory Dashboard** |
   | Open the classic operation-type cards | **Inventory Overview** |

3. Check that the selected page opens.

**Result:** The Inventory Dashboard opens with the perspectives and operational destinations
available to your account.

## Understand the perspectives and lists

Choose the perspective that matches the decision you need to make.

| Perspective | Use it to review |
| --- | --- |
| **Warehouse manager** | Stock alerts, open operations, stock value, activity, and items below minimum |
| **Buyer / planner** | Stockout risk, days of cover, purchase orders, reorder work, and vendor performance |
| **Ops director** | Throughput, delivery timing, work in progress, and exceptions |
| **CFO / finance** | Cash held in inventory, ageing, cost of goods shipped, and warehouse valuation |

While the dashboard is loading, it displays `…`. When no perspective is available, it
displays `No inventory views are enabled for your role. Contact an administrator.`
When more than one perspective is available, the perspective list and chevron are available.

The warehouse-manager perspective can include stock alerts, a forecast, items below minimum,
inventory value, live activity, and open operations. The buyer/planner perspective can include
a reorder queue, vendor performance, and open purchase-order timing. The operations-director
perspective can include throughput, work in progress, and live exception triage. The finance
perspective can include inventory ageing, cost of goods shipped, warehouse valuation, and
capital tied up in stock.

When no matching data is available, the dashboard can display these messages:

| Area | Message |
| --- | --- |
| Low-stock list | `No items below the minimum.` |
| Activity or chart | `No recent activity.` |
| Vendor performance | `No vendor activity in the last 90 days.` |
| Purchase-order timing | `No open purchase orders.` |
| Work in progress | `No work in progress.` |
| Exception triage | `No open exceptions.` |
| Capital tied up | `No aged stock — all inventory is fresh.` |

The dashboard contains no grid. Work from the headings and readouts visible in the selected
perspective.

Use [Choose an operational destination](#choose-an-operational-destination) when you have
identified the signal you need to handle.

## Choose an operational destination

Use the dashboard when you need to review a signal and then continue in the destination that
handles it. The available links depend on the perspective and the data shown in its lists.

**Steps**

1. Open the perspective switcher.
2. Select one of the available perspectives: **Warehouse manager**, **Buyer / planner**,
   **Ops director**, or **CFO / finance**.
3. Choose the destination that matches the signal or list you are reviewing.

| If you need to… | Select | You arrive at |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Review replenishment work | **Review →** or **Auto-PO all N →** | Replenishment |
| Move to the buyer/planner view from a stock alert | **Reorder →** | Buyer/planner perspective |
| Review receipts awaiting validation | **Review →** in the open-operations area | Receipts awaiting validation |
| Review backorders | **Resolve →** | Backorders |
| Create a transfer | **New transfer** | A new stock transfer form |
| Create a purchase order | **Draft PO** | A new purchase-order form |
| Open an operations exception | **Open →** | The selected exception |

4. If a list shows **+ N more below minimum**, select it to expand the list.
5. If the expanded list shows **Show less**, select it to collapse the list.

**Result:** The selected operational destination opens, or the selected perspective and list
remain visible for the next decision. If the available perspective or list differs from what
you expect, continue with [Handle unavailable perspectives and data-dependent lists](#handle-unavailable-perspectives-and-data-dependent-lists).

## Handle unavailable perspectives and data-dependent lists

Use this procedure when the dashboard shows fewer perspectives or list items than you expect.

**Steps**

1. Open the perspective switcher.
2. Check which perspective names are available.
3. Choose the response that matches what you see.

   | If you see… | Do this |
   | --- | --- |
   | `No inventory views are enabled for your role. Contact an administrator.` | Contact an administrator. |
   | `No items below the minimum.` | Continue with another dashboard area. |
   | `No recent activity.` | Continue with another dashboard area. |
   | `No vendor activity in the last 90 days.` | Continue with another dashboard area. |
   | `No open purchase orders.` | Continue with another dashboard area. |
   | `No work in progress.` | Continue with another dashboard area. |
   | `No open exceptions.` | Continue with another dashboard area. |
   | `No aged stock — all inventory is fresh.` | Continue with another dashboard area. |
   | `This view is under construction — coming in the next phase.` | Choose another available perspective. |

4. If an anomaly, low-stock, or reorder list shows more items than its initial display, select
   **+ N more below minimum**.
5. Select **Show less** when you want to return to the shorter list.

**Result:** You have either selected an available perspective, identified the empty dashboard
area, or expanded the list that contains more items. If the dashboard still does not open,
continue with [When the dashboard does not open](#when-the-dashboard-does-not-open).

## When the dashboard does not open

The screen may open somewhere other than the dashboard. Use the following table to identify
what happened and what to do next.

| What you see | What it means | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A different screen opens instead of the dashboard | A different inventory screen opened | Return to the Inventory menu and select **Inventory Dashboard** |
| The Inventory menu does not open | You cannot choose the dashboard entry | Retry the Inventory menu, then select **Inventory Dashboard** |
| The dashboard controls do not appear after you choose **Inventory Dashboard** | The dashboard did not open | Stop there and do not treat the other screen as the Inventory Dashboard |
| No perspective is available | Your account has no dashboard perspective to select | Contact an administrator |

The dashboard view remains unavailable when the Inventory menu cannot be opened or another
screen appears.

## What to do next

After you choose a destination, continue on the page that owns that operational work:

- Use [Inventory transfers and returns](doc:inventory-transfers-and-returns) for transfers
  and returns.
- Use [Warehouses and replenishment](doc:warehouses-and-replenishment) for replenishment
  and warehouse operations.
- Use [Products, packages, and delivery](doc:products-packages-and-delivery) for product,
  package, and delivery data.
- Use [Inventory reporting](doc:inventory-reporting) for inventory reports.