Last Updated on November 10, 2023 by maximosecrets

This section will take a deeper dive into the Inventory Usage record and its lines. 

Issue items

The inventory usage record is created based on the user’s default insert site and the From Storeroom may also be defaulted from the user’s profile. The From Storeroom is the storeroom in which you will issue or return, or the source of the items that you are transferring, it is mandatory. If you try to create a line without entering the From Storeroom you will receive the error message “BMXAA7699E – Specify the storeroom in the header area of the Inventory Usage tab.” 

The Inventory Owner defaults from the similar field in the Storerooms application for the From Storeroom, in this case CENTRAL storeroom in BEDFORD site.

The Usage Type can be ISSUE, TRANSFER or MIXED.

After using New Row button on the Inventory Usage Line, you will see that each line also has a Usage Type field.

• If ISSUE in the header then you can choose ISSUE or RETURN for the line usage type.
• If TRANSFER in the header then you can only choose TRANSFER for the line usage type.
• If MIXED in the header then you can choose ISSUE, RETURN or TRANSFER for the line usage type.

After a line has been added then the Usage Type field and the From Storeroom on the header will be read-only. After the inventory usage record is saved then apart from the description the header section will be read-only. There is no Delete action, therefore before you start, think about the usage type. I find it easier to only consider ISSUE or TRANSFER and would rarely use MIXED. If you do create and save an Inventory Usage record that you then want to abandon, you should change status to CANCELLED, alternatively you could delete all the lines and then reuse the Inventory Usage record for another purpose.

The Line Type is either Item or Tool. The items you can select will not be those with a PENDING or OBSOLETE status, the items need to be at PLANNING, ACTIVE or PENDOBS (Pending Obsolescence) status or their synonyms. Special order or non-stock items can be selected. Rotating items, lot items, condition enabled items, consignment items, and kit items can all be selected for issue and return.

Depending on the type of item some of the fields in the Bin Details section will be defaulted or enterable after you have selected the item:

• From Bin will default to the default bin of the item. If the item exists in multiple bins, then you can change this.
• From Lot is defaulted or selectable if it is a lot item. The Shelf Life and Expiration Date will reflect the chosen lot.
• Condition Code will be selectable if the item is condition enabled.
• Rotating Asset is selectable if the item is a rotating item and the quantity is 1. The New Asset Number will be defaulted if it is a transfer across site. It is defaulted to the same number or the asset number previously used at the destination site. A transfer across site will create a new asset record, linked via the ASSETID.

The Issue Cost Type of the item being issued or transferred will determine the unit cost and the quantity will determine the line cost.

In the lower half of the inventory usage line for an Issue usage type, in the Charge Information section we can determine what will be charged for the item being issued; a work order, a location, an asset or a GL debit account. If a work order is entered, then the work order’s primary location and asset will also be defaulted if they exist on the work order. The GL debit account and GL credit account can be derived, but they may be null, for example if this is a tool item. This will be discussed in the section called Financial Transaction Summary.

The second column in the Charge Information section will be set if the inventory usage line was created for a reserved item or we are returning an item previously issued. If you are issuing a tool item, then the Issued To field is mandatory, it is the person who will be responsible for the return of the tool after its use.

In the Transaction Details section, as you are picking the item for issue you could perform a physical count; enter the new value and adjust the New Physical Count Date to the actual time you performed the count. The count should be the physical count before you picked your quantity to be issued. The physical count does not take effect until you change status. When you change status to COMPLETE there will be an Inventory Adjustment transaction in table INVTRANS with a transaction type PCOUNTADJ (Physical Count Adjustment) which will be waiting for someone to reconcile using the Inventory Adjustments action Reconcile Balances which will be found in the Inventory or Stocked Tools applications.

If you are issuing an item from a storeroom to a person who has rocked-up without creating a reservation, then after picking the item you will change status to COMPLETE. This creates a MATUSETRANS record of Transaction Type ISSUE which you can view using the View Transactions action. For an issue the quantity is negative, as you are reducing the balance.

The List tab of the Inventory Usage application by default only shows records at ENTERED, STAGED or SHIPPED state. You need to change the filter to find records at COMPLETE status or create a saved query to find record at this status.

Return Item

To return an item you create a new Inventory Usage record with a Usage Type of ISSUE with the From Storeroom the storeroom where you will return the item.

On the lines rather than using the New Row button you use the Select Items For Return button and then filter or sort the records to find the item you want to return. You then check this on the left-hand side and press OK. Note. This button is not displayed when the Usage Type on the main Inventory Usage record is set to TRANSFER.

The Usage Type on the Inventory Usage line will be RETURN.

The details of the inventory usage line when the Select Items for Return button is used has come from the originating MATUSETRANS record. The Returned Against Issue check box in the Charge Information section is checked to indicate this. There is also a field, ISSUEID, which links the return to the original issue transaction, this field is not displayed. Both the Return and the Issue are in the MATUSETRANS table.

You can tell that the inventory usage line came from the original issue record because the Remark I made about the physical count on the original issue has been copied onto the return record, it is not relevant to the return record so you could delete the remark. The return in this case is returning the original issue.

I have deleted the return record because I want to show you a different way of performing a return.

You could use the Select Items button and filter to find the item to return. I’ve filtered by the item number and used the left-hand check box. Note there is no work order field; this dialog is useful for issues in that it allows multiple items to be selected in one action, but less useful for a return. For returns either use Select Items for Return or the New Row button.

When using the Select Items button the Usage Type will be ISSUE and you would need to change this to RETURN.

I have changed the Usage Type to RETURN and entered the original work order 1338, but you can just see that the Returned Against Issue field is unchecked at the bottom of the second column in the Charge Information section.  If I had used the New Row button, then this is following the same process as for an issue except using the RETURN usage type on the line.

As you go to save the “Issue Items for Return” dialog may open. This shows issued items that are matched by the combination of Item, From Storeroom and either Work Order, LocationA physical place where assets exist and where work can be performed. More or Asset. When you press OK the record is saved and the MATUSETRANS record that you see in the dialog has been used and the return inventory usage line has now been connected to its original issue.

There are two check boxes in the Issue Items For Return dialog:

• “Keep Current Data” will keep the quantity that you specified on the inventory usage line. For example, if quantity 4 of a bearing was issued, it may be that you are returning 2 of them, that is what you entered on the inventory usage line. If you do not check this field, then the quantity being returned will show as 4, or the remaining quantity to be returned, if for example some of the issued quantity had already been returned.
• “Do not show this again” checkbox unchecks the “Show Return Validations” field in the dialog for the action Set User Validation Options. 

If you did not have the validation set, then the save will occur without showing this dialog.

But there is a (i) icon at the right-hand end of the inventory usage line which is also titled Issue Items For Return. This is supposed to allow you to connect the return to the previous issue, except in Maximo 7.6.1.1 there seems to be a problem with this. Note. This is a different dialog box to the previous one, there is no “Do not show this again” check box. In Application Designer the dialogs that appear at the end of the inventory usage row are named starting with VALIDATE. 

If the validation is turned on, and as you save, the original “Issue Items For Return” dialog opens and the return is now connected to the original issue transaction, then the Issue Items For Return icon at the right-hand end of the inventory usage line would not show any records, the return has been linked to the issue already.