Last Updated on November 22, 2023 by maximosecrets

Good afternoon and welcome to Maximo Bite Size, a podcast on the functionality of Maximo Manage. Today is the third episode in the series on Maximo Mobile and the Role Based Applications and we will be discussing Issues and Transfers. 

A quick reminder the role-based applications are designed to be online and work from a browser, and the Maximo Mobile applications run from an application on your mobile or tablet and are designed to work offline. The role-based applications may in some cases have additional functionality that requires being online, and which cannot be performed from the Maximo Mobile application of the same name. In many functional areas the role-based application and Maximo Mobile are identical. 

On Maximo Secrets you’ll find detailed articles on each application with several screenshots, the one for Issues and Transfers had 50 screenshots and is a 30-minute read. The Role Based Application articles use an iPad in landscape mode and the Maximo Mobile articles will use an iPhone in portrait mode.

The Issues and Transfers application supports two functional areas of Maximo. The first is called Issue Reserved Items and it helps convert a storeroom reservation into an Inventory Usage record which is locally held until you save it, and you can then issue the items, equivalent to moving the Inventory Usage record to COMPLETE. The second option is called Inventory Usage Records which picks up an existing Inventory Usage record and allows you to issue the items referenced on the inventory usage lines. 

As you can issue the items with the first option, you might think, then why do I need the second option? After creating the Inventory Usage record and saving you may have something else to do before you physically pick the item from the bin, and in this case, you pick up the Inventory Usage record with the second option. Some clients will have an Organization setting which automatically converts a reservation into an Inventory Usage record, in this case they will rarely use the first option.

This application was first released in late September 2023, Maximo Mobile 8.11.0. It is a first release, and while the title is Issues and Transfers, it doesn’t yet support transfers, that is expected to be provided in the next release in the summer of 2024. It isn’t yet a replacement for the Managed Inventory Work Center, there is no pick lists, for example. There is also no support yet for staging, shipments, returns, tools, or performing a physical count when you pick the item from the bin.

The first option is Issue Reserved Items and when you open the screen it shows the outstanding reservations made against the storeroom which is defined as the users Default Storeroom for Self-Service Requisitions, which is a field that will be found in their Profile – Default Information. If no storeroom has been set up, then no records will be found. While the integration object structures support multiple queries the application has not been set-up to allow you to pick a different query and an IBM Idea has been created for this. I’ll add the IBM Ideas that this podcast references in the references section at the bottom of the podcast transcript, so that you can vote for them.

The screen that opens allows you to filter the reservations retrieved by the query. This excludes reservations created for internal purchase orders, as these are associated with inter-storeroom transfers, however a reservation created in the Inventory application can be selected. Filtering is only on the information displayed for each record, you could filter by the item number, its description, the work order number, or material requisition number. The fields for bin or due date, which is the reservations required date, are less likely to be used for filtering. There is a scanning function, which I think is unlikely to be used.

There is no field to indicate the reservation type and you can select a SOFT or APSOFT reservation and create the Inventory Usage record and issue the items. I’ve created a support case to question this as a soft reservation is an indication that you may want the item, and not that it should be issued.

You select the reservations and then use the blue Select button to transfer the reservation(s) onto a locally created Inventory Usage record, each reservation becomes an inventory usage line. There is a required field at the top to provide the description for the Inventory Usage record. If you used the Save button at this stage, then the Inventory Usage record is created and can be viewed from the Maximo Inventory Usage desktop application. Its status would be ENTERED, the From Storeroom will be the same as the storeroom which restricted the query, and the Usage Type will be ISSUE. 

You can only select a reservation; you cannot change its quantity. However, after its been selected, you’ll be able to change the quantity to issue, and if this leaves a remaining quantity on the reservation then you’ll be able to select the reservation another time for a new inventory usage record.

In the Create Inventory Usage screen where you entered the description, you’ll find that the quantity to be issued defaults to one and not the quantity reserved, but there are buttons to increment the quantity, or you can enter the quantity to issue. There is a button at the end of each inventory usage line which opens the Item Details, a left-hand panel that is also known as a sliding drawer.

The Item Details can change depending on the type of item. In most cases you select or change the bin or adjust the quantity to issue. The bin lookup usefully shows the current balance in the bin, and you can scan for the bin. All other fields are read-only and for reference, the work order number, material requisition number, locationA physical place where assets exist and where work can be performed. More, and asset, but not the GL Debit Account. 

If the item is a Lot Item, then there is a field for the Lot with a lookup showing the lots for the item, you also search and scan for a particular lot. There is unfortunately no balance or lot expiry date, allowing you to easily select an expired lot or from a lot which doesn’t support the quantity to be issued. An IBM Support case has been raised.

If the item is a Condition Enabled Item, then you get to see the condition code that was reserved, but you do not have the ability to change this. Condition Enabled Items are often used with repairable items, and if you have gone to the expense of repairing items you will probably want to issue the repaired item rather than a new one. I’ve raised an IBM Idea to allow the condition code to be modifiable.

If the item is rotating, then you will find an Assets section in the Item Details panel and you will need to select the assets in the storeroom to issue. If you need multiple assets, you can select multiple records in one action. The asset number and bin are displayed along with the asset description, which for a rotating asset is likely to be the same as the item description, so perhaps wasn’t necessary. Removing the description would leave space for the serial number and tag number which are also used as identifiers and may be scannable values.

In my tests I did try issuing a tool item and this fails because there is no Issue To field.

At the top of the Item Details panel is a button that allows you to split the quantity to issue across multiple bins. When used you select the first bin and quantity and then a new panel appears in the Item Details called Split Items with a button to allow you to create a new split. There is no button to delete a split that you have created.

Back on the locally created Inventory Usage screen there are buttons both to add a new Inventory Usage line and one for deleting a line, a confirmation occurs during the deletion. When you are adding, the Add Reserved Items screen opens for you to select the reservation to add to the Inventory Usage record. You cannot add an Inventory Usage line that is not based on a reservation, and during another test I found out that Inventory Usage records which did not use reservations are not currently supported, you cannot perform the last step to issue the item. This is a pity because when the work order is in progress additional items may need to be issued and these may not be based on a reservation and there is no ability on this role-based application to create a new reservation. An IBM Idea was created to create an Inventory Usage record without a reservation.

There are two types of messages, ones that are within the business logic of the Maximo Mobile application, for example to inform you that there is no Lot referenced, or System Messages that occur when a record is written or saved to the Maximo database and these have a message number starting BMX, for example to let you know that the selected lot has expired. For some errors detected by the Maximo Mobile application the Inventory Usage line may have its line number and work order highlighted in red text.

The second option Inventory Usage Record allows you to process an existing record, and there is little difference to what I have already described for the locally created Inventory Usage record. Take care with the description of the Inventory Usage record, as it is about the only thing you can filter by, it really should then contain the work order number or material requisition number. There is no order explicitly defined but it will appear as if it is ordered by the Inventory Usage number, so the most recent records will be at the bottom of the list. This will require you to be disciplined in keeping the Inventory Usage records to those where the items need to be picked. If you automatically create Inventory Usage records when the work order is approved and you perform the work months later, then filtering by the description will be important as scrolling to the bottom of a long list will be impractical.

The query for Inventory Usage records is where the status is ENTERED or a synonym. When you use the Issue button this is changing status to COMPLETE, and it will no longer be visible in the application after data is refreshed.

During tests I found two tips to reduce the data entry in the use of the Issues and Transfers application. The first is that your items should have a Default Bin so that this is used to check the current balance. Without one then an error message will be provided as the application cannot determine the bin to use to provide the quantity to issue. The second point is that if you have GL validation enabled then you should make sure that the defaulting methods for GL codes will ensure that the GL account is complete and likely to be a valid code combination. If it is not complete or fails validation then you will receive a system error message and you will have no ability to modify the GL account within the application, you will need to modify the GL account code in the desktop Maximo application Inventory Usage. 

One other setting that you should consider will be found in the OrganizationsA structural element of a Maximo database which is used for data sharing and is often aligned to a legal entity of an organisation. More application, Work Order Options, Other Organization Options, and the field marked Clear Material Reservation When WO Status Changes. This field has a radio button to delete outstanding reservations at Complete or Closed status, with Closed status being the default. If you never close your work orders, or the time difference between completion and closure is long then this setting should be set to To Complete, otherwise you may have several reservations listed to try to find those that need to be issued. If reservations are being created but not via a work order, then you should also consider deleting old reservations from the Inventory application. 

I hope you enjoyed this podcast and I look forward to seeing you back on the next episode when we will spend time on ???. The music is called ??? from the talented group called TrackTribe, please check them out on TrackTribe.Com, all one word.

Until another time, goodbye.

Related Links

The Issues and Transfers article – https://maximosecrets.com/2023/11/14/role-based-application-issues-and-transfers/

Enhancement Requests (Ideas)

Change Query on Shipment Receiving and Issues and Transfers – https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-415

This would allow a user to move easily between reservations and inventory usage records for different storerooms.

Create Inventory Usage Records without Reservations – https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-416

This is to allow a new item to be issued without the use of a reservation, perhaps when a work order is in progress and a new item is found to be needed.

Change Condition Code – https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-417

This is to allow the storeman to change the condition code to a Rebuilt or Repaired code.

Selecting Assets – https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-420

This is to provide the serial number and tag number of the asset in the asset lookup.

Intra-storeroom Transfer between bins – https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-421

This is to allow a transfer of a quantity of an item between bins of the same storeroom and perform a physical count on both the from and to bin after the transfer has occurred.

Lot Expiration Date – https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-425

This is to provide visibility of the expiration date when selecting the lot.

Reservation Type – https://ideas.ibm.com/ideas/MASMOBILE-I-426

This is to provide visibility of the reservation type as you probably do not want to issue an item with a soft reservation.