Overview
In this article, we’ll be covering inventory roles as well as their purpose in gaiia inventory management.
What is an Inventory Role?
Inventory roles are labels that can be applied to individual inventory items when the items are assigned or unassigned to/from an account.
This makes it easier to keep track of the purpose or usage method of individual items. Roles are flexible and can be titled any way that is preferred. Here are some example use-cases:
- Customer vs Lab/Training devices (when assigned)
- Devices under RMA (when un-assigned)
- Devices that serve as relays rather than being managed by the user for an account.
Inventory roles may also be useful as a marker for decisions in certain workflows that should branch or index the purpose, or role of an inventory item.
The scope of inventory roles is set to individual items. Roles are not intended to be applied to entire models or manufacturers. Instead, consider using inventory Categories.
Creating an Inventory Role
In order to apply roles to inventory items, they must first be created. To create an inventory role, navigate to Inventory > Settings, and select the Roles tab.
From the Roles tab, you can see a list of your existing roles, and can edit, archive, or create new roles.
To create a role, select + Add Role and follow the instructions in the prompt to create the role.
Applying Roles to Inventory Items
To apply a role to an inventory item, you must either:
- Assign an item to an account
- Un-assign an item from an account
Apply by Assigning
Select an account you’d like to assign an item to, and select New Item.
From this window, you can optionally apply a role to a device while it is being assigned to an account.
Apply by Unassigning
Roles can also be applied when a device is un-assigned from an account.
Click on the Ellipsis Menu of an assigned equipment item, and select Unassign Device. When this is selected, you’ll be able to confirm the device’s new location and, optionally, its new role.
If a role is not applied when an item is un-assigned from an account, any previously applied roles will no longer be applied to the item. Roles are intended to change, disappear or be manually reapplied between assignations.