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Inventory

Overview

The Inventory capability provides item master data and physical/financial inventory analytics. The Item dimension is shared across Sales, Purchasing, and Projects — making it the central product reference for cross-capability analysis. Beyond the item master, this capability tracks physical inventory movements, financial inventory valuation, and inventory aging — enabling on-hand value, turnover, and days-of-cover reporting.


Semantic Model Tables

Dimensions

Table Description
Item Item master — item number, description, base unit of measure, item category, inventory posting group, item tracking code, and gross/net weight. Shared across Sales, Purchasing, and Projects
Item Variant Item variant master — variant code and description for items with color/size/style variations
Storage Location Storage location master — location code and name identifying where inventory is physically held
Inventory Valuation Class Accounting class used to value inventory and post it to the general ledger (BC "Inventory Posting Group"; SAP "Valuation Class")
Inventory Movement Type Synthetic classification of physical/financial movement types — Purchase, Sale, Positive/Negative Adjustment, Transfer, Consumption, Output, Assembly Consumption, Assembly Output
Inventory Document Type Synthetic classification of the source document that produced an inventory posting — Sales Shipment/Invoice/Return Receipt/Credit Memo, Purchase Receipt/Invoice/Return Shipment/Credit Memo, Transfer Shipment/Receipt, Service Shipment/Invoice/Credit Memo, Posted Assembly, Inventory Receipt/Shipment, Direct Transfer
Inventory Age Disconnected aging dimension for inventory on hand — every age in days (0–9,999), classified into an Age Band (0-30, 31-60, 61-90, 91-180, 181-365, 365+ days) and a coarser Age Group (Current / Slow-moving / Obsolete). Also carries a reconciling Unallocated Cost member for inventory cost booked to the general ledger that can't be tied to a specific on-hand unit's age (cost adjustments/revaluations), so the age bands plus Unallocated Cost sum to Closing Inventory Value
Unit Of Measure Unit of measure definitions — code and description for quantity standardization across transactions. Shared with Sales and Purchasing

Facts

Table Description
Inventory Movements Physical inventory movements — one row per posted item ledger entry, tracking quantity moved across all movement types
Inventory Valuation Financial valuation of inventory — one row per posted value entry, tracking actual cost, expected cost, and cost posted to the general ledger
Inventory On Hand Physical inventory still on hand, reconstructed from the item ledger and its cost applications (BC Item Application Entry) so on-hand quantity and value can be aged by receipt date at any reporting date — not just today. Quantity is exact FIFO by receipt day; value is the item's average unit cost distributed across the receipt-date age bands, so the bands (plus Unallocated Cost) foot to Closing Inventory Value. A customer with no cost applications (pure Standard costing) still valuates — its inventory value simply lands in the Unallocated Cost band

Key Measures (21)

Category Measures
Movement Inventory Quantity Moved, Inventory Value Moved, Inventory Value Moved Incl. Expected Cost
On Hand — Opening Opening Inventory Quantity, Opening Inventory Value, Opening Inventory Value Incl. Expected Cost
On Hand — Closing Closing Inventory Quantity, Closing Inventory Value, Closing Inventory Value Incl. Expected Cost
Expiry Closing Inventory Quantity (by Expiry)
On Hand Average Inventory Value
Cost Cost of Goods Sold, Average Inventory Unit Cost
Efficiency Inventory Turnover, Gross Margin Return on Investment (GMROI), Inventory Days on Hand, Inventory Days of Cover
Inventory Age Average Inventory Age, Average Inventory Age (by Value), Oldest Inventory Age, Youngest Inventory Age

Use Cases

  • Item master reporting — Complete item catalog with categorization and posting group classification
  • Cross-capability enrichment — Item dimension links into sales invoices, purchase orders, and project entries for product-level analytics
  • Product mix analysis — Combine with sales and purchasing data to analyze product performance and procurement patterns
  • Inventory valuation — Track the financial value of inventory on hand, including expected (not-yet-invoiced) costs
  • Inventory aging — Identify slow-moving and obsolete inventory by age band and age group. See how inventory aging is calculated for the method, a worked example, and what the Unallocated Cost band means
  • Turnover and efficiency analysis — Monitor inventory turnover, GMROI (gross margin return on investment), days on hand, and days of cover to optimize inventory levels
  • Inventory age tracking — Measure average, oldest, and youngest inventory age (by quantity and by value) to spot aging exposure ahead of write-down decisions