Field guide / Resin inventory
How to check the resin you can actually use.
An on-hand balance is not an available balance. Review the grade, lot, location, reservations, and holds before promising material to an order.
Start with the lot, not the headline balance
Check the exact resin grade and approved substitutes for the production or customer order. Then inspect the lot, unit of measure, warehouse location, and any recorded quality restriction. A total across locations or grades can include material this order cannot use.
Separate on-hand material from reservations and holds. Confirm whether your system counts held material inside the on-hand figure and whether reservations are tied to specific lots. Subtracting categories without checking their definitions can double-count a restriction or overstate what remains.
- Which grade and specification does the order require?
- Which lots are at the location that can fulfill it?
- What is already reserved or issued to another order?
- Is any lot awaiting quality release?
- When was each source record last updated?
Illustrative sample: a balance with two restrictions
These figures are fictional. A sample HDPE grade shows 620 kg on hand at the relevant warehouse. Of that amount, 210 kg is reserved to another order and a separate 80 kg lot is on quality hold. If those quantities do not overlap, 330 kg remains for review against the new order’s specification.
That 330 kg is not automatically a promise. Confirm the order’s required grade, whether the remaining lot passes its specification, and whether any unposted movement changed the balance. A purchase order due tomorrow is incoming supply, not usable stock today.
| Sample record | Fictional quantity | How to treat it |
|---|---|---|
| On hand | 620 kg | Starting balance at the relevant warehouse |
| Reserved | 210 kg | Assigned to another open order |
| Quality hold | 80 kg | Separate lot awaiting release |
| Remaining for review | 330 kg | Verify grade and record freshness |
Show what must be confirmed before a commitment
A useful answer names the source records behind the balance, their timestamps, and the assumptions used to classify stock as usable. If reservations, lot restrictions, or units are missing, say that availability needs confirmation rather than presenting the full on-hand balance as free stock.
Sales can use the answer to start a delivery discussion; inventory or quality confirms the material, and planning checks production demand. SPOF can organize that review through read-only access. It cannot release a lot, move inventory, or reserve material for an order.
Start with one operational question.
Tell us what your team keeps looking up. We will talk through the workflow and the systems behind it.
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