In retail, "stock" is just cash sitting on a shelf. Every day an item sits unsold, it is costing you opportunity. Conversely, running out of a best-seller is a guarantee that your customer will go to a competitor. The balance between "too much" and "not enough" is the central tension of inventory management.

The Philosophy of Active Stock

The "Product Inventory" template is designed for the merchant who understands that inventory is a flow, not a pile. It moves your stock management from a periodic "count" to a continuous "calculation." By standardizing the capture of the Unit Price (your cost) and the List Price (the customer's cost), the system creates a financial model for every SKU. It acknowledges that knowing what you have is less important than knowing what it's worth.

The Blueprint: Profit Architecture

The structure of this library is built to visualize the financial health of your stockroom.

  • The Depletion Engine: Fields for Amount Stocked and Amount Sold provide the raw input for the system. Memento’s calculation engine automatically generates the Current Stock level, eliminating the need for manual subtraction and ensuring that your "on-hand" numbers are always mathematically correct.
  • Real-Time Margin Analysis: The Profit Of Current Stock calculation ((#{list price}-#{unit price})*#{amount sold}) is the most powerful metric in the database. It allows you to see exactly how much gross profit a specific item has generated to date, helping you identify your true winners and losers.
  • Lifecycle Management: The Status choice field—distinguishing between "Current" and "Discontinued"—allows you to filter your view, ensuring that your re-ordering focus is always on active, revenue-generating products.

Usage Scenarios: The Re-Order Trigger

You are reviewing your weekly sales. You filter your library for items where Current Stock is below 10. You instantly see that your tactical collars are low. You check the Re-Order Date and the historical ReOrder Amount. Instead of guessing, you order exactly enough to cover the lead time, based on the documented sales velocity. You avoid the cash-flow trap of over-ordering while ensuring you never miss a sale.

Power Feature: Visual Product Identification

By utilize Memento’s Item Image field, you can turn a spreadsheet of part numbers into a visual catalog. In a warehouse with hundreds of similar-looking boxes, a photo is often the fastest way to confirm an item. It bridges the gap between the digital record and the physical reality, ensuring that the picker pulls the right product every time.