Component inventory question

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icfreely
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 4:02 am

Component inventory question

Post by icfreely »

I'm curious, for those of you that run BANNED operations like Adafruit, what do you do to sort, test, store, track incoming components/parts?

tronixstuff
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:59 am

Re: Component inventory question

Post by tronixstuff »

Hmm.
I use two tiers of parts suppliers.
If I am buying parts that will become something for resale, those parts always come from Farnell or RS, as they can track each shipment back to the manufacturer (no counterfeit worries)..
If I am buying parts for myself that are non-critical, I will use eBay, futurlec, deal direct with Shenzhen via Globalsource, etc.
Each part goes into an box that is stacked in drawers and shelves, and each box is indexed in a spreadsheet with part information, quantity, supplier codes, RoHS status, etc.
So when I need (for example) a 555 TTL timer, it is in location 4.14 (box 14 in drawer 4).

Whatever works for you is best.

icfreely
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 4:02 am

Re: Component inventory question

Post by icfreely »

Hi tronixstuff,

Thanks for the reply! That's kind of what I had in mind for a storage system. I don't have the shelves or anything yet, and I'm hoping somebody could recommend a way to get these economically. :) FYI I'm based in the USA.

Now, who wants to post pics and show off their organization skills? Come on!

tronixstuff
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:59 am

Re: Component inventory question

Post by tronixstuff »

Here's a good start - I love the shelves :)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2565/389 ... 1f5b_o.jpg

icfreely
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 4:02 am

Re: Component inventory question

Post by icfreely »

Wait, that place looks familiar...

;)

Hey, I was thinking about another problem. Is there any good software that allows you to track inventory by creating groups of parts (assemblies or kits) which you can select each time you build something or ship off a kit to automatically deduct the relevant parts from inventory?

pstemari
 
Posts: 310
Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Component inventory question

Post by pstemari »

Presumably you had something less expensive than SAP in mind :wink:

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