For a warehouse operation, where inventory control matters

What came in. What went out. What is about to expire.

A truck arrives. A truck leaves. Some of it goes to another organisation and some of it goes in the bin. Use-by is the date that matters, and if it is not on one list the funder report is a guess.

Start a 30-day trial
The stock movements screen: a redacted list of goods in and goods out, with a use-by date on every line

In, out, and the date on the pack

One list, and use-by on the line rather than in somebody's head.

  1. 1

    Goods in

    Supermarket, donor, wholesaler or community drive. About thirty seconds a line, use-by first.

  2. 2

    Goods out

    Another organisation, a recipient order, waste, recycling, compost or pigs. Every out is a line too.

  3. 3

    One list

    Stock movements, with use-by, batch, lot, note and source beside each other.

The funder report is the same list, so it cannot drift from what actually happened.

Does this sound like you?

Three moments in a week on the dock.

A pallet at the dock

It is in the building. Whether it is on a list is a separate question, and usually the answer is no.

A use-by on a pack

The date that forces a decision. Miss it and you find out when it is already waste.

A row on stock movements

In, out, use-by, batch, note. About thirty seconds, and then it is somebody else's to see.

What sits on one line

Use-by leads, because it is the date that forces a decision.

  • Use-by
  • Best-before
  • Batch
  • Lot
  • Note
  • Source
  • Barcode

The parts an operations lead asks about

Open the one that is your question.

Goods-in, on the dock What it actually takes per item, and what happens if it is skipped.

Goods-in is the step everything else depends on. If it is skipped, there is no data and the rest of this is theatre, so it is worth timing on your own dock during the trial.

  • About thirty seconds per item, with use-by captured first.
  • Inbound sources are recorded as supermarket, donor, wholesaler, community drive or other.
  • Unknown barcodes can create the product as they are scanned, so an unfamiliar donation does not stop the line.
Use-by, best-before and batch Why one date leads and the other is recorded.

Use-by is the date you have to move something by. Best-before is worth recording but it does not force the same decision, so it sits on the same line at lower urgency.

  • Use-by drives what shows as about to expire. Moving it is still yours to do.
  • Best-before, batch, lot and a free-text note sit beside the date on the same line.
  • Outbound movements are recorded by kind, including another organisation, a recipient order, waste, recycling, compost and pigs.
What the funder gets The report is the same list, not a second version of it.

The reason to hold the line data is that a funder eventually asks a question about it. The report reads the same movements the dock recorded, so there is nothing to reconcile on a Sunday.

  • In, out, and what expired, from the movements themselves.
  • Whether a particular funder accepts that format is on them.
  • Your figures are your organisation's. HelpingHand is the vendor, not a party to your reporting.

What it costs

$40 a month Per 100 items in inventory control, plus GST.

A 30-day trial first. The number is per 100 items you actually put under inventory control, counted as a weekly average over three months, so a warehouse that starts with one product category pays for one product category.

You do not have to take the rest of the platform to use this.

See how stock control is counted, and every plan

Training

Short videos, because a volunteer will not read a manual. Use the standard set, or upload your own filmed on your own dock, which is the version people actually follow.

Who we work with

A well-known Auckland foodbank came off a laptop spreadsheet and now runs its warehouse on this.

We do not name the food banks we work with. The warehouse is real and we are happy to describe how it runs, but naming them is their call and not ours. If you want a reference, please ask.

Start a 30-day trial

Put one product category under inventory control and time goods-in on your own dock. That is the test worth running.

Start a 30-day trial

Thirty days. No wider platform, and nothing past the trial.

See the whole platform

One page for whoever signs it off Stock in, stock out, use-by, a report you can defend.

What it is

A warehouse list of every movement, with use-by on the line. Trucks in, trucks out, other organisations, waste and recycling. Batch, lot and a note sit beside the date.

What it is not

Not a new checkout. Not a produce subscription. Not a promised grant, and not a claim that the software will stop waste on its own.

Cost

A 30-day trial. Then $40 a month per 100 items in inventory control, plus GST. About thirty seconds of somebody's time per item on goods-in.

Risk

If goods-in is skipped, there is no data and the report is worth nothing. That is the one real risk, and it is a staffing question rather than a software one. Time it on the dock during the trial.

Who is liable

Your figures belong to your organisation and HelpingHand is the vendor. The formal privacy, hosting and food safety terms are not settled yet. Ask, and we will put them in writing.

Decide

Approve a 30-day trial of stock movements. Not a wider platform, and not past the trial.

The person who brought this to you cannot commit the organisation, and does not claim to.

Questions

The ones an operations lead asks.

Is this the shop floor?

No. This is the warehouse. Trucks in, trucks out, other organisations, waste and recycling, on one list.

Why use-by and not best-before?

Use-by is the date you have to move it by. Best-before is still worth recording, on the same line, at lower urgency.

How long does a line take?

About thirty seconds per item. Time it on your own dock during the trial rather than taking our word for it.

Our volunteers will not learn another system.

Training is short videos. Use the standard set, or upload your own filmed on your dock.

What does per 100 mean?

Per 100 items you have put under inventory control. $40 a month plus GST.

Will this stop waste?

It will show you what is about to expire. Moving it is still yours to do.

Can a funder see this?

The report is the same list. Whether a particular funder accepts it is on them.

Who sees our figures?

Your organisation. HelpingHand is the vendor.

Do we have to take the rest of the platform?

No.