Inventory Management¶
MatStream provides a flexible foundation for managing inventory data — products, stock levels, suppliers, and procurement information — fully integrated with your engineering, quality, and document control data.
Because inventory items are entities in MatStream, they benefit from the same structured properties, lifecycle control, revision history, and relationship tracking as any other item in the platform. A product in your catalogue is linked to its engineering specification, its supplier, its quality records, and its stock information — all in one place.
What is inventory management in MatStream?¶
Inventory management in MatStream means treating products, stock items, and suppliers as first-class entities — connected to the rest of your organisational data rather than isolated in a separate system.
This is what sets MatStream apart from standalone inventory management systems: your product record is not just a stock count — it is linked to the engineering specification it must meet, the supplier who provides it, the quality records raised against it, and the assemblies that use it.
Typical inventory entity types¶
Your administrator configures the inventory entity types that match your organisation's needs. Common examples include:
| Category | What it represents |
|---|---|
| Product | A finished or semi-finished product in your catalogue |
| Stock item | A purchased or manufactured item held in inventory |
| Supplier | An organisation that supplies materials, components, or services |
| Purchase order | A formal order placed with a supplier |
| Stock location | A physical location where stock is held |
| Batch / lot | A specific production batch or delivery lot |
Each category carries the properties, lifecycle, and numbering scheme appropriate to that item type — all configured by your administrator.
Product catalogue management¶
Products in MatStream are entities — with structured properties that capture everything your organisation needs to know about each product:
- Product name, description, and category
- Unit of measure — pieces, metres, kilograms, litres
- Current stock level and reorder point
- Supplier and supplier part number
- Lead time and minimum order quantity
- Linked engineering specification and drawing
- Linked quality records
Product lifecycle¶
Products move through a configurable lifecycle in MatStream. A typical product lifecycle might look like: Draft → Under review → Active → Discontinued ↓ Rejected → Draft (rework required)
Only approved, active products are visible to downstream systems — ensuring your product catalogue always reflects your current, approved range.
Supplier management¶
Suppliers are entities in MatStream — linked to every product and purchased part they supply, every purchase order placed with them, and every quality record raised against their deliveries.
A supplier entity might carry:
- Supplier name, address, and contact details
- Supplier classification (approved, conditional, suspended)
- Linked approved products and purchased parts
- Linked non-conformance records
- Linked supplier deviation requests
- Performance data — on-time delivery, rejection rate
Supplier approval lifecycle¶
Suppliers move through a formal approval lifecycle: Prospective → Under evaluation → Approved → Conditionally approved ↓ Suspended → Re-evaluation required
Only approved or conditionally approved suppliers can be linked to active products — enforcing your approved supplier list (ASL) directly in the platform.
Stock management¶
Stock is not stored as a property you overwrite. Every change is written to an immutable ledger, and the quantities you see — on hand, reserved, on order, available — are derived from it. That means a stock figure can always be explained: who changed it, when, by how much, and which order or adjustment caused it.
Quantities are tracked per item per location, so the same part can be held on several shelves and in several warehouses with a separate balance for each.
Alongside the ledger, stock item entities carry the descriptive properties you would expect — reorder point, reorder quantity, unit of measure, batch or lot links — as ordinary editable properties.
From demand to delivery¶
MatStream distinguishes what is needed from what is ordered:
- An engineer marks an item in a project as ready to procure. A material requirement is raised automatically, recording the quantity and the date it is needed. Nothing has moved in stock yet.
- A buyer reviews open requirements and decides per line whether to reserve existing stock or order it from a supplier. Both routes can be used on the same requirement.
- Ordering writes an on-order quantity; receipt turns that into on-hand stock.
Each requirement tracks how much of it is still uncovered, so a buyer's working list is simply everything not yet fully sourced.
See Stock management for the detail.
Integration with webshops and external systems¶
MatStream's API makes it straightforward to integrate stock and product data with external systems:
Webshop integration¶
Product entities in MatStream can serve as the source of truth for your webshop catalogue. The MatStream API allows external systems to:
- Read current product data — name, description, price, unit of measure
- Read current stock levels — updated in MatStream as stock moves
- Push stock updates back into MatStream from warehouse management systems or point-of-sale systems
This means your webshop always reflects your current approved product catalogue and up-to-date stock levels — without manual synchronisation.
ERP integration¶
MatStream can exchange data with ERP systems via the API:
- Products and stock items created in MatStream can be pushed to the ERP
- Stock movements recorded in the ERP can update MatStream
- Purchase orders in the ERP can be linked to supplier entities in MatStream
Note
Webshop and ERP integrations require custom development using the MatStream API. MatStream provides the API and data model — the integration layer is built to match your specific external system. Contact your MatStream administrator or implementation partner for guidance.
Units of measure¶
MatStream has a built-in units of measure system — particularly important for inventory management where items are measured in different physical units:
| Dimension | Example units |
|---|---|
| Mass | kg, g, lb, oz |
| Length | mm, cm, m, inch, ft |
| Volume | ml, l, m³, gallon |
| Quantity | pieces, pairs, boxes, pallets |
Numeric properties on stock items and products are linked to a specific dimension — so the system knows that a weight property represents kilograms, not litres. This prevents unit confusion and supports downstream data quality.
Traceability across inventory, engineering, and quality¶
The real power of inventory management in MatStream is the ability to trace any item across the full breadth of your organisational data: Product └── Linked to engineering specification (PLM) └── Linked to approved drawing revision └── Linked to supplier └── Linked to supplier NCRs └── Linked to current stock level └── Linked to batch / lot records └── Linked to goods receipt └── Linked to purchase order └── Linked to customer complaints └── Linked to corrective actions
Every link is bidirectional and permanent. From the product record you can navigate to its specification, its supplier history, its stock movements, and its quality records — without leaving MatStream.
Satisfying inventory control requirements¶
MatStream's inventory management capability supports common inventory control requirements:
| Requirement | How MatStream satisfies it |
|---|---|
| Approved supplier list | Supplier lifecycle with approval states |
| Product catalogue control | Product lifecycle with approval workflow |
| Stock traceability | Batch / lot entities linked to goods receipts and usage |
| Unit of measure consistency | Built-in UoM system linked to numeric properties |
| Audit trail | Immutable version history and transition log on all records |
| Integration with external systems | REST API for webshop and ERP connectivity |
A typical inventory workflow in MatStream¶
New supplier identified → Supplier entity created: SUP-2026-0012 → Supplier goes through approval lifecycle → Approved and added to the approved supplier list New purchased part sourced from supplier → Purchased part entity created: PP-2026-0088 → Linked to supplier entity → Engineering specification linked → Part goes through PLM approval lifecycle → Released as revision A Purchase order placed → Purchase order entity created: PO-2026-0234 → Linked to supplier and purchased part Goods received → Goods receipt entity created → Linked to purchase order and batch / lot → Stock level updated on the stock item entity Non-conformance found on incoming inspection → NCR entity created: NCR-2026-0056 → Linked to the batch and the purchased part revision → Linked to the supplier → Disposition decided — material scrapped → Stock level adjusted → CAPA raised with supplier Product made available on webshop → MatStream API pushes product data to webshop → Stock level synced automatically
Who uses inventory management in MatStream?¶
| Role | How they use MatStream |
|---|---|
| Procurement | Manages suppliers, purchase orders, and stock levels |
| Warehouse | Records goods receipts, stock movements, and locations |
| Quality | Raises NCRs against incoming batches and manages supplier quality |
| Engineering | Links products to specifications and approved drawings |
| Sales / webshop | Reads current product catalogue and stock levels via API |
| Management | Views stock levels, supplier performance, and product status |
| Administrator | Configures inventory categories, lifecycles, and numbering |
Getting started with inventory management in MatStream¶
- Configure inventory categories — define your product, supplier, and stock item types. See Categories.
- Configure lifecycle definitions — define your product and supplier approval workflows. See Lifecycle.
- Configure numbering schemes — define your product and supplier numbering templates. See Numbering schemes.
- Configure units of measure — set up the physical dimensions and units relevant to your products.
- Set up user groups — define who can manage products, suppliers, and stock. See Users & groups.
- Connect external systems — integrate your webshop or ERP via the MatStream API.
Next steps¶
- PLM — manage engineering parts and assemblies linked to your products
- Quality Management — manage NCRs and CAPAs linked to your inventory records
- Document Control — manage specifications and procedures linked to your products
- Core concepts — the building blocks of the platform