Schools and units forward paper warehouse requisitions to the Warehouse Unit. A Warehouse clerk then enters the requisitions on-line before filling the orders. The district does have an automated warehouse requisitioning system that would allow schools and units to enter warehouse requisitions on-line at their location. The automated warehouse system is a component of the financial and purchasing system that the district and schools currently use. The system is relatively easy to use because it follows the same basic principals as the automated purchase order system.
Schools also have the necessary computers to enter warehouse orders on-line.
The review team was told that the schools are not using the automated warehouse order system because they have not been trained. Entering warehouse orders on-line saves processing time and eliminates the lag time in processing orders. It also provides instant inventory information and provides schools and units with better budget information because all purchasing activities are deducted from available funds when orders are filled. The automated warehouse requisitioning system maintains a perpetual inventory because the overall inventory is updated constantly according to purchases and distribution of supplies and materials. And, it automatically informs the user when an item needs to be reordered, and how many are needed based on the historical use of that item.