The mobile app and the web app are two ways into the same warehouse, and most things can be done in either. The main difference is the screen. On a large one you see a great deal at once: the whole list rather than one row, several columns side by side, and a year of movements without scrolling. This guide covers what is easiest in the browser: the overview, the admin work, and anything involving many rows at a time.
- Overview: the whole stock in one place, both searchable and filterable.
- Alerts: a minimum stock level that speaks up before something actually runs out.
- Deadlines: tasks with a due date, and with an email reminder.
- History: who did what, when, and at what price.
- Bulk work: import and export in Excel, plus user permissions.
What the web app is
The web app runs in the browser. There is nothing to install: an up-to-date Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge is enough, and you sign in with the same user as in the mobile app. Whatever you do in one of them, you see in the other.
In the browser you handle the three things the system keeps track of, materials, tools and keys, on a screen with room for the whole picture at once.
Open the web app →The dashboard and the lists
Signing in lands you straight on the dashboard. Along the top is the count: how many materials, tools and keys are registered, the value of the material stock, and how many of your subscription's users are in use. Below that are the graphs: bookings over the last twelve months, split by materials, tools and keys, and a matching one for orders.
The lists themselves sit separately in the menu on the left: materials, tools and keys, with tasks, calendar and storage locations underneath.
Search, filters and columns
The lists are built to find things in, not just to scroll:
- Search: the search box sits at the top right of the list.
- Filters: the tab on the right-hand edge opens them, so that you can narrow down by group, location or status.
- Columns: the tab above the filters decides which columns are shown. If you rarely need the supplier column, take it out; if you are working on prices, bring them back in.
Your layout is remembered, so the list looks the same the next time you sign in.
Export to Excel
The export button takes the list exactly as it stands, with the filters and columns you chose, and downloads it. It is the shortest route to a counting sheet, an overview for your accountant, or an attachment to a quote. Filter first, export afterwards: that saves you tidying up the spreadsheet later.
Minimum stock and alerts
An inventory system that only tells you what you have is a spreadsheet with extra steps. What makes it pay for itself is that it speaks up before something becomes a problem.
On each material you can set a minimum stock level per storage location. If the stock drops below it, the system can raise an alert. Who gets the alert, and what is alerted on, is controlled by the notification settings on each user.
Tasks and deadlines
You can put tasks on things in the system, each with a due date. The system sends an email reminder as the deadline approaches, so the task does not sit there waiting for somebody to remember it.
This is used for servicing and calibration, but also for something that is not in the warehouse at all: licences and agreements that need renewing. Several companies use Lagerdrift for exactly this, because the deadline then lives in the same place as everything else they already check, rather than in a calendar nobody opens. Enter the licence, set the due date, and the reminder then arrives on its own.
History: who did what, and when
This is where the large screen really earns its keep: many rows at once, columns side by side, filters and export. Under history you find all the logs:
- Stock change history: every withdrawal and refill, with material, quantity, storage location, and how much the stock moved.
- Order history and order lines: what has been ordered, and what has actually arrived.
- Tool bookings and key bookings: who has had which tool and which key, and exactly when.
- Change history: changes to the data itself, that is, who corrected what on a material.
- Purchase price history: how the purchase price has developed over time.
- Picking order history and automation history: the picking orders that have run, and what the system has done automatically.
Two common questions become easy to answer with this. The first is "where did it all go", and the answer is in the stock changes, often split by project. The second is "has this got more expensive", which is hard to judge by feel and easy to read off the price history.
Master data
Under master data sit the things that materials and tools are linked to:
- Locations: the storage places, including service vans if you keep stock in them.
- Suppliers: where the item usually comes from.
- Projects: what withdrawals are booked against, and the basis for seeing consumption per job.
- Customers: who the project is being done for.
It is well worth entering the projects early. Without them a withdrawal is just "something left the shelf"; with them it becomes "this went into that job", and then the numbers can be used for something.
Ordering and the shopping cart
The web app also has a shopping cart and an overview of open order lines, so restocking can be collected up and ordered rather than handled item by item. The ordering side has more steps than there is room for here, and it gets a guide of its own.
Data import: many rows at once
If you are entering a hundred materials, you do not do it one at a time. Under the company settings you will find data import, where you upload an Excel or CSV file and create or update many rows in one single operation. The same goes for updating: export the list, correct it in Excel, and import it back.
Users and permissions
User administration also lives in the web app, under Company → User Administration, but it has a guide of its own: copy user permissions to several users at once. That one also covers what comes along when you copy a setup from one user to another, and what you should know before you click.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to install anything to use the web app?
No. It simply runs in the browser, and you sign in with the same user as in the mobile app. An up-to-date Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge is all it takes.
What is easier in the browser than on the phone?
Most things can be done in either, so this is about what is easier. Four things stand out: seeing a lot at once (long lists, several columns, history over time), administration and setup, importing and exporting many rows at a time, and users and permissions. Withdrawals and refills, on the other hand, are quickest on the phone, since it is the one that is with you out in the warehouse.
Can I get the lists out into Excel?
Yes. Export downloads the list exactly as it stands, with the filters and columns you chose. Filter first, and you save yourself the job of tidying the spreadsheet afterwards.
Can I see who took a material out?
Yes. The stock changes under history show what was taken out, how much, from which location, by whom and when, along with the project it was booked against, if any.
In short
Most things can be done in either place, so pick the tool that fits the job. Out in the warehouse the phone is quickest: it is always with you, and the scan is the whole task. When you are working with the overview, the large screen is better: many rows at once, columns side by side, setup and permissions, and importing or exporting a hundred lines in a single operation.
Try Lagerdrift free for 30 days →Stuck? Email us at kontakt@lagerdrift.no. We answer within 24 hours, and support is always free.