Survey123 for Inventory Management and Tracking?

[Vince_ERAC]

Hey all,

Wondering if anyone has used Survey123 in the past for inventory management and tracking purposes?

For example, if I have a piece of equipment containing a barcode, I imagine a survey could be setup that can scan the barcode then based on a list of domains/look-ups related to that barcode, auto-populate the equipment being assessed. Then there would be a basic survey applicable for all equipment, and finally the spatial information would be pulled from the device for location tracking purposes. 

Though this is possible, I'm sure there are other platforms that have better and much more specific tools to achieve this (if anyone has suggestions, I'll all ears!). However, I thought I'd ask if anyone has used Survey123 in the past for a similar workflow and if so, how did it go? 

Thanks!

[ChristopherCounsell · Accepted solution]

Yes, this is a very common workflow. the standards approach is to set up a dataset with a 1-M relationship. Aka Parent + Related table. The parent table with unique features is your assets and any 'static' data such as asset ID, date first installed. The related Many table is to record inspections against this asset.

You could create the dataset initially using Survey123 Connect with a repeat, or use an existing layer with a 1-M relationship i.e. published from ArcGIS Pro.

You then create a (second) survey from the existing feature layer, but only target the related table. This means removing the XLSForm rows for the parent table and the being /end repeat.

To maintain the relationship you can generate custom URLs. This could be done from a web map pop-up, or configured some other way (barcode, QR code, email). The URL should pass the parent table globalid into the related table parentglobalid field to maintain the relationship for that asset. You could also pass any other data as desired. 

There's a dated but fundamentally sound video on this here:

https://youtu.be/vECznnoJHGk?t=2565

The user makes a survey for water assets (roughly timestamped above) and then a second survey targeting only the repeat at the timestamp below

https://youtu.be/vECznnoJHGk?t=3925

Worth noting that photos can be a little difficult to access if they're attached to the related table instead of the parent, so you may want to consider and test this in a trial build. 

If your equipment is mobile, you could set up geometry in the repeat as well to help with tracking and the above. Just consider how this data will look

[Vince_ERAC]

Fantastic! Thanks so much for this information. It's a huge help. Really appreciate it!

[ishtiyaaqAhmad]

I have not used survey123 for inventory management but I use the POS system for my business and I can guide you on how to do inventory management using the POS

POS (Point of Sale) systems can be used for inventory management by keeping track of products as they are sold, which allows businesses to monitor inventory levels and ensure that products are always in stock. Here are some ways that POS systems can be used for inventory management:

1. Real-time inventory tracking: With a POS system in place, businesses can keep track of inventory levels in real-time. This allows them to quickly identify when products are running low and reorder them before they run out.

2. Automated inventory updates: When a product is sold through a POS system, the inventory levels are automatically updated. This reduces the need for manual inventory tracking and ensures that the inventory levels are always accurate.

3. Stock alerts: POS systems can be set up to alert businesses when inventory levels fall below a certain threshold. This allows businesses to proactively order products before they run out of stock.

4. Sales analysis: By analyzing sales data from a POS system, businesses can gain insights into which products are selling well and which ones are not. This allows them to adjust their inventory levels accordingly and focus on products that are in high demand.
   This is all how you can use a POS system for inventory management