Inventory
There are over 25 Inventory holding departments totalling £16 million of stock. Ten of these use the Oracle Inventory Module while the remaining departments use a variety of alternative systems, such as Excel or EPOS, to manage and record their Inventory.
The stock system used is dependent on meeting certain criteria stated in the Financial Regulations.
The type of stock held is as diverse as the departments within the University. Some hold trading stock such as publications, jewellery, and pottery, which are sold via mail order or shops like the ones at the Bodleian Library or the Ashmolean Museum. Other departments hold a store for items used in teaching and research, such as chemicals, laboratory and safety equipment.
All Inventory holding departments, regardless of the stock system used, have to adhere to and follow the key financial controls, and the approved Managing an inventory store process in which it is embedded. They also have to regularly check stock levels to safeguard against any over-inflated or inaccurate stock valuations being recorded in the University's accounts. To ensure this happens, there is a Stock Provision, Write Off, and Disposals Policy, which must be adhered to by all stock holding departments.
Inventory Forum
There is an Inventory Forum, a meeting of University store managers, which is held once a quarter. This is chaired by the Process Owner, with at least one representative from each of the 25 departments attending. More information on the forum, including its purpose, minutes of previous forums, and the date of the next forum, is available on the Inventory Forum page (University access only).
Contact details
For further information, please contact:
Inventory and Fixed Asset Accountant (University access only)
Telephone: 01865 (6)16128