Plastics and packaging
Inventory software for the plastic industry
Know how many bags of HDPE are left for the night shift, how much regrind is piled beside the grinder, and how many jerry cans are packed and ready for the Pune truck.
In short
SimpleERP is inventory software for plastic manufacturers in India. HDPE and PP granules, masterbatch and regrind are counted in kg, cans, containers and closures in pieces, each per godown, and everything is valued at weighted average cost.
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
An inventory day at Sabarmati Polymers
At Sabarmati Polymers, HDPE and PP granules arrive in 25 kg bags from a polymer distributor in Ahmedabad, a truck at a time. Masterbatch in white, yellow and green comes in smaller bags. The shift supervisor drags bags to the hoppers all night, and in the morning nobody is sure how many are left.
Finished jerry cans are bagged in hundreds and stacked in the godown, containers go into cartons, and closures sit in sacks of five thousand. The owner wants to know before he confirms a buyer's order whether the polymer in the store will cover it.
How should a moulding unit set up its stock?
Give each product its own unit and keep three warehouses: a raw material store, the moulding floor, and a finished goods godown. Granules move to the floor with a transfer when the supervisor takes them for a shift.
- Regrind is its own product in kg, so the grinder's output has a place in stock.
- Physical counts of bags at month end, with a reason for any shortfall.
- CSV import of products with opening stock per warehouse.
| Product family | Unit | Kept in | Reorder pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDPE blow grade granules | kg | Raw material store | Reorder level 3,000 kg, a truck when prices dip |
| PP injection grade granules | kg | Raw material store | Reorder level 2,000 kg |
| Masterbatch, white and colours | kg | Raw material store | Reorder level 100 kg per colour |
| Regrind HDPE and PP | kg | Moulding floor | Not bought; comes from the grinder |
| Jerry cans 5 litre | Nos | Finished goods godown | Kept at two weeks of the oil packers' lifting |
| Containers and closures | Nos or thousand | Finished goods godown | Made to order for each buyer's month |
What is the polymer in the store worth when prices move every fortnight?
Each distributor bill comes in at its own rate, and SimpleERP keeps a weighted average. With 2,000 kg of HDPE at ₹108 and a new lot of 1,000 kg at ₹114, the average becomes ₹110 a kg and the store's HDPE is worth ₹3,30,000.
- Stock value per warehouse as of today.
- Granules issued at average cost to every work order.
- Shortages from a count post to the books as a stock loss.
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
How do I make sure the night shift does not run out of granules?
Set a reorder level on each grade of polymer and masterbatch. The stock list shows what is at or below it, and planning a work order shows what the store is short of for that run.
- Purchase orders grouped by supplier from the rows you choose.
- Distributor bills receive granules into the raw material store.
- Transfers to the moulding floor keep the store figure honest.
One system
What it connects to
Granules come in on distributor bills, work orders turn them into cans and closures, and invoices send the goods out.
Plastics and packaging
BOMs for moulded items and cartons, work orders per run, and GST invoices to regular buyers.
See howGST billing for packaging makers
Invoices for jerry cans, containers and closures to oil, ghee and chemical packers, with HSN 3923 lines and IGST to buyers outside Gujarat.
See howAccounting for packaging businesses
Buyer dues, polymer bills, the power bill, mould depreciation and GST input in one ledger that posts itself.
See howPayroll for plastic factories
Monthly pay for machine operators on day and night shifts, with PF, PT, ESI where it applies and travel advances recovered.
See howManufacturing for plastic moulders
BOMs for jerry cans, containers and closures from granules, masterbatch and regrind, and work orders that cost each run.
See howInventory
Stock on hand by warehouse at weighted average cost, with a movement ledger and a low-stock list.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do yet
- No batch, lot, serial or expiry tracking, and no barcode scanning
- Weighted average cost only; there is no FIFO
- No automatic reorder suggestions: the reorder level shows what is low, you decide what to buy
- No bag-by-bag or lot-by-lot record of polymer grades; each grade is one quantity in kg per warehouse
- No automatic conversion between kg and pieces; finished goods weight is not tracked
Getting started
Start with inventory
Sign up with your phone
Name, phone number and a password. No card for the seven-day trial, and email is optional.
Tell us about the business
Type your GSTIN and the state fills itself. Accounts, GST rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for you.
Add products and opening stock
Add each polymer grade and masterbatch in kg, regrind as its own product, and your cans, containers and closures in Nos, with opening stock per warehouse.
Post a bill and an invoice
Stock rises on the purchase bill and falls on the invoice, at weighted average cost, with nothing to count by hand.
FAQ
Questions, answered
How do I bring regrind into stock?
Make regrind a product in kg. When the grinder's output is weighed, bring it in with a stock adjustment and a reason. Once it is in stock, a BOM can use it as a component alongside virgin HDPE, and it is issued at its own average cost.
We count closures in thousands. Will stock show that?
Yes, if the product's unit is thousand. Every bill, work order and invoice then uses thousands, and the stock list shows how many thousand are in the godown. Use one unit per product so the numbers never mix.
Can I see stock of a buyer's printed containers separately?
Yes. A container printed with one buyer's brand is its own product, such as PP container 500 ml Rajkot Namkeen print, so its stock is never sold to anyone else by mistake.
Does the store keeper need a computer?
No. SimpleERP runs in a phone's browser, so the store keeper can look up a grade, post a transfer to the floor, or record a bag count beside the hoppers, with a role that limits what else he sees.
Related
Keep reading
Plastics and packaging
BOMs for moulded items and cartons, work orders per run, and GST invoices to regular buyers.
Read moreManufacturing for plastic moulders
BOMs for jerry cans, containers and closures from granules, masterbatch and regrind, and work orders that cost each run.
Read moreGST billing for packaging makers
Invoices for jerry cans, containers and closures to oil, ghee and chemical packers, with HSN 3923 lines and IGST to buyers outside Gujarat.
Read more
See how inventory works in SimpleERP for plastics and packaging
Seven days free. No card. Your first GST invoice in minutes.