Executive summary. Purchasing, dispensing, replenishment, and reporting all degrade when item identity, package configuration, and status are left ungoverned.
Definition
An inventory item master is the controlled record that identifies a stock item and its operational attributes, such as package, unit, supplier identifiers, and status.
Make identity unambiguous
Store the identifiers and package attributes needed to tell an item apart from a clinically or commercially similar one. A product name will not carry purchasing or inventory valuation.
Assign ownership for item creation, change, inactivation, and duplicate resolution. Several uncontrolled records for one package produce false stock and false demand at the same time.
Preserve change history
Package, supplier, and availability changes all shift downstream interpretation. Record who changed a master field, when, and why.
Never repurpose a retired item record for a new product. Historical purchase and dispense evidence depends on that identity staying still.
Frequently asked questions
Why are unit-of-measure fields important?
They let quantities and costs be compared correctly across purchase, receipt, dispensing, and physical count records.
Referenced standards and further reading
- FDA: National Drug Code Directory ↗U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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