Chemical Inventory System Promises Cradle-to-Grave Tracking
"Our customers are demanding that we build in more and more scalability for larger enterprise environments," says ChemSW president Brian Stafford. "This new client-server version of CIS Pro 2000 was the next logical step." Stafford says the 32-bit software operates as a single-user, network, or client-server application under Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle.
CIS Pro 2000's container-based model is able to track multiple lots and containers for any chemical, supply, or formulation. It handles an unlimited number of containers, sizes, and vendors defined for each chemical.
The program automatically generates unique identification numbers (or users can assign their own). The system uses the numbers to generate bar codes for remote inventory control and material flow monitoring.
CIS Pro 2000 tracks department and facility purchasing and receiving. The program helps users build requisition lists, generate purchase orders, and view orders pending, orders received, and partial shipments.
The software uses a series of topic tabs to store chemical identity, physical data, hazards, MSDS, and other critical information for each container. An MSDS Digital Filing Cabinet lets users maintain all corporate MSDS data in a single location.
An ingredients tab enables users to define formulations containing multiple chemicals and produce scaled batch reports for material requirements applications. The ingredients tab allows CIS Pro 2000 to track both chemicals as well as nonchemical inventory.
The new structures tab allows CIS Pro to import ChemDraw or ChemFinder database drawings of chemical structures into the program. Users then use an integrated version of CambridgeSoft Corp.' ChemOffice to search inventory by structure without worrying about ambiguities in nomenclature.
CIS Pro 2000 provides an optional transaction log that allows facilities to monitor the chemical inventory movement by item, date, location, user, and reason. The system produces reports and reorder warnings when an item drops below user-specified levels. It also provides such cost accounting features as inventory value and addition/removal costs per account.
Other features include an improved searching and sorting interface, maintenance of multiple databases, support for data importing, and an extensive array of standard and customizable reports.
ChemSW supplies more than 500 Microsoft Windows-based chemistry and laboratory software programs and databases for chemists, biochemists, molecular biologists, chemical engineers, environmental professionals, chromatographers, spectroscopists, students, and professors.
For more information: Janine Leggitt, Marketing Assistant, ChemSW, Inc., 420 F Executive Ct., North Fairfield, CA 94585. Phone: 707-864-0845. Fax: 707-864-2815.
By Alan S. Brown