PartsHotList File

To create the file:

1. Open a new document in Excel;

2. Use a single line with three columns for each part number you want to call attention to.

   • In the first column, place the applicable part number.

   • In the second, place a note explaining what's special about that item (i.e., the text you want your operators to see when that part number comes up).

   • In the third, type 'yes' to prompt for auto-deletion.

3. Save the file as PartsHotList.txt in the NetData Folder.

   • Select 'Save As.'

   • Navigate to your NetData folder (c:\sd\netdata, where 'c:' is whatever drive your server happens to be).

   • Click 'File Type' and select "Text (Tab delimited)(*.txt)"

   • Ensure the files is named PartsHotList.TXT.

   • Click 'Save.'

Once the file has been created, you can return and edit it (add, subtract, change, etc.) at any time.

The Parts Hotlist is a file designed to provide supplemental information on parts on-hand and is not intended to be included in your normal stocking inventory. For example: you special order a part which is no longer required for the repair. If you cannot return it to the vendor and do not intend to stock this part regularly, you can add that part as a line item to the PartsHotList.txt. The next time that part number is requested for a job, the parts person will be alerted with an on-screen message containing the description that you inserted into the description field of the Parts HotList.

Each part should have its own line. If you have a part quantity higher than one, you will have multiple lines for the same part number.

• Column 1 contains the part number.

• Column 2 contains the description.

• Column 3 'yes' to prompt for auto-deletion.

ServiceDesk is designed to look for that file whenever:

1. A special-order parts request is created; or

2. it's indicated that an inventory item was used from stock.

If it finds the file, it opens and reads it to see if the presently involved part number can be found in the list. If found, the system will display a message informing the user it's a "Hot-List" item and showing the message you've placed in the file.

Automatically adding an item to the file.

In a SpecialOrderParts screen F8 or (CTRL F8), when selecting MvdToStk in the HoldLoc field it will invoke a function asking if you would like to auto-add to item to the PartsHotList (Option H).

Automatically removing an item from the file.

When using the part, ServiceDesk can offer to do the removal for you. It can make this offer in conjunction with the very same message that provides the relevant alert:

ServiceDesk looks for your use of a third field in each PartsHotList line-item entry. If it's an entry regarding which you want the offer of direct deletion to be made (when, of course, an alert such as the above comes up), you simply need to have placed the word 'yes' into that new third column (upper or lower case does not matter). This is something you'll want to do for any listing you put in there that has this purpose (if you have multiples of any junk item, just do a separate line-item entry for each, and the tabulation of use will take care of itself).

If, for whatever reason, you find yourself with a MasterPartsPlan that has a lot of entries for items you do not want to stock (and, for such reason, you've set the minimums at zero) and now feel you'd like to remove those items from the listing -- but there are so many it would be laborious to go through and do each individually -- there is a solution. ServiceDesk can run a process that does the task for you. Plus (and optionally), if you still have any actual items in inventory, it can create PartsHotList entries for them -- which can then serve as a means of, hopefully, getting such items used in the future, even though (and so far as official accounting is concerned) you've "removed" them from inventory.

To run this process, start in the MasterPartsPlan (CTRL F10) and click on 'other Housekeeping.' In the sub-menu select the option labeled 'Remove No-Longer Stocking Items.'