layout: post title: “Managing Internal Inventory Transfers for R&D and MRB: What to Know in Cetec ERP” date: 2025-08-21 author: Cetec ERP featured-image: ‘Female_Supervisor_Doing.jpg’
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In a busy manufacturing environment, it’s common for materials and components to move outside the standard production flow. This is especially true for non-production uses like R&D projects or non-conforming part review (MRB).
These important internal movements may not always seem to require the same level of formal process as customer shipments or purchase receipts. Why generate an invoice and order number for inventory transfers?
It’s a great question that highlights the tension between operational flexibility and strict traceability in ERP systems. Let’s break down what’s happening, and why.
Some manufacturers store inventory in a primary warehouse but occasionally need to move parts for:
The intuitive solution is to create separate “internal” warehouses - say, one for R&D and one for MRB- and then move parts via warehouse transfer. Cetec ERP treats all warehouse transfers as full inventory transactions, complete with:
This level of control might feel like overkill for an internal move. But there’s a reason for it.
Because traceability matters - even for internal movement.
Whether parts are used in production, scrapped, or reworked, it’s critical to know:
This visibility ensures accurate costing and audit-readiness. Even seemingly “simple” internal warehouse transfers need to maintain this chain of custody, which is why Cetec ERP automatically generates internal warehouse invoices.
Think of it like a paper trail: even if it’s internal, you need a record of who moved what, when, and why.
Some users have another approach: using Bins within a single warehouse to represent R&D or MRB locations. This avoids creating full internal invoices, but Cetec ERP will still help you maintain traceability and keep your costing accurate.
Each time you move inventory into a new Bin, Cetec appends a suffix (-1, -2, etc.) to maintain unique traceability for costing purposes. This behavior ensures that each lot of material can be traced back to its source receipt.
Cetec ERP’s design for internal movement is intentional, and both internal warehouse transfers and bin moves protect your business in different ways:
Best for clearly segmenting inventory (R&D, MRB, quarantine, etc.) and preserving traceability with full visibility in the general ledger. This is the recommended method when financial and audit accuracy is critical.
A lighter-touch option when financial reporting isn’t the priority but physical location or process segregation is still needed. Just know that Cetec will automatically create unique bin names to protect traceability.
Whether you’re moving inventory from one warehouse to another or logging adjustments, Cetec ERP will log these actions in the form of an invoice or transaction record. This feature ensures traceability, costing integrity, and auditability.
Internal inventory movement might not seem like a big deal, but it’s exactly this kind of detail that keeps your operations clean, auditable, and cost-accurate. Embracing the system’s design for traceability may take a shift in perspective - but it pays off in the long run.
Need help setting up your internal warehouses or refining your transfer workflows? Our support team is here to help.