FAQ: National Inventory Template
Questions
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Do I need to do anything with the National Inventory Template report that I receive?
- How can the issue availability nationally for Blood Service (days) be higher than the current red cell inventory (days)?
I am only interested in local inventory information as this is relevant to my laboratory. Why is so much additional information provided?
The NIT improves equity of access to blood products across the country. It does so by providing component projections, stock availability and improved transparency of inventories to customers and stakeholders.
This helps direct the Blood Service's component production and provides a transparent approach to stock management, which is of particular importance during times of supply shortage.
We acknowledge the NIT report does contain a lot of information, but this is in order to meet the needs of a diverse range of customers.You may choose to only view the Guide to Component Availability at the top of the daily NIT summary report if this is all you require.
The NIT is too big, and printing the whole NIT uses too much coloured ink and paper from my printer. What can I do?
The NIT Version 2 summary report can be printed on a single page and can be printed in black and white to reduce ink use.If you only want to print certain parts of the NIT;Select the area you wish to print by clicking and dragging the mouse to cover the area, click on File from dropdown and Print Area, click on Set Print Area, to view click on File again and Print Preview. Then print.
Can end user platelet availability be added to the NIT?
We understand how visibility of platelet holdings at transfusion laboratories can be useful, so we are currently considering this for future versions of NIT.
Why aren’t all customers included in the NIT?
A: The customers (transfusion laboratories) included in the NIT receive at least 80% of the Blood Service's supply.
The remaining customers do not receive or use significant stock and so it is not feasible to contact them to gather their daily inventory, nor necessary to send them the daily inventory availability status.
Why can’t we just have one NIT report daily?
NIT Release 2 contains laboratory red cell inventory that is not available on the NIT Release 1 report. It is also possible for local issue availability to change between the two NIT reports.
We recommend that laboratories check both NIT reports to access the most up-to-date inventory information.
If the Blood Service sends the NIT emails to one contact in a laboratory, how do the other staff members access the information?
The best solution is for the transfusion laboratory to set up a common inbox that gives access to multiple users. This will allow multiple individuals to view and print the releases.
Please let us know the new email address for your laboratory if you choose to do this.
How does the NIT affect specific patient named orders?
The Component Availability section of the NIT guides issues for stock or replenishment orders to transfusion laboratories. Specific named-patient orders are assessed on an individual basis.
Why is customer data excluded from NIT Release 1?
NIT Release 1 is generally sent out by 8:30 am EST but does not contain transfusion laboratory inventory data as the complete data set is not available at that time.
Inventory & Distribution departments in each state ask customers to provide their inventory levels by 10:00 am EST.
Do I need to do anything with the National Inventory Template report that I receive?
The reports that are provided to you (on behalf of your laboratory) contain information about component availability that guides issues for stock or replenishment orders.
Some laboratories choose to print the single page summary report and display it in the laboratory so all the staff can see the inventory status.
How can the issue availability nationally for Blood Service (days) be higher than the current red cell inventory (days)?
The National Inventory Template Briefing Pack explains that Red Cell Availability Blood Service Nationally (days) is based on a forward projection to 8.00am which considers Work in Progress (WIP) and current supply to Laboratories or Approved Health Providers (AHP).
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