Orders and inventory
Tracking what is being bought, when it lands, and where each thing is.
An order is paperwork, a thing is a thing
An order records who is buying, from whom, the order number, the money and the dates. Its status runs from undecided, through decided, claimed ordered, confirmed ordered and shipped, to delivered.
Once an order is delivered the story moves to the things in it. Inventory records where each one is: on site, at a workshop, in somebody's garage, installed, missing or returned.
Orders hold up work
Link an order to the tasks that need it. Until it arrives those tasks are marked blocked, the sequence board shades the order, and the forecast uses its promised delivery date as the earliest the work can start.
An order with no delivery date is the most common reason a finish date cannot be trusted. The Timeline page lists every one.
Chasing
Set a next action on an order, such as chase the supplier by Friday, and it lands on that person's list. When a promised date passes, the register asks whoever placed the order whether it landed, and passes silence on to the project manager after a few days. How long it waits is set under People & settings.
Pictures
Attach photographs and documents to any order or thing. The Thumbnails toggle on the orders grid puts each order's picture on its row, and hovering a chip anywhere shows it.