Several plants, one company, one set of numbers.
Per-branch stock and documents, transfers that reconcile themselves, and reporting you can read per location or consolidated.
A second location doubles more than the floor space. It doubles the stock that has to be counted, the document series that have to stay unique, the people who need access to some things and not others — and it introduces a question that did not exist before: which number is the company number.
Handled badly, each branch ends up with its own version of the truth. Two spreadsheets, two numbering schemes, transfers entered on one side and reconciled monthly, and a consolidated report that is assembled by hand and is out of date before the meeting ends.
Handled properly, a branch is a dimension of the data rather than a separate installation — which is the whole distinction between multi-branch ERP software and two copies of the same system. Stock is held per location. Documents carry their branch. Users see their own branch by default. And the consolidated view is a query rather than an assembly job, because there was only ever one database.
What you get
Stock per location
Each plant or godown holds its own balance, so a shortage at one is not hidden by surplus at another.
Branch-aware documents
Orders, challans and invoices carry the branch that raised them, with numbering that stays unique across the company.
Inter-branch transfers
One linked document moves material between locations, so the sending and receiving sides cannot disagree.
Access by branch
People see the branch they work at, and whoever needs the whole company sees the whole company.
Consolidated reporting
Read per branch when you are running one, and across all of them when you are running the business.
One master list
Items, clients and suppliers defined once for the company, so the same part is the same part everywhere.
Transfers are where multi-location data goes wrong
The single most common source of drift between branches is the transfer entered on one side only. Material leaves the first godown, the issue is recorded, and the receipt at the second is entered a week later, or by somebody who records it as a fresh purchase, or not at all because the person who received it assumed the sender had done it.
A transfer that exists as one document with two ends removes the possibility. What was sent is what is expected, what is in transit is visible while it is in transit, and a receipt that never arrives is an open item rather than a silent hole in two different stock figures.
One master list, several locations
It is tempting to let each branch maintain its own item and supplier lists, because each branch knows its own business. It is also the decision that makes consolidated reporting impossible, because the same component ends up with two codes and the company total for it is simply wrong.
Defining masters once at the company level and holding quantities per branch keeps both properties: local operations stay local, and the company number adds up because everything is denominated in the same items.
Seeing one branch without losing the whole
A plant manager wants their plant. A director wants the company. Both are legitimate and they are the same data read at different scopes. Making branch a filter rather than a boundary means neither view has to be prepared for the other — and it means adding a third location later is a configuration rather than a project.
Questions people ask.
Can it run several plants under one company?
Yes. Each branch holds its own stock and raises its own documents, while items, clients and suppliers are defined once at company level so the totals add up.
How are inter-branch transfers handled?
As a single document with a sending and a receiving end. Material in transit is visible, and a receipt that has not been made stays open rather than disappearing from both branches' figures.
Can users be restricted to their own branch?
Yes. Access is granted per branch, so people see the location they work at, while whoever needs the company view has it.
Is document numbering unique across branches?
Yes. Documents carry the branch that raised them and numbering stays unique across the company, which is what keeps consolidated reporting and audit straightforward.
Can we add another location later?
Yes. A branch is a dimension of the existing data rather than a separate installation, so adding one is configuration rather than a second rollout.
Related parts of the system
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