OpenLMIS Functionality

This page captures the strengths, limitations, and opportunities of OpenLMIS' major functions; and is intended to support workflow comparisons and inform sustainability strategy.

Functionality	Description	Relevant History	General Perception	Strengths	Limitations	Opportunities	Other Comments	Edited By
Example Row: Requisitions (Assisted Ordering)	The requesting of new stock (based on consumption or estimated need) and approvals to generate an order for fulfillment. Users can either manually report on the past periods' stock levels or leverage the electronic stock cards from Stock Management to inform the requisition process. When a requisition is approved, it is converted to an order (i.e. a purchase order).	Core aspect of OpenLMIS part of the product since inception	OpenLMIS is very good at requisitions for specific health entities	Easy to use	To meet more general needs, would need to become more like an full ERP; weak on resupply flows	In-transit tracking, and transaction functionalities would make product more competitive in private health	6+ months and dedicated funding would be needed to build this	Kim, 7/27/19 Name 2, M/DD/YY
Stock Management (Inventory Management)	The ongoing accounting of the stock on hand of medical commodities and inventory-able items. Users can record transactions like issues (debit), receipts (credit), stock counts (+/-), and a variety of adjustments (+/-).	most implementations are not using this feature since it is recent- which is why we encourage upgrades	this is a great feature that i think excites people, especially if done well it can auto populate order quantities to allow '1 click ordering' to save healthworkers time	Simplifies the creation of requisitions Greatly increases the general utility of OpenLMIS	would this actually replace a paper process, or just be done in parallel, creating MORE work? No offline support (though this is being worked on)	extend functionality down to the patient or CHW level (mobile or tablet would ne needed) more traceability	I (Wes) believe that this is an area we need to extend as it is a major request from most potential partners	Rebecca, 7.30.19 Wes, 8/15/19
Requisitions (Assisted Ordering)	The requesting of new stock (based on consumption or estimated need) and approvals to generate an order for fulfillment. Users can either manually report on the past periods' stock levels or leverage the electronic stock cards from Stock Management to inform the requisition process. When a requisition is approved, it is converted to an order (i.e. a purchase order).		the 'bread and butter' of OpenLMIS; some implementations only use this feature (paired with fulfillment)	OpenLMIS provides a field-proven, configurable design that could be adapted to many markets.		This is a feature that most other logistic systems do not have but is a major pain-point for the industries that need it		Wes, 8/15/19
Fulfillment (Dispatch & Receive)	The processes involved in creating, viewing, fulfilling (both internally within OpenLMIS and externally with integrations to an outside ERP) and lastly receiving an order via the proof of delivery. Fulfilling encompasses the identification and preparation of accurate quantities of items packed correctly from store needed for transport by lower level.	In v2 and prior this was only possible through integrations to an ERP. In v3 this is possible and it's possible for OpenLMIS to fulfill orders internally to OpenLMIS - useful for smaller fulfillment's and for items that need special handling (e.g. vaccines)		Provide basic support for integrating with an external warehouse system as well a internal management of simple fulfillment workflows	Not suitable for larger warehouses as it doesn't track which shelf an item is on, or link out to larger financial capabilities.		Extending this feature to provide more detailed and/or realtime type information would likely make this feature into more of a selling point	Josh Wes, 8/15/19
Cold Chain Equipment Management	Needed for resupply workflows around vaccines, this module comes preloaded with the WHO PQS list, can track what equipment is installed at which location, and is able to integrate with remote temp monitoring devices to inform functionality	Built in v2 as part of VIMS originally, the major improvements in v3 are the integration to Nexleaf and the inclusion of the PQS list.		Relevant CCE information is displayed when creating or view requisitions.	Cold chain information is not tied into fulfillment (ie, to avoid facilities with faulty equipment)			Josh Wes, 8/15/19
Equipment Management	Separated out from Cold Chain Equipment.	This existed in v2 and went largely unused, in part because it didn't fit the bill for cold chain equipment, which flips this module on it's head by centralizing inventory management.		De-centralized inventory management for lab equipment	People want more asset management: warranties, manuals, install dates, issue tracking, etc. Not suitable for Cold Chain Equipment.		To do this properly would require a significant amount of work and I (Wes) am not sure if it is worth it. There are whole systems dedicated to managing equipment!	Josh Wes, 8/15/19
Reporting & Analytics	Support OpenLMIS users with both routine reporting and ad-hoc analysis.			great visuals, easy to create routine & custom reports. everyone needs to report this data so it's a big selling point	Created by Ona, whose role in ongoing support of this feature is unclear (to me)
System Administration	Control over the administrative functions of OpenLMIS, including role-based access, managing users and assigning roles, bulk data upload, program settings, etc.			Must of the system configuration, include managing the complex user access rights, can be performed within the system	Some of the more complex configuration elements still require an external tool to import changes.			Wes, 8/15/19
Forecasting / Demand Planning					This is currently not available but will be very useful to assess national demand and determine procurement quantities and timing.			Gaurav

Additional Features / Capabilities at a Glance:

The questions below have been specifically asked about during market sounding trips and initial interviews. Topline responses will help ensure messaging is consistent and inform partnership and opportunity exploration.

What are the mobile/tablet capabilities of OpenLMIS?

In general, OpenLMIS provides mobile capabilities via integrations with other mobile systems (OpenSRP and, potentially, SIGLUS). Given the LoE to create a first-class OpenLMIS mobile app, this is likely to remain our strategy going forward; though we might want to consider making the website more mobile-aware (Wes, 8/15/19)
We should consider accelerating SIGLUS compatibility with OpenLMIS v3 so we can provide mobile capabilities, first as a reference module and subsequently as a configurable module. (Gaurav, 15 August 2019)
OpenSRP integration is currently available. Need to flesh out capability details and use cases in this description (Gaurav, 15 August 2019)

What does OpenLMIS currently offer as related to traceability?

Response 1 Placeholder (Name, Date)
Response 2 Placeholder (Name, Date)

How does OpenLMIS capture pricing?

The person ordering and approving orders can see individual product prices for the proposed order quantity. A total order price is shown at the bottom of the screen before order is approved. This is something that clients can opt to turn on or off in the requisition process. (Rebecca, July 2019)
Response 2 Placeholder (Name, Date)

Feel free to add others that may be useful.