Northwind Database Accuracy

[Manning]

I am just wondering how good of an example Northwind is?

I have been playing with the database and noticed that the number of units in stock doesn't decrease after I have created an order. I am trying to build an inventory database and would like this feature.

Am I wasting my time with Northwind?

 

[rahulgty]

Of course NOT

rahulgty

 

[edtab]

Creating an order would not necessarily decrease the units on hand. I can't be sure how far Northwind takes you, but in a real world scenario, the inventory decrease will only happen after you process the sales order (ie. actually fill the order and ship the units). During this process, an invoice is produced and the inventory is reduced at the same time.

Northwind is, in my opinion is an excellent way of understanding how to program in Access. It is not the only way, but I surely learned plenty from it.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Northwind looks like it should manage inventory but it doesn't. Northwind has a number of flaws from a professional point of view. It isn't really intended as an example of proper design, it is just an example of how various useful objects might be used, especially subforms and combos.

For a better solution for inventory management, search the archives. There are numerious posts on inventory management and some good solutions. Basically, the best way to manage inventory is to keep individual transactions and sum the transactions to get the current balance. Updating a single quantity field (which is what Northwind would have done if it had been finished) is not recommended since it is not auditable. It is likely that the reason that inventory was never implemented in Northwind was because the developer realized that the single bucket approach was inherently flawed but the transaction method was going to take more effort than he was allowed to expend.