What happens when a consumable is consumed from the stockroom?

[mfhaciahmetoglu]

Hi everyone,

I'm working with IT Asset Management in ServiceNow and I'm a bit confused about the process for consumables. I've been looking at the out-of-the-box "Consume" UI Action on the alm_consumable table.

My understanding is that when you consume a consumable, it reduces the quantity on the In stock record. I'm trying to figure out what happens next in the process. I see that for the consumed record, we have an individual record created and assigned to the person. So when I consume a consumable:

1. The quantity of the In stock record is modified.

2. New consumable record is created with "Consumed" state and assinged to the user.  

Is this correct

I am asking this because I am trying to automate this process upon a request that raised from the service catalog!

Thanks in advance.

Best,

Firat

[Swapna Abburi · Accepted solution]

Hi @mfhaciahmetoglu 

What you described is exactly the default behavior with Consumables in Asset management. If Consumable to assigned to a user, a new consumable record is created with state as Consumed, assigned to details and selected quantity.

Also, the quantity is reduced from the Consumable record which was in stock.

Another imp. thing to consider, if the same consumable (irrespective of the stock room) assigned to the user again, it would increase the quantity of the consumable record that was previously assigned to the user. It will not create another record.

[Swapna Abburi · Accepted solution]

Hi @mfhaciahmetoglu 

What you described is exactly the default behavior with Consumables in Asset management. If Consumable to assigned to a user, a new consumable record is created with state as Consumed, assigned to details and selected quantity.

Also, the quantity is reduced from the Consumable record which was in stock.

Another imp. thing to consider, if the same consumable (irrespective of the stock room) assigned to the user again, it would increase the quantity of the consumable record that was previously assigned to the user. It will not create another record.

[RafaeldaSP · Accepted solution]

Hi @mfhaciahmetoglu ,

That's a great question, and your understanding is spot on. You've nailed the out-of-the-box process perfectly.

To confirm, yes, when you use the "Consume" UI Action:

The quantity of the main "In Stock" record is reduced.

A completely new consumable record is created with its state as "Consumed" and assigned to the user.

The reason it creates that second record is purely for auditing and tracking. It gives you a permanent asset record that shows exactly who received that specific mouse, keyboard, or headset, even though it's no longer a countable item in your stockroom.

Since you're looking to automate this from the Service Catalog, you're on exactly the right path. Your workflow or Flow Designer logic will need to replicate those same steps:

Step 1: Find the correct alm_consumable record in the stockroom to pull from.

Step 2: Run a check to make sure the quantity is greater than zero, then decrement the quantity.

Step 3: Create a new record on the alm_consumable table. On that new record, make sure to set the State to 'Consumed', the Assigned to to the requester, and ensure the Stockroom field is left blank.

This is a classic use case for automation in ITAM, and it sounds like you have a solid grasp of the data model to get it done.

Good luck with the project!