2.4 Summary Reporting and Reporting Systems
2.4.2 Summary Reports
• What is the primary purpose of a summary report?
To report all essential data items for a specific facility and for a specific time period (usually monthly or quarterly).
• What essential data items do summary reports contain?
They must contain all three essential data items—stock on hand, consumption, and losses and adjustments.
• Who completes the summary report?
The manager responsible for collecting the three essential data items usually completes the summary report.
• When are summary reports completed?
Summary reports are completed at the end of the reporting period (usually monthly or quarterly). Lower-level facilities are usually given a reporting deadline, and each successive level is given another deadline for reporting to the next level. For example,
Record Compared with Report
Up to this point, we have referred only to records. In this text, records are forms on which data are collected.
Reports are forms on which all essential data items for a specific facility and for a specific time are moved from one level in a logistics system to another, usually in sum-marized or aggregated form.
The system design for reporting deadlines must take the following into account:
< How soon data are needed for decision making.
< How quickly reports can be received at the next level.
< The quantity of data to be gathered at each level.
• How are the data on a summary report organized?
Summary reports are usually organized by date—monthly or quarterly, depending on the reporting cycle. They report the beginning stock on hand, receipts, the quantity issued or
dispensed, losses and adjustments, and the end stock on hand for a certain time period.
• How are summary reports organized?
Usually one summary report is made for each facility reporting for the period.
• In what format are summary reports printed?
The most common formats include simple reports, aggregate reports, and report and request reports.
• What is a simple report?
Malawi Summary Reporting
In the Malawi system, community-based distributors (CBD) report to SDPs by the fifth day of the month. SDP reports are due at the dis-trict level by the tenth day of the month. Disdis-trict reports are due at the regional level by the 15th day of the month, and regional reports are due at the central level by the 20th day of the month. By defin-ing reportdefin-ing deadlines, the Malawi Ministry of Health (MOH) hopes to minimize the time it takes to receive essential information.
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
• What is an aggregate summary report?
One of the most important decisions logistics managers face in collecting data on summary reports is determining when and at what level data can be aggregated.
Consider a pipeline of three regions, each with two districts, and each district with four clinics. The clinics forward their reports monthly to the district. The district can report to the region in one of three ways:
Why Use Self-Balancing Reports?
Consider the following report of a district warehouse report-ing to a regional warehouse:
Opening Balance + Receipts – Issues/Dispensed ± Loss/Adj. = Closing Balance
100 + 35 – 65 – 0 = 70
The supervisor at the regional level can clearly see that the calculations are correct. Self-balancing reports are helpful because supervisors can verify the calculations. Unfortunately, self-balancing reports may not reflect actual quantities on hand if districts complete the report without comparing the closing balance with the actual quantity on hand. Opening balances should equal the closing balance of the previous report. A physical inventory conducted at the beginning or end of the month, however, may reveal a discrepancy in the beginning or ending stock on hand. How should such a dis-crepancy be handled? The disdis-crepancy should be reported as a loss/adjustment for the reporting period. It is critical that the reported closing balance equal the actual stock on hand, so the quantity to be ordered will be determined directly by the actual stock on hand and not by a calculated number.
< Include information for the district storeroom only on the report, and then include a copy of each clinic’s report separately.
< Include information for the district storeroom only on the report, and then add all of the clinic data together on a second report.
< Add data for the district and clinics together, but, under the column issued/dispensed, report only the aggregate dispensed-to-user data from the clinic (ignoring the issues data from the district to the clinic).
With any of these three methods, the regional level will receive all of the essential data items for the district. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, however. These are described in the following section in order of preference, the first method being the most preferable (see table 2-1).
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TABLE 2-1.
Advantages
and Disadvantages of the Three
Methods of Aggregating Data
• What is a report and request report?
A report and request report in a pull system is a summary report that presents the data to the next higher level and requests new supplies. The advantage of this report is that the higher level can verify the need, and the lower level sends up only one form. A report and request report is combined with an IV that represents the other steps in the transaction (see figure 2-13).
Unfortunately, it is more difficult (but not much more) to calculate lead time when two forms are used to record a transaction. We often recommend the use of a report and request format when designing a logistics system, because reporting is clearly linked to placing the next order. This linkage encourages timely submission of reports.
Worksheets for Aggregation
At intermediate facilities with large numbers of lower-level facilities reporting to them, tracking consumption data for decision making is easier when data-tracking worksheets are introduced. The worksheet is organized to collect consumption data by facility for each month.
For example, where clinics report monthly to districts, but districts report only quarterly to regions, worksheets can be used to aggregate data for a three-month period.
Worksheets also provide a quick overview of the rates of consumption (increasing, decreasing, or stable) at each facility over time. Worksheets are usually kept at the facility making the aggregation, and no duplicates are made (see figure 2-12).
FIGURE 2-12.
Consumption Worksheet
• What information other than the essential data items can be included in a summary report?
Information in a summary report can also include service statistics data. Summary reports should also include a place for comments, particularly explanations for any losses and adjustments. The person completing the report should sign the report and date it.
At higher levels in the system, the summary report could also indicate the completeness of the report. For example, the report FIGURE 2-13.
Quarterly Report and Request for Contraceptives
• How do summary reports move?
They move up the pipeline from the service delivery points (SDPs) to the central level. Depending on where reports are aggregated, reports from SDPs may move all the way to the central level or may be kept at the level at which they were aggregated. Where
appropriate, it is possible to skip reporting to intermediate levels and report directly to higher levels. This has the effect of
shortening the lead time for reporting.