There are three main license categories available in ChemInventory. This page details the differences between these options, including how data can be structured under site and enterprise licenses.
What is an inventory?
At the core of all license types is the concept of an inventory, which holds information about chemical containers in a customizable locations hierarchy . Within an inventory, user accounts can be created which grant team members access to the inventory to conduct searches, add container records, etc. The specific functionality available to each user depends on their privilege level .
All users within an inventory have access to all container records and locations in the inventory's hierarchy. It is not possible to restrict access to particular branches of a locations hierarchy to select users. (Instead, separate inventories can be created within a site license to achieve this.)
It is possible to set sharing between different inventories which allows members of one inventory to see the information of another inventory when searching. Different sharing levels can be set to customize the level of access users of one inventory have to the sharing inventory. While sharing is designed to work best for site licenses (such as between research groups in an academic department or research divisions within a company), it can also be configured between inventories on individual inventory licenses.
License types
Individual inventory licenses
An individual inventory license in ChemInventory allows the creation of single inventory, as described above. This license type is most suitable in situations where all users should be able to view all information in an inventory; for example in a single academic research group or the inventory of a small company.
By default when signing up for an inventory using the sign-up page , you will be covered by the Free individual inventory license. As soon as your usage goes above the limits of the free plan, you will automatically begin a free 30-day trial of the paid plans. More information about the various individual inventory licenses available and their limits can be found on our pricing page .
Site licensing
Site licenses allow the creation of multiple, separate inventories within one overarching site umbrella. Nominated users can be granted access to the Site Management Tools , which gives them oversight and administrative rights for the site. These users can search across all inventories (regardless of inter-lab sharing), generate regulatory reports, etc. More information about general features available at a site level can be found on the site licensing page .
On creation, an inventory in a site is separated and kept private from others; users in one inventory cannot see the information stored in another. However, administrators in one inventory can set sharing with other inventories on a case-by-case basis if they wish, which extends the visibility of their information to others on site.
For example, in an academic department a site license would be suitable where each research group maintains its own inventory. Likewise, in a commercial context a site license would suit scenarios where you wish to manage separate inventories based on company division or on a building-by-building basis.
Enterprise licensing
ChemInventory's enterprise licenses add another layer on top of the site licensing structure, allowing the creation of separate sites within an overarching enterprise umbrella. Users with enterprise administrator privileges have access to specialized tools and functionality to aid with oversight responsibilities. More information can be found on the enterprise management page .
Each site within an enterprise license operates independently of the others. Site administrators can interact with only the inventories within their site, ensuring that safety and compliance officers have access to information most relevant to their role.
This license type works well for organizations which are subject to different compliance and regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions, such as multi-national companies. For example, separate sites can be created for operations your organization has within the Asia-Pacific and North American regions, with each site managed by compliance officers responsible the individual regions.
Which license type is most suitable?
The license type most applicable to your situation will depend on a variety of factors. These include how you wish to structure your information, how many physical sites your organization occupies and the regulatory/compliance reporting structure implemented in your organization. To discuss your specific requirements in more detail, please get in touch with our support team at the link below.
Changing your license type
If you wish to move between license types, for example from an individual inventory license to a site license, please get in touch with our support team. It is a straightforward and fast process — we handle all data migration for you, with no changes to the way you sign in or access ChemInventory.