[Feature]: Add a "Unit" field to Consumables for laboratory/scientific inventory (e.g., ml, µg, g) #18379
Description
Snipe-IT Version
v8.3.7
How can we help?
Currently, Consumables in Snipe-IT track quantity as a plain integer (e.g., "10 units"), with no way to specify the measurement unit. This works for countable items like pens or cables, but is inadequate for scientific/laboratory consumables such as reagents, antibodies, viruses, enzymes, chemicals, or buffers.
In biology/chemistry labs (e.g., university research labs), common consumables have quantities in volume (ml, µl, L) or mass (µg, mg, g, kg). Without a unit indicator:
- Inventory lists are ambiguous (e.g., "50" could mean 50 ml, 50 µg, or 50 vials).
- Reports and audits lack clarity.
- Users resort to workarounds like appending units to the item name (e.g., "Antibody XYZ (µg)"), which is inconsistent, error-prone, and clutters names.
This limits Snipe-IT's usefulness for scientific laboratories managing reagents and biological materials.
Describe the solution you'd like
Add a dedicated "Unit" field to Consumables (similar to how Purchase Cost is now labeled "Unit Cost").
Options:
- A free-text field for flexibility (users enter "ml", "µg", etc.).
- Or a dropdown with built-in common scientific units (default to empty/"each" for backward compatibility):
- each (pieces/items – current default)
- g (grams)
- kg (kilograms)
- mg (milligrams)
- µg (micrograms)
- ml (milliliters)
- µl (microliters)
- L (liters)
- Other common: vial, tube, bottle, box
Display the unit next to quantity everywhere:
- In lists: "Remaining: 150 µg"
- On detail page: "Quantity: 200 ml"
- In checkout/history: "Checked out: 50 µl"
- Reports/exports: Include unit column
This would make Consumables much more suitable for lab environments without breaking existing IT/office use cases.
Code of Conduct
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