> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ofatoura.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Cloud Kitchen Overview

> Learn how the Cloud Kitchen module works as a central commissary that holds shared stock and dispatches supplies to your linked branches.

The Cloud Kitchen module gives you a single central inventory — a commissary — that sits above your individual branches. You stock it, produce from it, and dispatch goods to whichever branches need them. Each dispatch automatically deducts from the central stock and credits the receiving branch's own inventory in one paired operation.

This is separate from the per-branch [Inventory](/inventory/index) each branch maintains on its own. Use Cloud Kitchen when you have a central production facility, a shared warehouse, or a prep kitchen that serves multiple locations.

<Note>
  You need the **Manage Cloud Kitchen** permission to access most of this module. Some actions — procurement, stock counts, waste reasons, reports, and alerts — have additional permission requirements noted on each page.
</Note>

## How it works

The module is built around a few core concepts that connect together:

* **Items** are the products your Cloud Kitchen holds. Each item has a name, a unit of measure, and an optional transfer price used when goods move to branches.
* **Stock** is the running on-hand quantity for each item, updated automatically every time a movement is recorded.
* **Movements** are the individual transactions that change stock: receiving goods in, removing stock out, recording waste, running a production batch, or dispatching to a branch.
* **Recipes** define how raw inputs are combined to produce an output item. When you run a production batch, the system deducts the input quantities and adds the yield to your stock.
* **Procurement** covers the full purchasing workflow: requisitions (internal shopping lists), purchase orders sent to suppliers, and receiving deliveries against those orders.
* **Dispatch** is how stock leaves the Cloud Kitchen and arrives at a branch. Before you can dispatch an item, you must create a **branch item mapping** that connects the Cloud Kitchen item to the matching item in that branch's inventory, including a unit-of-measure multiplier for any conversion needed.
* **Reports and alerts** give you visibility into dispatch activity, branch consumption, and price variances, and let you set up automatic email notifications for overdue purchase orders and expiring stock.

## Setup order

When you first enable the Cloud Kitchen, follow this sequence:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Name your Cloud Kitchen and link branches">
    Give the Cloud Kitchen a name and select which branches will receive supplies from it. Only linked branches appear as dispatch destinations.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Define your items">
    Create the items that will be held in this central inventory, including their units and transfer prices.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create branch item mappings">
    For each item you plan to dispatch, map it to the corresponding item in each branch's inventory. This step is required before any dispatch can be processed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Receive your opening stock">
    Record stock-in movements to load your starting quantities. Optionally set up waste reasons and alert thresholds.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Define recipes (if applicable)">
    If your Cloud Kitchen produces finished goods from raw ingredients, create your recipes and run production batches to build up prepared stock.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Pages in this section

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Cloud Kitchen Setup, Items, and Stock" icon="warehouse" href="/cloud-kitchen/setup-items-stock">
    Initialize the Cloud Kitchen, define items, view on-hand stock, record movements, and perform physical stock counts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cloud Kitchen Procurement and Production" icon="shopping-cart" href="/cloud-kitchen/procurement-production">
    Manage requisitions, purchase orders, supplier catalogs, recipes, and production batches.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Dispatching to Branches, Mappings, Reports, and Alerts" icon="truck" href="/cloud-kitchen/dispatch-and-reports">
    Set up branch item mappings, dispatch stock to branches, view analytics reports, and configure automated alert emails.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Related

* [Inventory Overview](/inventory/index) — per-branch inventory for items used directly at each location
* [Purchase Orders and Suppliers](/inventory/purchase-orders-suppliers) — suppliers shared between branch inventory and Cloud Kitchen procurement