  Issue 3.2, February 2023
IFMS Activity At-a-Glance
The Integrated Food Management System (IFMS) replaces the legacy Automated Inventory System (AIS) to support the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). FNS plans to retire AIS in 2023, and ITOs who currently use AIS should prepare to transition to another system such as IFMS or Sygnal. For more information, please refer to the Technology Synopsis in the January 2023 FDPIR Connection e-letter.
There are 93 Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) using IFMS to conduct food distribution transactions for their communities and manage inventory and household records for FDPIR. To date, over 24 million food items have been issued through IFMS.
 Fig 1 - IFMS was being used by 93 ITOs at 129 Sites in February 2023.
As of February 10, 2023, IFMS activity since launch included:
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93 ITOs deployed IFMS with 453 active users
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63,114 individuals in 32,332 households received food
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24,176,382 items issued through 311,890 order transactions
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42,344,128 items updated through 124,465 inventory transactions
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54,097 household certifications updated
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10,188 new households created
The Transition Team congratulates the following tribes on their recent transition to IFMS:
- Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas
- Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, South Dakota
- Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona
- Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township, Maine
- Sac and Fox Nation, Oklahoma
- Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan
- Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association (SCTCA)
- The Comanche Nation, Oklahoma
The Team continues to transition ITOs. Currently, there are five planned for March, with several more transitioning between April and June. Interested in learning more about how IFMS can support your program? Contact the Transition Manager today.
Certification Module:
The Certification Module launched on February 3, 2023. This new tool allows ITO users to determine FDPIR participant eligibility by:
- Conducting calculations with earned and unearned income
- Calculating net income (income minus deductions)
- Generating certification notices
- Assigning certification statuses such as expedited, pending, and categorically eligible
Mobile App:
The IFMS mobile app is a streamlined version of IFMS intended to efficiently conduct food distribution at ITO tailgate sites with limited internet connectivity. The mobile app provides:
- Integration with the IFMS web-based system through a syncing process
- Ability to transfer IFMS inventory from the main warehouse to the mobile app inventory then back to the main warehouse upon return from a tailgate operation
- Full tailgate inventory traceability from transfer to tailgate food issuance
- Ability to create households in a pending status to allow expedited issuance to new households while enforcing the monthly guide rate
For more information on the mobile app, including a list of recommended equipment, or to schedule a demonstration, please contact the Transition Team.
Release 2.1.0 Highlights
Release 2.1.0 went live on February 10, 2023. The following enhancements were included:
Issuance Management:
- ITO users can conduct Issuance, Adjust Issuance, and Void Issuance transactions to update and maintain accurate "Best If Used By" (BIUB) date records.
Inventory Management:
- The Audit/Edit BIUB Date transaction allows users to add, view, or edit BIUB dates for materials in inventory. Users can also add BIUB dates through the Receipts Inventory and Transfer Receipt Inventory transactions. The earliest BIUB date for a material will be applied to the quantity updated through other types of inventory transactions. The new BIUB Date Report displays this information for materials grouped by site.
Reporting:
- ITO users can access the BIUB Date Report and BIUB date records.
Detailed release notes can be found in the IFMS Learning Academy (login required).
Audit/Edit BIUB Date Transaction
The Audit/Edit BIUB Date transaction allows users to capture or edit "Best If Used By" (BIUB) dates for materials in inventory.
To begin the Audit/Edit BIUB Date transaction, select the Inventory Transaction tab on the navigation bar.
 Fig 2 - The Inventory Transaction tab on the navigation bar
Select Audit/Edit BIUB Date on the Transaction Type drop-down list.
 Fig 3 - The Audit/Edit BIUB Date option on the Transaction Type drop-down list
Continue the transaction by completing the required fields and selecting Next to open the transaction screen.
Full instructions for working with BIUB dates can be found in the FDPIR Inventory Training Materials in the IFMS Learning Academy (login required) or in the Audit/Edit BIUB Date tutorial video (no login required).
IFMS Public Webpage
The IFMS webpage provides announcements, general information about IFMS, and a variety of other resources for the user community and other interested parties. These include:
Training Requests
Need IFMS Training? The ITO IFMS Support Program offers training opportunities for the IFMS user community in the form of new staff member training, refresher training, release enhancement updates, and advanced topics.
ITOs can request a range of topic-specific user trainings for their ITO staff using the IFMS Training Request Form. Training is available for existing as well as new users or those switching roles. Completed forms should be submitted to the IFMS Transition Team.
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