Picking Inventory
Picking inventory involves workers gathering items in the warehouse and returning them to the staging/shipping area or selecting lots in the DEACOM system and ensuring these lots are issued to/reserved for specific Jobs/Sales Orders. Inventory issuing and reserving may occur after the Job or Sales Order has been entered or on the Shipping form prior to actually marking the order as shipped in the system. Reserving inventory to a Sales Order is a process to allocate specific lots to a specific order. It allows customers to define which lots are going to be shipped prior to an order actually shipping. This will remove inventory from the On Hand bucket of MRP and prevent it from being used for other orders. Staging inventory is a similar process to reserving, except the lots will be in a Staging status until the lots picked are confirmed at least once. Once the staged lots have been confirmed, they will be reserved to the Job or Sales Order. Lots in Staging will show up as On Hand inventory in MRP.
During the issue/reserve process is when pick lists are usually printed, however they may also be printed by using the "Print" button when viewing the Job or Sales Order via Production > Job Reporting and Sales > Order Reporting. Once the pick list is printed, the worker will be ready to physically gather the materials. DEACOM offers a few options to assist users with picking inventory in a logical fashion, based on pre-defined criteria or constraints. These options are explained in the "Configuring System and Item Master options" section below.:
Configuration
The following configuration covers the requirements for picking inventory:
- In Production > Options > WIP tab:
- Set how the information contained on the various Report Layouts should be sorted using the "Sort Job Picking By" field.
- Set the "Pick List Facility" field based on company operations.
- In Sales > Options > Printing tab:
- Set how the information contained on the various Report Layouts should be sorted using the "Sort SO Picking By" field.
- In Inventory > Options > WMS tab:
- Determine the various Lot Chooser form defaults using the "Show Lot Chooser", "Filter Lot Chooser", "Sort Lot Chooser By", "Lot Chooser Type", "Lot Chooser QC", and "Lot Chooser Select" fields.
- Determine how inventory and specific Lots should be suggested using the "Suggest Lots", "Suggest By", and "WMS Lot Priority" fields.
- On the Item Master for each Part
- On the General 2 tab, set the "Pick Order" and under and over issuing limits.
- On the Properties tab, check the appropriate flags regarding including the Part on Job Pick Lists.
In addition to the above settings, for users to be able to pick material, the following must be true:
- One or more Sales Orders must be open and not yet shipped. Refer to Entering Sales Orders for information on the various methods used to enter Sales Orders.
- One or more Jobs must be open. Refer to Entering Production Jobs for information on the various methods used to enter Jobs.
- There must be inventory on hand. The number of available Lots and quantity in each can be verified using an Inventory Reporting "Lots" report with a "View" of "On Hand". Refer to Inventory Flow and Reporting for more information on reporting options.
- Report Layouts, such as the Job Pick List and Sales Pick List, must have the appropriate information embedded on the report itself and in the barcodes used on the documents. Refer to Modifying Production Pick List and Modifying Sales Order Pick List for information specific to those reports and Managing Report Layouts for general information.
- WMS scanners that will be used to perform transactions must be properly set up and have the DEACOM software installed. Refer to WMS Installation for complete information.
Any additional configuration is included in the Process section below.
Process
Configuring System and Item Master options
How are picking defaults established?
Using System Options and Item Master - Depending on the desired picking method and parts being picked, pick list selections and flags should be configured as described below.
- Snake Picking - Concept that allows the company to define the order of Locations that a picker should follow while picking. Once defined, when a user logs into WMS and begins to reserve lots to an order, they will be prompted to pick lots based on the Location sequence. This is meant to prevent pickers from having to backtrack to Locations they’ve already passed to pick a lot for the next item. This option means warehouse Location setup should not be the first Location at the front of every rack. This means that Location A-01 is not necessarily across from Location B-01. If the last Location in a row is A-30, B-01 should be setup directly across so that the stock picker can smoothly continue his/her count without walking back to the start of the aisle. This option is controlled when naming and sequencing Locations in the Setting up a Warehouse process.
- If Snake Picking is the method of choice, navigate to System > Options > Inventory 2 tab and set the "Suggest By" field to "Location". Then, navigate to Inventory > Maintenance > Locations, and modify the desired records by assigning a value in each record's "Location Sequence" field. This value will determine in what order the system will suggest a Location to pick from.
- Zone Picking - Though different Zones may share a similar Location, each Zone comprises of a different characteristic: refrigerated, dry, flammable, etc. Most often, designated operators are assigned to manage these Zones to ensure efficiency in the picking process. These efficiencies include (1) reducing travel time, since workers do not need to travel as far on forklifts or by foot to gather required materials, (2) reducing traffic interference by enabling stocking unit organization (as many manufacturers divide their warehouses into Zones by stocking unit, where one Zone might contain pallets of the material that require forklift access, while another Zone of loose cases of the product can be picked by a worker with a handcart.), and (3) increasing familiarity with an assigned Zone as workers specialize in their specific Zone, rather than having to become familiar with the entire warehouse.
- If Zone Picking is the method of choice, navigate to System > Maintenance > User Restrictions, select the desired user and click "Modify", and set the restriction via the "Zone" field. Once a user is assigned to a Zone, the lot chooser and the scanning features in WMS will be restricted to only lots available within the Zone. If a user attempts to scan something outside of their zone they will be given an audible warning and a prompt in the application. More information on Zone configuration is available via Setting up a Warehouse.
- Using Kitted/Phantom Parts - Option used for Finished Goods for which inventory should not be kept on hand. The components remain in stock and the user will be prompted to pick them during the reserving process, after which the kit will then be assembled and shipped on the order. This option is controlled by the "Inventory Relief Phantom" flag on the Item Master Properties tab.
- If using Kitted/Phantom parts, navigate to Inventory > Item Master, select the desired Part and click "Modify". On the General 1 tab, set the "Order Type" field to "Kitted". On the Properties tab, check off the "Backflush BOM at Job Finish" and "Inventory Relief Phantom" flags. Last, navigate to Print Outs > Maintenance > Report Layouts and modify the Sales Pick List using the Report Designer. In the line grouping section, add the expression “ALLT(phantcodenum) + ALLT(phantdescrip)”. More information on these options and processes is available in the Using Kitted Parts and Modifying Sales Order Pick List pages.
- Restricting Picking to Container Units - Concept that requires that the lots picked for a Sales Order have a Container Unit that matches the Sales Unit as defined on the order. This option is controlled by the "Restrict Sales Picking to Container Units" flag on individual Units of Measure. If restricting picking to Container Units, navigate to Inventory > Maintenance > Units of Measure, modify the desired record(s), and check off the "Restrict Sales Picking to Container Units" flag. This selection allows users to only pick lots with the matching container unit
- Using Multi-Facility Pick Lists - Option used in situations where components for a Job are held in multiple Facilities and therefore need to be visible to the pick list. If using Multi-Facility Pick lists, navigate to Production > Options > WIP tab and set the "Pick List Facility" field to an option other than "Same Facility".
- Allowing multiple users to reserve to the same sales order in the WMS application -
How can picking efficiency be maximized?
Using the "Pre-Fill Next In WMS" field available via Inventory > Options > WMS tab. For WMS only, users can select if upon entering an Issue or Reserve form on the scanner, if the system will suggest the next Job or Sales Order to issue based on the Sales Order "Due To Ship" date or the Job "Planned Start" date and priority set on the Sales Order/Job, respectively. The options in this field are used for customers who want the ability to assign warehouse pickers to a Job or Sales Order. This would replace the scan of a barcode on a picklist. Rather than having the user tell the scanner which order they want to pick (usually by scanning a barcode) the scanner automatically selects the next order to pick. After completing standard picking of the order, the user is presented with a Next or Exit choice, where Next brings up the next order to pick.
Staging, issuing, and reserving material
The staging and issuing (to Jobs)/reserving (to Sales Orders) functions are used so that the inventory is assigned to a list of orders or a specific order until the company is ready to finish/ship the product. The lots will remain staged or issued/reserved against the selected order(s) and will be included on any picking lists printed until they are either finished/shipped or de-issued/un-reserved.
How is material staged for orders?
The concept of staging, which can be separated into pre-staging and final staging, is used to assign lots to a list of specific orders, but this action alone does not reserve the inventory. This action marks the chosen lots as Staged which prevents them from being reserved or finished/shipped against orders not in the specified list. Staging can provide a very efficient way of preparing materials for all Jobs that are due to start the next day, for example. For more information on pre- and final staging and process steps to complete this function, refer to Staging Material.
Material can also be staged across Facilities, which is when Multi-Facility Pick Lists come into play. The Staging Across Facilities feature, only available in web versions of DEACOM, was designed to support production scenarios where job finishing occurs in multiple stages in more than one Facility in DEACOM. The typical example is a bulk Job process. Stage 1 of the process might include building a group of the required materials in Facility 1, then transferring those materials to Facility 2 to be blended. Once these materials are weighed and verified, they are allocated for that Job and cannot be used for any other. The process in DEACOM is to issue materials to the Job to remove them from available inventory, then transfer those materials to the second Facility for additional processing. Refer to Staging Across Facilities for more information.
How is material issued or reserved to orders?
Users may issue/reserve inventory directly to one Job/Sales Order so that it cannot mistakenly be used for another order and can then easily be finished/shipped against the selected order. There are a couple ways to do this, including using the Issue/Reserve Inventory function, using the Production > Job Reporting "Job Summary" and Sales > Order Reporting "Sales Order Summary" reports, or using the WMS scanners. For more information on the processes and options, refer to the Issuing and Reserving Material Best Practice page.
How is material de-issued or un-reserved?
The De-Issue/Un-Reserve form is used to un-reserve lots or remove lots from the Staging status so that they may be used for a different order. This function can be used if the wrong lots were reserved or if the order was canceled. For more information on the processes, refer to the Issuing and Reserving Material Best Practice page.
Using Substitutes and Master Lots during picking
How are suggested lots and parts substituted?
The lot suggested by the scanner is always the FIFO lot. However, users with the "WMS -- Substitute lot" security set to Yes are able to override the suggested lot and substitute a new one. When substituting a lot, if the lot has a quantity available to fulfill the entire suggested quantity, the system will prompt the user to use the suggested quantity. If the suggested quantity is not used, the quantity populated on the Reserve SO form will be reserved to the order.
Users with the "Inventory -- issue substitutions" or "Inventory -- reserve substitutions" security settings set to Yes have the ability to substitute parts when using WMS. When a part is selected or scanned for an item that is not on the Job or Sales Order requirements for issuing or reserving, the system will check to see if that item matches a Substitution for one of the required items, as defined on the original Part's Item Master Substitutes tab. More information on the option of configuring and using substitutes is available via Utilizing Substitutes in Production and Utilizing Substitutes in Sales.
What options exist for using Master Lots?
The system allows partial use of Master Lots, which is helpful in situations where customers will break individual eaches of pallets. The system will use inventory first before going to use a Master Lot. If multiple Master Lots exist, the user will be prompted to select a Master Lot from which to pull the inventory. The amount pulled will then be the amount required. The process starts by entering the order number, then scanning the lot, which will open the Master Lot Chooser form, and concludes with picking a Master Lot and confirming reservation. More information on Master Lots can be found in Creating and Using Master Lots.
FAQ & Diagnostic Tips
Tips:
- If barcodes are not being utilized, scanners can still be used and information entered manually on the scanner by using the keyboard.
- All fields in the Master Lot table (dtmasterlot) are now available to the staging and final staging picklists, both when printing from the issuing screen as well as the pre-staging screen.
- The security setting "WMS -- allow de-issue without physical scan" is available. If checked, users will be allowed to de-issue a lot without scanning a label. This security option, together with the "WMS -- allow de-issue" setting offers users greater flexibility when de-issuing from the scanner.
- Picklists can printed from non-WIP jobs which will show the suggested lots for the requirements.
- In the WMS Application, if a user has the security setting "Inventory - Final Stage by Master Lot", and a Master Lot is scanned or entered manually, the system will ignore any lot filters that have been selected on the form.
An Inventory on hand report shows available inventory, but the on hand column on the Issue/reserve form shows 0. Why can’t I issue parts to the job?
Please check three things: make sure the inventory is in the same facility that is selected on the job, the Lots are not expired, and the lots are not issued to a Master Lot.
Why are no parts to issue when I change the revision of a BOM on a job?
When reselecting the revision, the quantity resets to 0. Please change the quantity back and the parts should appear.
I changed the expiration date on a lot so it could be issued to a job, but the apply inventory form is still blank. What is going on?
This can happen if you are trying to backdate the issue transaction. The New expiration date function cannot be backdated. You will need to issue the lot on today’s date.
Where can I see a list of required material for a job, consolidated by part number?
The Issue Inventory form will show you the required quantities by part number. If the job has been partially issued, you can use the View Req’d button on the view job form to see the information.
How can I see if a pick list was already printed for a job?
When a job pick list is printed, the time and date are now recorded and those fields can be added to the Job Summary report grid via Production > Job Reporting. The job's history, via the "History" field on the "General" tab of the job is updated as well.
Can I configure a Favorite or report to mail Sales Order recipients with order updates?
Try using delayed Triggers via the "Delivery Expression" field. Process information can be found in Configuring Triggers.
While reserving to a sales order in the WMS application and clicking on the "Lots" button I receive the following prompt: " System options are configured to override selected lots." What is causing this?
This prompt is displayed as a result of the "Suggest By" field in Inventory > Options being set to "Location." This setting is used when utilizing the snake picking feature in DEACOM. The "Lots" button is restricted since the system is already suggesting lots to pick based on their Location sequence and users are not meant to pick lots in different Locations via this button. The security setting "WMS -- select lots when suggesting by location" allows users to select the "Lots" button and is useful in situations where the lot in the suggested Location does not have enough of the material required.