Scheduling Warehouse Docks

The Dock Calendar allows customers to schedule outbound Sales Orders and Inter-Company Transfers and inbound Purchase Orders on available Docks. In addition, both the shipping and receiving requirements can be displayed on the same calendar. The time required to complete the shipping or receiving process is specified on individual orders, with the default time provided from the sales unit or purchase unit of measure. The Dock Calendar can help shipping/receiving departments remain organized and scheduled for inbound orders while easily accessing necessary paperwork for them.

Configuration

Docks and Unit of Measure default shipping and/or receiving times must be defined in DEACOM prior to using the Docks Calendar.

  • Docks - Docks represent the locations where items will be shipped and/or received. Users have the ability to specify if Docks will be used for receiving, shipping, or both and link the Dock to a Facility or Facility Group to restrict its use. A Dock may be selected on the Misc 1 tab of Purchase Orders or on the Misc 2 tab of Sales Orders and Inter-Company Transfers.
    • Note: When creating Inter-Company Transfers, be sure to select the Dock in the "Transfer Dock" field.
  • Units of Measure - The Unit of Measure record contains fields to determine the specific time that it takes to prepare the Unit of Measure for shipment or receipt, which adheres to a hierarchy detailed in the Process section. This time is defined in minutes and must be considered in regard to the UOM at hand. These fields are listed as "Shipment Mins" and "Receipt Mins" but do not have to be written in terms of whole minutes; decimals are readily accepted.
  • Dock Field 1-5 and Dock Sort 1-3 fields - These fields, available in Inventory > Options on the Scheduling tab can assist schedulers when using the Dock Calendar.

It is possible to have two Units of Measure with similar meanings but vastly different receipt minutes. A Drum-200 with receipt/shipment minutes of 5 can also be a Drum-200 with a receipt/shipment minutes of 0.025. The difference here is the Unit of Measure type and factor. In the first example, the Drum-200 that takes 60 minutes to receive is an Each, with a "Factor" of 1. In the latter example, the Drum-200 requires .025 minutes because it is a Weight type UOM with a "Factor" of 200.

If the math is done, both examples will require 60 minutes to receive the same Drum-200. The equation here is units/minute. Units in this case is synonymous with Factor. If this method is not preferable or needs to be manipulated on the fly, users can override the "Dock Minutes" when adding lines to a Purchase Order or Sales Order. If specified on a line, the "Dock Minutes" represent the minutes for each line as opposed to per the Unit of Measure.

Process

Determining how long an order will occupy the Dock

What is the hierarchy to determine an order's shipping/receiving minutes?

The Item Master, Sub-Category, Category, and Unit of Measure records all contain fields to define the default shipping/receiving time. A typical example might be a large tote or container that takes 30 minutes to load and 45 minutes to unload. When the appropriate Unit of Measure is selected as either the Sales unit on Sales Orders or Inter-Company Transfers or as the Purchase unit on Purchase Orders, the default time, in minutes, will be placed in the "Dock Minutes" field on the sales/purchase order line form utilizing the hierarchy listed below:

  • Item Master Unit of Measure Shipment/Receipt Minutes
  • Sub-Category Unit of Measure Shipment/Receipt Minutes
  • Category Unit of Measure Shipment/Receipt Minutes
  • Unit of Measure Shipment/Receipt Minutes

For example, when receiving a 50LB bag of blueberries, the system will check to see if the Item Master Units tab for blueberries contains an entry for the "LB" Unit Of Measure with "Receipt Minutes" defined. If a match is found, the system will use these minutes to calculate the default total Dock Minutes for this line item on the Purchase Order. If the Item Master for blueberries does not contain a "LB" Unit Of Measure with "Receipt Minutes" defined, the system will next check to see if the blueberry Item Master General 1 tab contains a Sub-Category and if that Sub-Category contains an entry for the "LB" Unit of Measure with "Receipt Minutes" defined. If a match is found, the system will use these minutes to calculate the default total Dock Minutes. If no match is found, the system will continue checking the hierarchy defined above.

The total Dock Minutes, per line item, is calculated as the quantity specified on the line multiplied by the default shipment/receipt minutes and may be overridden if necessary. The hierarchy provides companies with greater flexibility when scheduling Docks on the Dock Calendar. The standard amount of time required to load and unload vegetables, for example, may be defined on a Sub-Category named "Vegetables," while a more specific time may be defined on a select number of specific vegetable Item Master records that require more time to load and unload.

Understanding how orders are displayed and scheduled

Purchase and/or Sales Orders will either be displayed in the list at the bottom of the Dock Calendar form or automatically scheduled on the Dock Calendar, in which case they will be visible in the schedule at the top of the form. In either case, Dock Minutes must be specified on the appropriate orders. The sections below provide further details.

How are orders displayed?

Orders will be displayed, and not scheduled, in the list at the bottom of the Dock Calendar provided any line on the order has a "Dock Minutes" value greater than 1. If an order has a Dock and either a "Due to Ship"/"Due to Dock" date specified but not Dock Minutes, it will not appear on the Dock Calendar.

How are orders scheduled and un-scheduled?

Orders will be automatically scheduled and visible at the top of the Dock Calendar form if they have (1) Dock Minutes on any order line, (2) a Dock specified, and (3) a "Due to Ship" or "Due to Dock" date defined. If any one of these is not present, the order will not be scheduled automatically.

  • The specific date and time of day used to schedule Purchase Orders is based on the "Due to Dock" date and "Delivery Time" specified on the Purchase Order Dates tab.
  • The specific date and time of day used to schedule Sales Orders is based on the "Due to Ship" date and "Pick Up Time" specified on the Sales Order Dales tab.
  • The specific date and time of day used to schedule Inter-Company Transfers is based on the "Due to Dock" date and "Pick Up Time" defined on the Sales Order Dales tab.

For orders that are not automatically scheduled, users may drag and drop orders from the list at the bottom of the calendar form to the appropriate date and time as necessary, as long as the Dock is in the correct Facility and has the correct Transaction Type selected. For example, a Sales Order created in the Philadelphia Facility may not be dragged to a Dock for the Denver Facility or to a Philadelphia Dock that is only set for receiving.

To un-schedule orders, drag the appropriate order from the top of the calendar to the list at the bottom. At this point, the "Due to Dock"/"Due to Ship" date will be cleared.

Using the Dock Calendar

The Dock Calendar allows schedulers to schedule Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, and Inter-Company Transfers for receipt and shipment. Using the Calendar Selection Pre-Filter, users may narrow down the list of available orders to schedule. To view the Dock Calendar:

  1. Navigate to Inventory > Dock Calendar.
  2. Select a "Report Type" of "Docks". Fill in any additional fields as desired. If selecting a Facility or Facility Group, only Sales and/or Purchase Orders created for the selected Facility or group will be displayed.
  3. Once all the appropriate selections have been made, click "View" to display the Dock Calendar.
    1. Automatically scheduled orders (those that meet the criteria described above) will block off the appropriate minutes on the date set on the order.
    2. Unscheduled orders will be displayed in the list at the bottom. As previously stated, the "Dock Minutes" field on the order must be populated to have the order display in the list at the bottom of the calendar.
  4. Drag and drop individual orders from the list at the bottom to the appropriate day/time on the calendar to schedule the orders and block off the necessary Dock time.
    1. Orders may only be dragged onto Docks in the correct Facility and with the correct Transaction Type.
    2. Example: A Sales Order created in the Philadelphia Facility may not be dragged to a Dock for the Denver Facility or to a Philadelphia Dock that is only set for receiving.
  5. When all changes to the calendar have been made, click "Save" at the top of the form. Changes are reflected in the appropriate date and time fields on the appropriate orders.

Restrict sales relief to dock locations

Users have the option to restrict the relief of inventory to specific Docks. The option is controlled by the "Restrict Sales Relief to Dock Locations" field on the Item Master properties tab. If this field is checked, when shipping a sales order the inventory will be backflushed from the dock locations that are assigned to the dock specified on the sales order. If there is no inventory in any of the locations assigned to the dock, the system will display an insufficient inventory prompt during shipping.

FAQ & Diagnostic Tips

My company needs to capture the times a pickup/delivery driver is on site to calculate and charge for detention. How can we do this?

Configuring a User Field for Time In and another for Time Out will allow you to capture the necessary details. Then, adding a User Calculation can calculate the length of time the driver was on site and in turn be used to generate any charges. For more information on using these items, refer to the Configuring User Fields and User Calculations best practice page.

My company has recurring Purchase Orders that need dedicated Dock time. What is the easiest way to block off this time on the calendar?

A popular option is to create and schedule a "dummy order" with an assigned Dock and Dock Minutes then re-schedule the order each time after the true Purchase Order has been received. If using this option, be sure to use a Non-stock Part on the dummy order so as not to impact MRP suggestions.