Utilizing Asset Tracking

Configuration Configuring asset tracking using item master records Configuring asset tracking using Containers Process Using asset tracking in Production Producing goods that contain a tracked container Issuing materials to Jobs that contain a tracked container Finishing materials on Jobs that contain a tracked container Using asset tracking in Sales Returning a tracked container to inventory Reporting on asset tracking Tote Receiving Tool feature

DEACOM offers an asset tracking feature that is designed to track containers, typically containing finished goods (e.g. totes, tanks, bins, or rail cars), from the time of sale to the customer, while the customer has the container at their facility, and at the time of return. This is extremely useful for companies who choose to charge customers fees for using and/or storing containers.

There are two different options for establishing containers in DEACOM. Companies may use one of these features or a combination of both.

• An item master record can be created representing the container, and then this item master can be added to a Bill of Materials which includes both the container and the finished materials that will be shipped in the container. The classic example is the 55 gallon of oil which will be shipped to customers and the 55 gallon drum returned.
• A Container record can be created in DEACOM to represent the vessel that will be shipped and returned by the customer. An item master record, representing the type of container, will still need to be created and assigned to the Container record to use the asset tracking feature. The use of Containers allows more versatility in placing inventory into Containers, since materials can be both finished to or moved into Containers. Containers can also be depreciated as a fixed asset and have maintenance performed on them via MRO.

Prior to using the asset tracking feature, the appropriate Container or item master records must be created or modified, depending on which method companies wish to utilize.

Configuration

Configuring asset tracking using item master records

A separate, single item that represents both the finished good and container in which the finished good is stored must be created in order to utilize the track assets feature. For example, let’s consider a 55 gallon drum of bulk oil and the scenario in which a company wants to track the drum from time the drum is filled, to the sale and shipment of the drum and when it is returned by the customer. Three Item Master records must be setup for this scenario.

• Bulk Oil - this represents the finished bulk material that will be placed into the 55 gallon drum.
• 55 Gallon Drum - this represents the container or package part that will contain the finished bulk material, in this case, 55 gallons of bulk oil.
• 55 Gallon Drum of Bulk Oil - this represents the final finished good that is shipped to the customer and consists of the container and finished bulk oil.

The process of tracking assets indicted by item masters relies on the assignment of serial numbers to the appropriate containers that need to be tracked. This is accomplished by making the following modifications below:

• The container that is to be returned by the customer when it is empty, the 55 Gallon Drum, should be marked as "Unit Serialization" and "Track Inventory At Customer" on the Properties tab of the Item Master.
• The finished good, the 55 Gallon Drum of Bulk Oil, should be marked as "Container Serialization" and "Track Inventory At Customer" on the Properties tab of the Item Master. In addition, this item should have the container part, the 55 Gallon Drum, specified in the "Tracked Container" field on the General 2 tab and a unit of measure that equals the size of the container, in this case 55 gallons, specified in the "Container Unit" field on the Units 1 tab.
• The bill of materials for the finished good, the 55 Gallon Drum of Bulk Oil, must contain both the finished bulk material, the Bulk Oil, and the container part, the 55 Gallon Drum.

Notes:

• The container unit field only needs to be filled in on the finished good containerized part.
• The finished good in the example, the 55 Gallon Drum of Bulk Oil, may be marked for "Unit Serialization" if desired. The setups steps above are required for the asset tracking to be successful. Other additional tracking and control features, such as lot control, may be enabled as required by company policies and preferences.
• The process of returning empty containers received from customers is handled in DEACOM via a credit memo. If the returned container needs to be inspected and/or cleaned, QC tests may be added on the "QC/Stability Tests" tab of the container part.

Configuring asset tracking using Containers

Let's consider a 300 Gallon Cylinder of Bulk Liquid and the scenario in which a company wants to track the cylinder from the time the cylinder is filled, to the sale and shipment of the cylinder and when it is returned by the customer. The difference between this scenario and the 55 gallon drum of oil above is that the company will use a Container record in DEACOM to represent the 300 gallon cylinder. The following records must be setup for this scenario.

• Bulk Liquid - this represents the finished bulk material that will be placed into the 300 gallon cylinder.
• 300 Gallon Cylinder - this represents the type of container or package part that is used to shipped finished bulk material, in this case, 300 gallons of bulk liquid. This item master is used to facilitate asset tracking and the creation of credit memos, which are used to place the returned Container back into inventory.
• 9999-9999-300 - This example represents the Container vessel that will store the finished material that will be shipped to the customer.
• 300 Gallon Cylinder of Bulk Liquid - This represents the final finished good that is shipped to the customer and consists of the Container vessel and finished bulk liquid.

The process of tracking assets by Containers is accomplished by making the following modifications below:

• The item master record representing the type of container, 300 Gallon Cylinder, should be marked as "Unit Serialization" and "Track Inventory At Customer" on the Properties tab of the Item Master.
• The finished good that will be shipped in the Container, 300 Gallon Cylinder of Bulk Liquid, should be marked as "Container Serialization" and "Track Inventory At Customer" on the Properties tab of the Item Master. In addition, this item should have the item representing the container type, the 300 Gallon Cylinder, specified in the "Tracked Container" field on the General 2 tab and a unit of measure that equals the size of the container, in this case 300 gallons, specified in the "Container Unit" field on the Units tab.
• The bill of materials for the finished good, the 300 Gallon Cylinder of Bulk Liquid, must contain both the finished bulk material, the Bulk Liquid, and the container part, the 300 Gallon Cylinder.
• Quantities and serial numbers of the item master representing the type of container, 300 Gallon Cylinder, will need to be entered in DEACOM. This is accomplished by purchasing, adjusting in, or manufacturing the item. The system will require that serial numbers be entered when performing any one of these transactions.
• Container records with names that match the serial numbers generated as a result of the above step will need to be created via Inventory > Maintenance > Containers. For example, if 10 eaches of a container item master were received, there would be 10 serial numbers generated as a result of this transaction. A corresponding Container record would need to be created and named for each one of the serial numbers.
• The item master representing the type of container, 300 Gallon Cylinder, will need to be selected in the "Part Number" field of the Container record.
• Finally, the lots in inventory, representing the serial numbers of the 300 Gallon Cylinder, needs to be moved into the corresponding Container via the Move Inventory transaction. This will need to be done for each Container in the system. In our example, we received 10 eaches of the 300 Gallon Cylinder part, and were required to verify/specify a serial number for each one. Next, we created 10 Container records, one for each serial number. The easiest way to perform the move in this case is to run an inventory lots report for the 300 Gallon Cylinder part, select a lot/serial number, click the "Move Inventory" button on the report, in the "New Container" field select the Container number that matches the serial number, and click the "Apply" button to complete the move. This will need to be repeated for each lot of the 300 Gallon Cylinder part. Note: This step is necessary since Containers themselves cannot be directly issued to a job or sales order, rather, a lot of inventory within a Container may be issued to a job or sales order. The process described in the section above facilitates this process by moving a lot quantity of one item, in this case the item master representing the container type, into the newly created Container record.

Note: The "Remove Excess Customer Inventory Upon Return" flag in Sales > Options may be checked if excess inventory stored in Containers should be removed when returning inventory via a credit memo sales order.

Once all the necessary setup steps have been completed, the system will require serial numbers to be assigned/verified for these parts when they are issued and produced as indicated in the Process sections below.

Process

Using asset tracking in Production

Producing goods that contain a tracked container

The key to successful asset tracking is to ensure that the serial number of the container matches the serial number of the containerized finished good. The process begins when the container is issued to the Job as indicated in the section below. Additional information about the process for creating production Jobs in DEACOM is available via the Entering Production Jobs page.

Issuing materials to Jobs that contain a tracked container

Once a production Job for a containerized finished good has been created, the appropriate materials required to produce the finished good must be issued to the job. As indicated in the Configuration section above, the container part must be set for "Unit Serialization" and the containerized finished good must be set for "Container Serialization". The bulk finished goods, the Bulk Oil and Bulk Liquid in the examples listed, does not have to be set for "Unit Serialization", but may be depending on company requirements or policies.

The result of setting the container part to "Unit Serialization" means that the container will already have a serial number assigned when it is received, produced, or adjusted into inventory. The Job issuing process will require that the user select a specific serial number when issuing this container to a production Job. Let's consider the example of the 55 Gallon Drum of Bulk Oil, which is made up of 55 Gallons of Bulk Oil and a 55 Gallon Drum. The bulk oil in this case is not marked for lot control or unit serialization. The 55 Gallon Drum is marked for unit serialization. On the Issue/Reserve Inventory form, the "Lot Number" column for the 55 Gallon Drum will display "Serial Required". In this case, the user must click the "Modify" button and select the appropriate serial number. Once the serial number(s) have been selected, users may continue with the issuing process and click the "Save" button on the Issue/Reserve Inventory form when finished. The next step in the process involves finishing material on the production Job. Note: When using Containers , the issuing process is the same as the one listed here except that users will want to add the Container number (cr_contnum) field to the Issue/Reserve and Apply Inventory Grids so they can clearly pick which Containers will be issued to the job.

Notes:

• As indicated previously, the serial number of the container issued to the Job must match the serial number of the finished good containerized part when a Job is finished. If issuing was done with a picklist, the same picklist may be used when items are finished on the production Job. If serial numbers are scanned, users can simply scan the serial number of the container when issuing and again when the material is finished on a Job and placed in the container. In addition, users may click the "View Issued" button on the Close/Relieve Job form to see a list of what items and serial numbers were issued to the job.
• The grid layout on the Issue/Reserve Inventory form may be modified to include the serial numbers of the items that have been issued. Additional information on modifying grid layouts is available via the Configuring Grid Layouts and Automated Reports page.
• The asset tracking feature is also available when using the DEACOM Warehouse Management System (WMS). Additional information is available via WMS > Scanner Transactions > Issue Job and WMS > Scanner Transactions > Input Production.
• The "Serial # Generation" field via Inventory > Options determines how serial numbers may be entered in DEACOM. The choices available are "Manual", "Sequential", or "User-Defined".

Finishing materials on Jobs that contain a tracked container

The process for finishing materials on Jobs that contain a tracked container varies slightly depending on which method (tracking via a container item master or tracking via a Container record) is used in the system.

Finishing materials on Jobs that contain a tracked container item master

Once all the appropriate materials have been issued to the job, material may be finished using WMS via the Input Production transaction or in the main application via the Input Production Transaction or the Close/Relieve button in Job Reporting.

When production/material is finished on a production Job containing either a unit serialized part of a container serialized part, the system will automatically display the Serial Numbers form. If the item is marked as "Unit Serialization", the form will be displayed with a column entitled Serial Number. If the item is marked as "Container Serialized", the form will be displayed with a column entitled "Container Number". If an item is marked as both "Unit Serialization" and "Container Serialization", both columns will be displayed. When finishing materials for a containerized finished good set for asset tracking, the form will contain a column entitled "Container Number". At this point in the process, users must specify the same serial number(s) as that of the container(s) that were issued to the Job. Once complete, click the "Save" button to complete the finishing process. If after production, QC has been set for this item, it may be performed now via Production > QC Result Entry.

Finishing materials on Jobs that contain a tracked Container

Once all the appropriate materials have been issued to the job, material may be finished using WMS via the Input Production transaction or in the main application via the Input Production Transaction. Note: If using Containers and tracking assets, material must be finished via the Input Production transaction since this transaction allows users to select a Container number to finish into.

When production/material is finished on a production Job containing a tracked Container, the user must select the Container containing the finished material that will be shipped to the customer in the "Container Number" field on the Input Production form. The Container number selected should match the Container number that was issued to the job. If after production, QC has been set for this item, it may be performed now via Production > QC Result Entry.

Using asset tracking in Sales

Shipping Sales Orders that contain a tracked container

Once the Job finishing and any post production QC steps, if specified, have been completed, the containerized finished good will be placed into regular inventory. The exception to this would be if the production Job was a header Job created from a Sales Order. In this case, once the material is finished and necessary QC performed it will be placed in a reserved inventory status and reserved exclusively for the associated Sales Order. If the Sales Order header Job option is not used, a Sales Order will need to be created in order to sell and ship the finished good container. The process for creating a new sales order is available via Entering Sales Orders. Once the Sales Order has been created, users may reserve the necessary items to the Sales Order or ship the order directly and allow the system to select the appropriate lots/containers as indicated in the next section.

Reserving a tracked container to a Sales Order

If the finished good containerized part has been marked for "Require Lot Control When Relieving," "Unit Serialization," or "Container Serialization", users will need to specify the lot/serial/container that was finished on the production Job. Items may be reserved to a Sales Order in multiple ways as indicated in the list below.

• Navigate to Inventory > Issue/Reserve Inventory in main application.
• Via the "Reserve" button on the Sales Order header via Sales > Order Reporting.
• Automatically when items have been finished on the header Job created from the linked Sales Order.
• Use the Reserve SO transaction in the WMS application.

If the finished good containerized part does not require the lot/serial/container number to be specified, the system will select the appropriate lot based on the FIFO order identified in the How DEACOM Uses Lot Numbers section via the Managing Inventory Costs page.

• Note: If the system selects the lot, the container number associated with the lot is still maintained/recorded so asset tracking capability is still maintained.

Once the Sales Order containing the finished good containerized part has been shipped in the system, the container part or Container, in our examples the 55 Gallon Drum or the 9999-9999-300 , is placed in customer inventory and may be seen by using the "Customer Inventory" report type on the Sales > Order Reporting pre-filter.

Notes:

• The Container number (cr_contnum) field can be added to the Issue/Reserve grid, the Apply Inventory grid, and the "Customer Inventory" report to display the appropriate Container number.
• The customer inventory table (dtcinv) will contain an entry for the tracked container part number. In addition, upon shipment, the tracked customer part will only have the container part number attached to the inventory record.
• Two new database fields have been added to assist with asset tracking. The "pr_contprid" field is stored in the "dmprod" table and indicates the part number of the container that will be shown in customer inventory. The "ci_serial" field is stored in the "dtcinv" table and indicates the serial number of the part entering customer inventory.

Returning a tracked container to inventory

Once the empty container has been returned by the customer, a credit memo containing the empty container (the 55 Gallon Drum or 300 Gallon Cylinder in our examples) is entered in the system and shipped. This has the effect of removing the empty container from customer inventory and placing it in regular inventory or in QC testing if the container contains a QC group on the Item Master. In this case, the container is returned to regular inventory once it has passed QC testing. Additional information regarding the QC process for returned items is available via Purchasing > QC Result Entry. The process for creating a credit memo is available in Sales > Order Entry.

The process for returning a tracked container to inventory varies slightly depending on which method (tracking via a container item master or tracking via a Container record) is used in the system.

Returning a tracked container represented by an item master to inventory

Users will be required to enter a serial number when shipping the credit memo. At this point, users must specify the same serial number that was shipped to the customer. Once this is done, the shipping process will be complete and the container part number will no longer be displayed in the "Customer Inventory" report in Sales > Order Reporting. This completes the cycle for the asset tracking process.

Returning a tracked container represented by a Container record to inventory

When shipping the sales order, users will need to modify the line and select the Container number that was shipped to the customer in the "Container Number" field on the Edit Quantity form. Once this is done users will save and exit the Edit Quantity form. Note: the user will not be required by the system to enter the Container Number but it is required for the tracking process. Next, users will click the "Ship Order" button at which point they will be required to enter a serial number. The serial number entered must match the Container Number entered in the previous step.Once this is done, the shipping process will be complete and the container part number will no longer be displayed in the "Customer Inventory" report in Sales > Order Reporting. This completes the cycle for the asset tracking process.

Reporting on asset tracking

All existing reports within Inventory Reporting can be leveraged to report on containers, weather the container is represented by an item master or Container record. For containers represented by item masters, the records will be contained in the DEACOM inventory table (dtfifo). As an example, a Usage report can be leveraged to show the in's and out's for a particular container. To further help when searching for a particular container the "Serial Number" field is available on the Inventory Reporting pre-filter. When using Container records, the "Container" field on the Inventory Reporting pre-filter can be used. On the sales side, containers at a customer location can be viewed from the "Customer Inventory" report type via Sales > Order Reporting.

Tote Receiving Tool feature

Introduced in version 17.04.007

This transaction allows users to receive serialized tote container items into one facility from multiple sources which could be from other facilities or from customer sites with one transaction. The process is covered in detail via the Utilizing the Tote Receiving Tool page. Note this feature only applies to WMS. If using this feature, some of the concepts for asset tracking should be considered.

This feature transaction is triggered when users scan a part/serial and has the new security set and the part number / serial is found in a container in another facility or customer inventory. Note that users can then scan multiple totes before selecting the Move button and all the totes will be added to one transaction (regardless of if they are from another facility or customer inventory

When this feature is used and the conditions for tote receiving are meet as discussed in the link above, the Move From, Move To, Job Number, Src Lot Type, Src Location, Src Container, Src Container, Suggested Location, New Container, New Vehicle, Use Entire, Master Wgt, and Find fields will be disabled on the WMS Move Inventory screen.