E-WMS

E-WMS - Transfer picked orders automatically to shipping dock

Sometimes sales orders are picked in advance but are not shipped immediately. This means these orders are waiting in the WMS control center, status 'validated', to be processed.

During this waiting time, the shelf stock on the picking locations remains reserved within E-WMS. If this is SKU stock then these SKUs cannot be transferred until the stock reservation is gone (until the order is processed).

Using Pick & Pack Transfer functionality, it is possible to transfer this waiting stock from the picking locations, to a predefined holding or shipping location.

Using this functionality offers following benefits:

• the stock (reservations) positions reflect the actual situation
• the picking locations have space available again to be replenished (which would also be possible using E-WMS Real-time Replenishment or using the setting 'Regard picked as issued')
• when picking from SKUs on the picking locations: the SKUs are free again to be transferred
• the picking locations could be counted using WMS Inventory, when no other orders have stock reservations on these locations 

Configuration

In menu System, General, Settings, WMS Sales order fulfilment, the 'Pick & Pack' settings are used for the 'Transfer' functionality.    

• 'Replenishment order': enable
• Packing location: fill an existing shipping or holding location. This location has to exist in all warehouses where orders are picked and transferred this way
• Pick and Pack: Type: set to 'Transfer'

The result of changing these settings:

• the new button 'Transfer' is available in control center Sales order fulfilment
• the new checkmark column 'Transferred' will show in the control center, to indicate whether an order was already transferred
• the behaviour changes of following settings in section 'Automatic validation':
  • 'Immediate processing': can no longer be changed, is disabled. When working with a shipping dock, it is assumed that sales orders are only processed manually
  • 'Stock transfers: immediate processing': can be changed now 

Basic process

The basic working of the 'Transfer' functionality is simple: when enabled, you will see an additional button 'Transfer' in control center Sales order fulfilment, status 'Validated'.    

The button Transfer is available for validated orders which have not been transferred yet. 

When pressing 'Transfer', all validated lines and item quantities in this order are transferred to the preconfigured shipping location, using WMS Transfers.    

    The order remains in status validated, but now using 'SHIP' as picking location.

The original picking location now no longer has stock reservations for this sales order. 

SKU Management

When 'transferring' a SKU this way, and when quantities were picked from a SKU on a picking location, where the SKU remains on the picking location with a remainder quantity, then this SKU no longer has a stock reservation for this order - and could be transferred back to a bulk location for example.  The SKU number is however removed from the picked lines in this case, since a SKU cannot exist or have stock reservations on two separate locations.

This also means, that after processing the sales order, the WMS report 'Transaction history' will show no SKU number for this sales order fulfilment.
The transfer transaction (from the picking location to the shipping location) will however show the SKU number in the issue line.

Traceability

In custom reports you can trace back the original picking location or SKU number, by linking the issue line of the generated transfer to the picked and transferred order line.

Transfer header table CSPickITTransfers can be linked to order table Orsrg, by using field CSPickITTransfers.SalesOrdernumber (amongst other fields, like itemcode).

When an order line is transferred, field Orsrg.CSPickITIsTransfered(or CSPickITOrsrgEx.IsTransfered for additional lines) is set to '1'. 

Points of attention

• Using this transfer functionality means no other Pick&Pack functionality can be used
• SKU numbers are removed for the transferred order line, when the scan unit is set to 'Sales units', when only part of a SKU was picked. The SKU number remains with the stock on the picking location.
• When picking part of a SKU from the picking location, the picked stock should not have a label with that SKU number. A SKU can only exist on one location at a time
• The 'picking' location is replaced with the dock location in the transferred order lines
• The transfer functionality results in additional transfer transactions in the database
• the configured shipping location should not have any restrictions related to storage of items (not configured as 'fixed item' location or as 'variable item' location, and no restrictions through WMS location types)
• Cost items (non-stock items; GL stock account is not a balance account) are ignored for transfer (from 413SP8/414SP2).

Related documents

• WMS settings Sales order fulfilment
• Product Update 411: E-WMS - Transfer picked orders to temporary shipping location  
  
• E-WMS start page