E-WMS - WMS Allocations

Introduction

This document describes the functionality of E-WMS Allocations, as available in release 411.

Description

This document contains following sections:

• General
• Functional application
• Prerequisites
• Rules
• Functional changes and settings
• Configuration
• Usage
• Sample scenarios (new document)
• Allocations control center
• WMS Item/stock view
• Project allocations in WMS Inventory

General

E-WMS Allocations, available from release 410, allows you to allocate stock on SKU number level or serial/batch level to a specific sales order, when receiving stock produced or purchased for that sales order. E-WMS applies it's own allocation table, in addition to existing Exact Globe Next allocations. Because E-WMS allocates on SKU number level or on serial/batch number level, you can apply more precise stock allocations.

When the usage of 'WMS Allocations' is enabled and in Exact Globe Next a purchase order or production order is allocated to a sales order, E-WMS will automatically allocate received stock to that sales order when processing the receipt.

In addition, you can use project codes in E-WMS Inventory Counts and E-WMS Stock Transactions, to allocate stock to sales order where the same project code is used in the sales order header. From release 411, using project codes for WMS Allocations is optional. In release 410, a linked project code to a sales order was always regarded by E-WMS picking advice as stock allocation by project.

When generating a picking advice for sales orders while the general setting 'WMS allocations' is enabled, E-WMS will only advise the allocated stock when generating a sales order picking advice. It is optionally possible to advice additional free stock when insufficient allocated stock is available. Allocated stock is not available for other orders than the order linked to the allocation. 

Functional application

You can benefit from WMS Allocations in following scenarios:

• you use WMS Production Receipts to receive stock for a production order created from a sales order (make to order)
• you use WMS Receipts to receive stock for a purchase order allocated to a sales order
• you receive stock in WMS Stock Transactions and want to allocate this stock by project code
• you count stock using WMS Inventory Counts and want to allocate this stock by project code

Prerequisites

For usage of E-WMS Allocations, following is required:

• License SE1380 E-WMS
• License SE1400 E-Project, when you want to use project codes for WMS Allocations
• Usage of communication type 'Scanner - ASP'
• Using E-WMS for receipts 

Rules
Following rules are applied in WMS Allocations.

• A WMS order allocation can only exist when Exact Globe Next allows order allocation. The only exception is WMS allocation through a project code.

  • For instance, WMS allocation is not supported for items where 'Explode - Fulfilment' is enabled

• A WMS allocation is placed on the sales order, not on a specific sales order line

• A WMS allocation can only be created through a WMS receipts process (receiving new stock), and in WMS Inventory Counts or WMS Stock Transactions

• Allocations are placed on the SKU number and/or serial/batch number, and not on quantity. This means a specific SKU number or S/B number can only be allocated to one sales order (or project code) at a time.

• WMS allocations are visible in menu WMS, To be processed, WMS Allocations (all allocations) and in menu WMS, Reports, Item/stock view (per item)

• WMS Allocations can (currently) only support 1:1 order allocations. This means, 'WMS allocations' is not supported when allocating two sales orders to the same purchase order or production order. All receipts on the purchase order or production order are allocated to the first allocated sales order, also when receiving more than planned.

• When receiving more than required for the sales order, the extra receipt is still allocated and will only be available for other sales orders when the allocation has been removed (either by fulfilling the sales order, or by manually removing the WMS allocation).

• When 'WMS Allocations' is enabled and receiving SKU- or S/B stock for a purchase- or production order linked (allocated) to a sales order, a WMS allocation is automatically created when processing the receipt

• A WMS allocation is automatically removed when processing or deleting the sales order

• A WMS allocation is not automatically removed when unallocating an order in Exact Globe Next. Instead, control center WMS Allocations has to be used to remove the WMS allocation manually.

• Deleting a WMS allocation does not affect Exact Globe Next allocations or the shelf stock, it will just make that stock more general available in E-WMS picking advice generation.

• When part of advised stock for a sales order is allocated and a part is not allocated, and using WMS advice collection, the collected orders are split per allocated/non-allocated part

• When using project codes to create WMS allocations: a project code has to be linked to one or more sales orders at the time of processing the received allocated stock, for the WMS allocation to be created.

• When the Exact Globe Next order setting 'Generate project' is enabled, then there is always a project code linked to sales orders. When the setting 'WMS allocations: project' is enabled, and the WMS advice setting 'Advice allocated only' is enabled, then for these orders only stock allocated to that project will be advised and general free stock will be ignored.

• Allocating stock to a project code is optional when using WMS Inventory by means of a checkmark setting 'Allocate' when creating a new count range, and mandatory in WMS Stock Transactions when receiving stock while assigning a project code (and in both cases: when the module setting 'Generate: WMS allocations' is enabled)

• When allocating stock in WMS Inventory, allocations are created during the 'Compare' step, for items which have no stock differences to be processed. For items with stock differences, allocations are created when processing the differences.

Functional changes and settings

Following has been changed in release 410 to accommodate E-WMS Allocations.

• New settings in System, General, Settings, WMS General, section 'General':
  • "WMS Allocations": enables usage of E-WMS allocations
  • "WMS allocations: project": enables usage of project codes for WMS allocations (available from 411)
  • "Allocation level": configures allocations on SKU level and/or serial/batch level
     
    
• New setting 'Advice allocated only' in System, General, Settings, WMS fulfilment advice
   
• New setting 'Generate WMS allocations' in section 'Process' of following WMS setting tabs in menu System, General, Settings:
  • WMS Receipt registration
  • WMS Inventory
  • WMS Stock Transactions
  • WMS Production Receipts
     
    
• A new Exact Globe Next menu WMS, To be processed, WMS Allocations to start the WMS Allocations control center
   
  
• The screen 'Item / stock view' has been changed to show the allocated sales order number or project code

Configuration

You can enable E-WMS allocations using the general setting 'WMS allocations',  The setting 'allocation level' determines on what level stock allocations should be maintained. For each receipt process where you are receiving allocated stock, the setting 'Generate WMS allocations' in section 'Process' has to be enabled.

When you want to use project codes to allocate stock:

• Enable the setting 'WMS allocations: projects'

• Enable the setting 'Generate: WMS allocations' in WMS Inventory settings and/or in WMS Stock Transactions settings

Usage of WMS Allocations is straight-forward, with following basic steps.

Order allocation

1. Creating an order allocation in Exact Globe Next for a SKU or S/B item:
   • create a production- or purchase order from within a sales order, or
   • allocate an existing production- or purchase order to a sales order
2. Scan the the production- or purchase order receipt, and process the receipt in E-WMS
3. View the allocation in control center Allocations
4. Generate a picking advice for the sales order

Project allocation

1. Create a project to act as handle between specific stock and sales order(s)
2. Assign the project code to one or more sales orders (order header - 'Conditions' button)
3. Scan the stock receipt using this project code and process the receipt in E-WMS:
   • in WMS Stock Transactions: use the project code, or the stock transaction code linked to this project, or
   • in WMS Inventory Counts: create a count range with this project code, enable the option 'Allocate' (411) and count the stock
4. View the allocation in control center Allocations
5. Generate a picking advice for the sales order(s) 

This document contains sample scenarios of WMS Allocations. 

Allocations control center

The control center WMS Allocations can be started in menu WMS, To be processed, WMS Allocations.

Press 'Refresh' after you started the screen. Using the screen, you can view all open WMS allocations, and delete WMS allocations if necessary.

The control center shows stock information and sales order information. The visibility of SKU numbers and serial/batch numbers depends on the setting 'Allocation level'. When allocation level was set to 'SKU' and you allocated a SKU with a batch item, than the batch number is not shown in this screen because the batch number is not allocated.

You can delete allocations by selecting one or more allocations and pressing the 'Delete' button. This does not affect Exact Globe Next order allocations, nor the shelf stock of that stock position. Removing the allocation makes the stock available to any sales order.

Please note that a WMS allocation can only be created by receiving stock through an E-WMS process. 

WMS Item/Stock view

In menu WMS, Reports, Item / stock view, two columns have been added to the overview:

'Allocated: Sales order' shows the sales order number to which the stock position has been allocated.
'Allocated: Project' shows the project code to which the stock position has been allocated.

Since WMS allocation is done by SKU- or S/B number and not by quantity, instead of quantity the sales order number or project code is shown.

The quantity '-Allocated'  in the stock information on warehouse level has not been changed and still shows the total of Exact Globe Next allocations. This could be the same as WMS allocations on sales order level. WMS allocations on project level instead of sales order level, are not shown in the stock positions on warehouse level. 

Project allocations in WMS Inventory

In release 410, when assigning a project code to a count, the counted stock was always allocated to that project - but only if there were stock differences to be processed.
In release 411, allocation is optional by a new checkmark 'Allocate' which is available when creating a new stock count, and allocation is now done when 'comparing' instead of 'processing'.

The checkmark 'Allocate' (behind 'Project') was added in release 411.

When enabled, the counted stock will be allocated to the used project when starting 'Compare' after reading back the counts.
When disabled, the project is only saved after processing with the count financial results, for financial reporting. 

Related documents

• WMS Item/Stock view
• WMS documentation start page
• WMS start page