Introduction
Crossdocking is the act of transferring received goods directly to the
shipping dock, to be issued, instead of first storing these goods in the
warehouse. This will be typically be done when these goods are required for
sales orders to be shipped on short notice, or for production orders requiring
the incoming materials on short notice. The details in this document are based
on the functionality as provided in product update 407.
General
One of the tools you will need to apply crossdocking, is software which is
aware of your fulfillment requirements during registration of receipts. Exact
E-WMS offers crossdocking functionality in the 'guided' receipts process on the
hand terminal.
E-WMS has crossdocking logic built-in at these places in the E-WMS software:
- during receipt registration of purchase orders on the hand terminal, for
items required by sales orders
- during receipt registration of purchase orders on the hand terminal, for
items required by production orders (available from
product update 407)
- during receipt registration of production orders, for items required by
sales orders (available from
product update 404)
- when generating a picking advice for sales orders
- when generating a picking advice for production order
materials (available from
product update 407)
This document contains following sections:
Prerequisites
To be able to use crossdocking, following prerequisites apply.
License
- SE1312 E-Warehouse location (and usage of locations enabled)
- SE1380 E-WMS I
- SE1385 E-WMS terminal user (per hand terminal)
- SE4250 E-WMS Production (for crossdocking advice in production receipts
or for crossdocking of production materials)
or (old license structure):
- SE5700 Pick-IT Basic
- SE5705 Pick-IT Route Optimizing
- SE5760 Pick-IT RF
- SE5791 Pick-IT Basic Terminal user (generally needed per scanner)
- SE5740 Pick-IT Production (for crossdocking advice in production
receipts or for crossdocking of production materials)
Usage
- Usage of wireless E-WMS hand terminals (ASP)
- Usage of 'guided' receipts (send purchase orders picking, prior to
starting receipt scanning)
- 'Crossdocking' setting(s) enabled in E-WMS Receipt registration settings
- 'Picking advice' enabled for Sales Order Fulfillment or
Production Issues
Rules
Following rules apply for E-WMS Crossdocking.
- Starting from 407, you are able to exclude items from the
crossdocking process. In earlier releases, crossdocking is a mandatory step for all received
items which are to be fulfilled on short notice.
- Starting from 407, you can configure a specific crossdock location per
item. In earlier releases, you can use only one general crossdocking target location.
- The warehouse used in the purchase order and the warehouse used in
the sales order line or production order material line must be the same warehouse.
In other words: E-WMS will only scan for crossdocking requirements in the
same warehouse as the receipt warehouse.
- E-WMS Replenishment does not combine well with crossdocking; a
replenishment order would still be generated for order lines already having
'crossdocked' stock available.
- When using Pick&Pack, a picking advice for a 'crossdocked' order line
will advice to pick the stock from the crossdock location, and move it to
the packing location
- Crossdocking is currently not supported for materials for make items
where 'Explode - fulfilment' is enabled
- Serial/batch items or SKU items are supported in the crossdocking
process, but the crossdock reservation is not created on serial/batch
level or on SKU level, just on (crossdock) location level. When generating a picking advice for crossdocked serial/batch
or SKU items, the crossdock location will be advised, but the advice could include
any batch or SKU available at the same location. It is possible to
overrule an advised batch or SKU during order picking. It is assumed that you will put a label or paper
on the pallet, stating for which order the stock position is intended.
- The crossdock receipt has to be processed (as shelf stock) in Exact
Globe Next, before the picking advice will recognize and advice the
crossdock location.
- Sales order lines or material lines where a specific S/B number was
entered, are ignored by E-WMS crossdocking. For these lines it is assumed
you want to issue specific existing S/B numbers.
- Order lines which are allocated to another purchase order than currently
being received, are excluded from the current crossdocking receipt
- When starting a receipt scan, crossdock advice lines are generated based
on the ordered quantity in the purchase order, before the actual received
quantity is scanned
- Starting from 407, you can specify what status an order should have
before it is regarded for crossdocking requirements. Before 407, a sales order does not
need a specific status ('authorized' or
'confirmed') to be included for a crossdocking advice
Functionality
You have following functionality available in E-WMS crossdocking.
Crossdocking of items required in sales orders:
- Enable or disable crossdocking for requirements for sales orders when
scanning E-WMS (guided) purchase receipts
- Enable or disable crossdocking for requirements for sales orders when
scanning E-WMS production receipts (404)
- Limit crossdocking for sales orders only to orders allowing 'partial
delivery'
- Use a general crossdocking location for sales orders, or configure a
specific crossdock location per item (407)
- Configure up to how many days in advance you want to crossdock for sales
orders, based on 'today' versus the planned delivery date per sales order
line
- Configure which status sales orders should have before being considered
as requirement for crossdocking (407)
- In combination with crossdocking of production materials: define the
priority for crossdocking, when the same received item would be required in
sales orders and production orders
Crossdocking of items (materials) required in production orders (all from
407):
- Enable or disable crossdocking for requirements for production orders
when scanning E-WMS (guided) purchase receipts
- Use a general crossdocking location for production orders, or configure
a specific crossdock location per item for production orders
- Configure up to how many days in advance you want to crossdock for
production orders, based on 'today' versus the planned start date per
production material line
- Configure which status production orders should have before being
considered as requirement for crossdocking
- In combination with crossdocking for sales orders: define the priority
for crossdocking, when the same received item would be required in sales
orders and production orders
Settings
Crossdocking in purchase order receipts can be enabled for two types of order
requirements: sales orders or production materials. Crossdocking can be enabled
for both or one of these processes, in menu System, General, Settings, E-WMS
Receipt Registration. For details on these settings, please refer to
document
E-WMS Receipt Registration settings. Crossdocking in production receipts
scanning is available for requirements for sales orders and can be enabled in
menu System, General, Settings, WMS Production Receipts.
In the hand terminal
receipt settings, it is advisable to set the setting 'Location/Display
which value' to 'Empty' or to 'Advice', to avoid having a
fixed receipt location proposed, other than the crossdock location.
When crossdocking SKU items, and you do not want to print a SKU label for
each crossdock scan, then it might be better to disable the WMS receipts
setting 'Auto. SKU label screen'. For normal non-crossdock receipts, you
however have to initiate SKU label printing manually, by pressing the OPTIONS
and SKU button on the hand terminal.
Documentation links:
Item settings
There are several crossdocking settings and preferences available in item
maintenance, WMS button. These settings are explained in document
WMS button in item maintenance. These settings give the possibility:
- to exclude items from the crossdocking process, in case specific items
need to be stored always in the warehouse, or when an item should only be
crossdocked for sales order requirements and never for production orders;
- to set a specific 'crossdock size' per item, in case an item can only be
handled or transported in a specific packaging, for example computer chips
on a roll, or containers containing fluids;
- to use a specific crossdock location per item, per crossdocking process
(sales orders or production orders).
Process
Purchase order receipts
When crossdocking is enabled, each time an item is scanned in guided purchase receipts, and
when there are requirements matching the crossdocking settings, the original receipt
order line sent to the scanner is split into separate advice lines, one for each
order requiring the received item. These advice lines are enriched with an
instruction text referring to the sales order or production order. This
splitting of advice lines is done after scanning the received item, and before scanning the received
quantity or serial/batch number.
In this sample, received item 1000G is required for several sales orders and
production orders. As soon as the purchase order line is selected on the hand
terminal, or the item is scanned, WMS will generate crossdock
advice lines based on the planned quantity in the purchase order, and show the first order line based on configured priority (in this
case, 'production orders always first'):
 |
 |
|
After scanning the first receipt, the scanning screen will return to an empty
screen (since E-WMS cannot predict what item will be unloaded from the truck
next).
On scanning or selecting the same item, you can select the next crossdock advice
line. In the sample below, sales order 1017 is next.
After the whole receipt is scanned, read back and processed (the Globe item
card will only show total quantities per receipt location), the crossdocked
quantities will be advised when generating an E-WMS picking advice for these
sales orders or production orders.
Points of attention
Production backflush items
Backflush items will typically not be picked using E-WMS, but will be
processed automatically when receving the production order in Exact Globe Next
or when processing a production receipt in E-WMS. Backflush items can be
excluded from an E-WMS production picking advice. In the receipts process,
crossdocking will only be enabled for backflush items, when backflush lines are
also included (setting enabled) in the E-WMS production issues picking
advice. Exact Globe Next is also not aware of a 'crossdocking' location used by
E-WMS. When the material would be crossdocked in E-WMS, but the material line is
backflushed while processing a production receipt, then the default item
location (as planned in the production order) will be used, which is not
necessarily the same as the crossdocking location. You could also choose the 'exclude'
backflush items always from crossdocking.
Production: guided issues and free issue scanning
When stock is crossdocked for production orders in E-WMS receipts
registration , then that stock position on the crossdock location will be
adviced again when generating a picking advice in E-WMS guided production
issues. However, when scanning free material issues (hand terminal menu:
Production, Issues, Issues) then there is no validation whether you are scanning
materials from a crossdock location. This means there would be a risk, issuing
stock which was intended for another production order. E-WMS crossdocking will
work best, when using 'project bins' per production order, or when putting a
paper with the production order number on the crossdocked stock.
E-WMS guided issues primary usage will be, to get a logical sorted picking
list so you can gather the materials needed to start a production order.
Materials already available on the production crossdocking location (which may
well be a production floor location, when in the same warehouse) may in fact not
have to be 'picked' anymore from warehouse storage. Guided issues is however
also used to process the actual issue, so crossdocking locations will still be
part of the material picking advice.
Summarizing quantities
E-WMS crossdocking will always generate separate crossdock advice per (sales-
or production) order, and not one total for the requirements of all sales
orders. This means E-WMS Crossdocking will work best, when marking the
crossdocked stock with the (sales or production) order number for which it is
intended. Also when using the E-WMS item setting 'crossdock
size': this size is applied per separate target order. Putting aside more
than needed for one order, does not influence the quantity to put aside for the
next order. This means that this 'crossdock size' will be more efficient to use
for production orders, and not as much for sales order purposes.
Serial/batch number allocated
When you allocated (entered) a specific serial/batch number in the sales
order line or in the production material line, E-WMS will ignore this line for
crossdocking purposes. Allocation a S/B number would mean that you want to use a
specific, probably existing S/B number, and therefore crossdocking cannot be
applied, since crossdocking advice lines are already generated on the hand
terminal before quantity and S/B number are scanned.
Purchase units
When a purchase order would normally be received while scanning purchase
units; for crossdocking the received unit will always be changed to the default
sales unit of an item.
Order allocations
A purchase order for which crossdocking is started, can already be allocated
to a sales order or a production order. E-WMS applies order allocations as
following:
- the allocated sales- or production order for the currently received
purchase order, will have highest priority for crossdocking (will be shown
first as crossdock advice)
- sales orders or production orders allocated to another purchase
order than currently being received, are excluded from crossdocking for that
current receipt
Warehouse
E-WMS will only generate crossdock advice lines for order- or material lines
in the same warehouse, as used for the purchase order being received. This is
because only one warehouse can be used when processing the receipt of a purchase
order.
Partial delivery
For Exact Globe Next it can be configured per sales order, whether 'partial
delivery' of the order is allowed. In E-WMS crossdocking settings, crossdocking
can be limited to only sales order allowing partial delivery. This 'partial
delivery' setting is however not available for production orders, so
crossdocking will always be initiated for any open material line (when matching
the other criteria, like date range or order status), including 'backorder'
material lines (split lines after partial issue). This also applies to sales
order with backorder lines. Therefore it is not possible to limit crossdocking to production orders for
which enough materials are received to produce the whole order. The
received quantity is only scanned after the crossdock advice lines have
been generated (based on the ordered quantity in the purchase order) on the hand terminal.
Stock already available on a crossdocking location
When scanning a crossdock receipt, E-WMS checks whether stock was already put
aside on the crossdocking location, for the current order to crossdock for. The
quantity to crossdock will then be adjusted, if stock has already been
crossdocked for the same order. However, when stock is stored on a crossdocking
location outside of the crossdocking process, then this stock is ignored
as 'available' for crossdocking purposes, since E-WMS cannot determine to what
purpose that stock was put there. This applies to the location configured
per item, and to the general crossdock location.
Real-time transfers
'Real-time
transfers' are disabled for crossdocking receipt lines, since crossdocked
stock is not transferred by scanning. Instead, the receipt location is changed
to the crossdock location.
Crossdocking SKU items
When using SKU items in crossdocking, you will basically build one SKU per
separate crossdocked advice line; or you can crossdock in sales units without
assigning a SKU number for this stock.
Related documents
keywords: cross docking cross-docking cross dock
cross-dock