Introduction
This document describes the details of using specific E-WMS scenario
'Real-time replenishment', as introduced in E-WMS 408 with the new 'scenario'
setting.
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Description
In release 408 the functionality of 'Real-time Replenishment' was added in
E-WMS. To enable this functionality a 'scenario' setting is available in menu
System, General, Settings, WMS Sales Order fulfilment.
This scenario assumes that you are replenishing based on sales- or production
order needs. If you want to replenish just based on minimum and maximum stock
levels configured per location, then there is no need to enable this scenario.
Benefits and specifics
Real-time Replenishment using scenario '1' offers following benefits, compared to the regular
replenishment- and orderpicking process:
- Sales orders can be send picking in full, even while currently
there is insufficient stock on picking locations.
This is because E-WMS anticipates
replenishment within the same warehouse, and now checks whether there is enough
total stock available in the warehouse
- without this scenario, there has to be sufficient stock on picking
locations before a sales order picking advice can be generated
- Due to the anticipated (but not yet realized) replenishment, the picking advice for the sales
order will always be for the default location of the item.
- without this scenario, only locations actually holding enough stock would
be advised, or in case picking advice is disabled, also the item main location
would be advised but then without warehouse total stock check
- Replenishment of picking locations can already be initiated as soon as
something is picked from picking locations.
To automate the generation of replenishment orders, E-WMS Autoqueue should
be used.
- without this scenario, replenishment requirements on picking
locations would only be seen based on shelf stock = only after
processing the sales order
- Only when this scenario is enabled, order-specific requirements can be
considered in E-WMS Replenishment. These are for example:
- WMS setting 'Check credit line'
- Specific batch- or serial number entered in sales order line
- Debtor specific 'external shelf life' limitation for batch items
- Debtor specific SKU type limitation
- without this scenario, Replenishment is only based on item total
requirements, without regard for order- or debtor specific needs
- Order-specific stock, such as a specific batch- or serial number which
was entered in a sales order line, is replenished to bulk locations nearby
the item main location (and allowing breaking up)
- to support 'nearby', it is possible to configure distances between
locations
- without this scenario, order-specific stock is not recognized by
Replenishment
Basic process
When scenario '1' is active, a sales order picking advice has to exist (in
status 'advice' or 'picking'), before replenishment orders can be
generated. Generating the sales order picking advice can be done manually in
control center Sales order fulfillment, or by using the Autoqueue service for
sales orders. Replenishment (either through Control Center or by using
Autoqueue) then generates replenishment orders and picking advices based on the
existing sales order picking advices.
The sales order picking advice will already be based on the total available warehouse stock
per item, anticipating continuous real-time replenishment) in the same warehouse
as the order line, and the advised
picking location will always be the item main location. Only for order-specific
stock (see section 'Order specific circumstances' below), bulk locations near
the item main location will be advised.
The replenishment Autoqueue process keeps scanning whether there are new
replenishment requirements on the picking locations, based on physical
(=real-time and 'picked', not necessarily processed) stock, and will send these
new replenishment orders picking again. To avoid very small replenishment
orders, you can either set the Autoqueue service interval (see
TimerInterval) to a higher value than 10 seconds, or set the minimum stock
level for the picking locations to a low level.
Preconditions
Following license modules are required to be able to use real-time
replenishment:
- SE1381 E-WMS II (or older license SE5710 Pick-IT Replenishment)
- SE1312 E-Warehouse location
Following preconditions apply with regard to settings and configuration.
- The replenishment setting 'Requirements only' is enabled. When this
setting is disabled, then there is no difference compared with the
logic used when the scenario setting is set to 'None', except for instance
for the setting 'Regard picked as issued' which is always applied as
'enabled' when the scenario is set to '1'. Following preconditions
apply to a situation where the setting 'Requirements only' is enabled.
- WMS Sales order fulfilment general setting 'Scenario': set to scenario
'1'
- Scenario '1' supports replenishing within one warehouse (bulk stock and picking
locations must be in the same warehouse)
- Usage of warehouse locations is enabled
- The items to pick must have a default (main) location
- Picking locations are configured as replenishment target locations in
WMS Item Locations
- minimum and maximum stock levels configured in menu
WMS, Setup,
Location Management, Item locations
- make sure the WMS item location is the same as the item main location
- The Autoqueue service is installed and running. This is not mandatory
for the functionality, but otherwise all actions would have to be performed
manually in control centers and replenishment orders would not be generated
real-time and continuously.
- For this scenario, a sales order picking advice has to exist first,
before a replenishment order and advice is generated. This sales order
picking advice can be generated manually in control center Sales Order
fulfillment, or can be generated automatically by the Autoqueue service
(when enabled for Sales order fulfillment)
- To automatically generate Sales order fulfilment picking advices, the
WMS Sales Order fulfilment setting 'Use Autoqueue' should be enabled
- The WMS Replenishment settings for Autoqueue are already preset to
'enabled' when this scenario is active.
- E-WMS Replenishment RF service installed and configured to allow for
automatic processing of picked replenishment orders
- When sales orders require 'order-specific' stock (see below):
- bulk locations allowing breaking up nearby the item main location
- configuration of
location distances (item main location versus nearby bulk locations)
- Settings:
- WMS fulfilment advice setting 'Immediate picking' enabled (otherwise a
generated advice will not be sent picking automatically)
- WMS Replenishment 'generate' setting 'Immediate advising' enabled
(otherwise no advice will be generated automatically)
- WMS Replenishment 'generate' setting 'Requirements only' enabled
(otherwise sales orders will not be scanned for requirements)
- WMS Replenishment advice setting 'Immediate picking' enabled (otherwise
a generated advice will not be sent picking automatically)
- Usage of 'Pick&Pack' or 'regular' use of WMS Replenishment is not
supported in this scenario
- The account used for the Autoqueue service should have rights in all
Exact Globe Next warehouses, to avoid recurring error messages in the WMS
error log table
Details
Fixed settings
Once the scenario setting has been configured to scenario '1',
following E-WMS
settings will be disabled and applied automatically:
- WMS General:
- regard picked as issued: always enabled
- WMS Fulfillment:
- Pick&Pack settings: disabled
- WMS fulfilment advice:
- Location advice policy: 'Pick locations only'
- S/B in orderline: pick and bulk: enabled
- Pick locations: make locations empty
- WMS Replenishment:
- Autoqueue/Generate replenishment orders: enabled
- Autoqueue/Generate picking advice: enabled
Services
In this scenario, the following actions are performed by the Autoqueue
service:
- Scanning for order replenishment requirements based on existing sales
order picking advice (status 'advice' or 'picking')
- WMS item locations minimum/maximum levels versus current physical
(picked) stock
- Generate replenishment orders for requirements
- Generate picking advice for these replenishment orders
- Send replenishment orders picking
Autoqueue can also be used to automatically generate advices for sales orders
and send these picking, in that
case 'Use Autoqueue' has to be enabled in the WMS Sales Order fulfilment
settings.
When picking of the replenishment orders is done, these replenishment orders can be read back,
validated and processed. To automate these steps, the WMS Replenishment service
should be installed.
Order specific needs
Because in this scenario the WMS sales order advice logic creates the
replenishment order and picking advice, replenishment orders will only be
created when the sales order would be send picking under normal circumstances.
This means that only in this scenario, replenishment can support for instance
the WMS Sales order fulfilment
setting 'Check credit line'.
A sales order can require 'order-specific stock', which is one of following
situations:
- a specific serial/batch number was entered in the sales order line
- debtor (or Item by debtor) has 'external shelf life' factor
- debtor only accepts specific SKU type
In this scenario, order-specific stock is replenished to bulk locations which
allow breaking up, nearby the item main location. For this to work properly,
location distances have to be configured and the warehouse layout should
allow for these type of bulk location near the item main location.
Additional functionality
In addition to above mentioned fixed functionality for this scenario, you
have following additional options:
- create separate replenishment orders per item code, source location
and/or target location (WMS
Replenishment settings for 'Split orders'). This allows for smaller
workload portions on the scanner, and faster processing of picked
orders.
- configure which policy should be used for storing 'order-specific stock'
during replenishment: near the item default location, or near the
replenishment source location (WMS
Replenishment setting 'DPA policy')
- configure if replenishment should check for full SKUs that could be
picked directly from bulk locations, instead of replenishing these to
picking locations. This is decided by the WMS
fulfilment advice setting 'Full SKU first from bulk location'.
- On scanner: search for replenishment orders and scan replenishment
orders by item code or by source location, instead of only by replenishment
order ID. For this purpose, you can configure additional scanner
menus.
- when using WMS Purchase Receipt Registration, WMS will create stock
reservations for the stock to be received on the item default location for
the purchase lines sent picking and still to be received. This may conflict
with Replenishment to that location, since this reservation is regarded in
Replenishment as 'already on its way and not be replenished'. For that
purpose it is possible (since release 414 or 413SP5) to configure a
generic
receipt location.
Troubleshooting
Please see
this document for troubleshooting Replenishment.
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