We will leave efficiency for third gear. Why accuracy before efficiency? Because inaccuracy is a major cause of inefficiency. Without accuracy, any time saved will be lost several times over fixing errors. The costs of errors are escalated in environments requiring track and trace compliance like food safety, hazardous materials, warranty management, etc.
The simplest improvements to inventory accuracy are the elimination of systematic opportunities for errors. So, let’s start by reducing typos. Warehouse key entry should be kept to a minimum, especially when using mobile handsets with small or limited keypads.
- Reduce typing as much as possible. Use technologies for accurate data entry like bar codes and RFID on stock items and warehouse locations.
- When typing can’t be eliminated, at least make it easier. Remove punctuation from any item and location codes. Use data masks so the user doesn’t need to shift between upper and lower case.
- Legibility matters too because a user can’t accurately key in what they can’t read.
- Make sure that vendor, customer and bar code cross-reference numbers are recognized to transact the correct stock item
- When the same item can be packed in different formats, create different bar codes for each that automatically reference the quantity. This will reduce the possibility of typos in the quantity fields.
Quickly Build Accuracy
So now let’s start configuring stock items in Acumatica. With the Distribution suite, you can create and maintain item classes, with default settings that are applied when new stock items are created.
If the Multiple Units of Measure (UOM) feature is enabled, you can also specify the UOMs to be used as the default sales and purchase units for the stock item, and the conversion rules for these units and other UOMs that can apply to the item. You can select UOMs from the list of those available in the system or type new units of measure that will be used for only this item.
On the Packaging tab, you add the item properties that can be used for the packaging calculations on sales orders and shipments.
Use the Cross-Reference tab to maintain any number of aliases for your inventory items.
- Customer Part Number: to maintain the cross-reference between the inventory ID and the customer part number.
- Vendor Part Number: to maintain the cross-reference between the inventory ID and the vendor part numbers.
- Global: to maintain the cross-references between the inventory ID and the global codification. Each packing configuration can be assigned a different alias that encodes both the item and the quantity. By scanning a single barcode for the load, the accurate quantity is recorded.
- Barcode: to specify (or enter it by using a barcode scanner) a barcode for the inventory ID.
With the Multiple Warehouses feature enabled, you can create a distributed structure of warehouses. In Acumatica ERP, a warehouse does not necessarily represent a physical building where your inventory is stocked. You can divide a large physical storage space into multiple areas and define each area as a warehouse. A warehouse can even be virtual. You can perform transfers between warehouses, relocating stock items as needed.
Within warehouses, you can configure multiple locations in each warehouse to best fit the logistics processes established in your company. You can reserve specific locations for sales, receipts, or returns. Some locations may be used for assembly; for other locations, transfers may not be allowed. Different locations may have different primary items assigned, with validation configured for those items. Also, you can assign different pick priorities to items, to more quickly empty certain locations while using others less frequently.
With Acumatica’s inventory system in place, items are located using mobile devices with real-time access. Companies no longer need to arrange their warehouse with like items stored in groups, to narrow down a search. That reduces picking time but makes it very easy to mis-pick an item with a similar appearance from an adjacent location. Now, materials managers can randomize their stock locations to reduce the likelihood of mis-picking without any loss in efficiency. As an added benefit, because stock can only be located with authorized real-time access to Acumatica, pilferage is reduced too.
Finally, let’s consider the differences between Acumatica’s browser-based inventory transactions and Acumatica’s warehouse management screens for mobile terminals. Both are native to Acumatica. Both are real-time. The difference is workflow. Acumatica’s WMS presents users with streamlined step-by-step processes that reduce errors and increase productivity. In the first article, I listed the six basic warehouse activities to be Receive, Move, Count, Pick, Pack, and Ship. Acumatica’s WMS has all of these covered in real-time, against the live data.
So, now that we can transact inventory accurately. It’s time to shift up into third gear – adding efficiencies.
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