Picking in practice

The picking screen is where the operator spends most of the day. It is built around one principle: every line is either collectable, or it carries the reason why it is not.

The list

Pick list groups lines by floor (Floor) or alphabetically (A-Z) and shows the location, quantity and status for each line.

Lines come from customer orders, but the list can be extended manually: Order, Purchase Order or Product from the Sources section. An operation created from a document has its type locked, because the document defines the work.

Scanning

A scanned or entered code finds the line and confirms one unit. The module reports with a message, and with a voice announcement, when something does not match: the code matches no line, the line is already complete, or the product is marked as out of stock.

Lines that cannot be collected

Some lines are not work to be carried out, and the module marks them so that the operator does not search for them:

not in stock — these units are not available anywhere; they are on backorder and there is nothing to fetch,
another warehouse — the goods exist, but not in this building,
shelf life too short — the goods are on the shelf, but every lot there has less remaining shelf life than the removal rule allows. This is not a shortage but a decision to be taken: collect them anyway, or withdraw the lot.

A summary above the list shows how many lines cannot be picked in this warehouse.

Why a particular lot was selected

Each line states the reason for the lot selected: selected by the rule, with the rule name, or the system default, soonest expiry first. → Lot removal rules

When the shelf is short

Instead of collecting less without a record, the operator reports the shortage — Report a shortage. The form asks how many units were actually found and requires a reason: Shelf empty, Fewer than expected, Damaged, Different product on the shelf, Cannot be reached, Count differs from the record.

The report has consequences: the missing units may be re-earmarked to another shelf, and a difference beyond the tolerance sends the location to be counted instead of correcting stock without verification. → Reported shortages

Three corrective actions

Book found stock — the goods are present even though the wave did not include them. The operator enters the quantity found and a location, where an empty field means the unassigned pool, and the pick list is rebuilt. If the found stock was earmarked for more urgent demand, the module reports it.

Count this bin — counting a location without interrupting the work. Two options are available: Report it, which adds the location to the counting plan, or Book it now, which is an immediate stock correction.

Assign a bin — the stock had no location yet. The operator names the shelf they are standing at, the whole unassigned quantity is mapped there, and the task then points at that location.

Saving progress

With server-side progress the synchronisation state is displayed: all scans saved, saving in progress, or the number of scans that could not be sent.

While a batch of scans is being transmitted, the buttons that control the run wait for it: Cancel, Hold, Resume and Complete are shown as busy and cannot be pressed. This lasts as long as the request. These four actions decide what happens to the work, and taking such a decision on a state the server has not yet received could cancel a wave together with units that were already collected.

The progress mode is set per warehouse (Pick progress). → Warehouse settings

Undoing

Reset unticks collected lines exactly as if a person had unticked them manually. In put-away mode it moves placed goods back into the receiving buffer. These are real stock movements, so the module asks for confirmation and states how many lines are affected.

Reported shortages are left untouched: a shortage is withdrawn separately, on the line itself.

Next: packing

Once the goods are collected, Next: Pack moves on to packing. → Packing and the assistant