Warehouse Management Basic Setup

Warehouse Management Basic Setup

Warehouse Management is an advanced distribution and order fulfillment solution that extends the capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX to support distribution companies and logistics providers. Using the following features:

NUMBER SEQUENCES FOR WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT

The following number sequences need configured as NON-CONTINUOUS:

• Bill of Lading ID: Each BOL generated gets a unique ID.
• Work Voucher: This is placeholder. It is required for WHM to function and needs to be able to handle a large number.
• License Plate ID: Used for license plate generation, as detailed above. This needs to be 9 digits in length with no text for proper license plate generation.
• Load ID: Unique identifier for WHM loads.
• Shipment ID: Unique identifier for WHM shipments.
• Work ID: Unique identifier for work headers.
• Work Trans ID: Unique identifier assigned to user transactions performed against work for labor tracking.
• Work Build ID: Unique identifier for each time work is built, to group a series of work headers together by build.
• Label ID: Unique identifier assigned to each label printed through the RF gun.
• Work Creation ID: Used by the system during work creation, each time it is run. This number should be big enough to handle the number of times work is created in the entire company.
• Work Grouping ID: When a user groups work together during RF transactions, the system assigned a unique transaction to the group.
• Wave ID: Unique identifier assigned to waves.
• Release to Warehouse ID: Each time a group of orders/loads are released to the warehouse, the release is assigned a unique ID for tracking purposes.
• Container Transaction ID: This is a unique ID assigned during container close.
• Temporary Tote ID: This is the license plate assigned when a tote is set down in a packing station.
• Wave Execution ID: This is the unique identifier given to a Wave when being executed.

WAREHOUSE SETUP

In order to use a warehouse in WHM, it must first be enabled. Under Warehouses, check the wax enabled checkbox next to the warehouse. Once “whm enabled” has been checked, it can no longer be unchecked. The different tabs on this form make it easier to customize different settings per warehouse. On the warehouse management tab, the default receipt location should be filled in for purchase orders. The wax tab contains more settings that will be useful.

LOCATIONS SETUP

In the Locations form, you can see all the locations within all the warehouses.

• You will need to enter the warehouse, location name, profile ID, and Zone ID.
• You can generate check digits from here as well but it is not necessary.
• You can check transactions that were performed specific to a location here on what inventory is available on hand.

LOCATION PROFILES

Location Profiles need to be setup to define if a location will be license plate controlled, if it will allow mixed items, mixed batches, and if it can be cycle counted. Location Profiles can be very useful in other areas of WHM. For example, you can define location sizes by the profile id as a group. These checkboxes can be changed later if changes need to be made.

A special profile needs created for user locations that is license plate controlled, allows mixed items, and allows mixed batches. This profile then needs to be set on the WHM parameters screen for the user locations profile. When WHM moves inventory, it puts on a user location while in transit. Thus this location profile is critical to the system functioning.

LOCATION TYPES

Location Types are used to describe or define a location. Location types are used in creating location profiles. Two special location types need created for staging and final shipping locations. These location types should then be set on the WHM parameters screen. This allows the system to find and update these locations in work.

ZONES SETUP

Zones can be setup as well. This can be useful for allocating product based off of zone areas. Also, with the location building feature, you can create locations with zones.

ZONE GROUPS

Zone Groups are required and may be used for logical grouping of multiple zones and reporting purposes.

LOCATION FORMATS

Location Formats are used for location naming. Here you would setup how many characters are needed to name a location. This is needed for the location building utility. “Sep” stands for separation. This is the character you would use to create locations that have a hyphen or star in the name.

LOCATION SETUP WIZARD

Build utility is a quick way to create several locations at once. You will need to fill out the warehouse. You can give a profile ID and a Zone ID. The separators and character lengths are taken from the location format form. If locations have letters, enter them in the Static Text field. An example of the locations are shown below.

ITEM SETUP

Much of the item setup within Dynamics AX is exactly the same with WHM. Item groups and dimension groups have been slightly modified to support WHM, and then an additional WHM tab has been added to the item itself. Correct item setup is critical to WHM and drives many key processes within the application.

STORAGE DIMENSION GROUPS

WHM is turned off and on at the Storage Dimension Group. A new checkbox has been added to the storage dimension group called “WHM Enabled”

When WHM is enabled, it turns on certain dimensions by default: Site, Warehouse, Location, and License Plate. These dimensions are not optional and are setup and required by WHM.

New dimensions to WHM include:

• License Plate: WHM manages this dimension setup. License Plate can be turned on and off at the location level via the location profile (see location profile setup). License plates can be setup on the Warehousing for AX menu under Setup/Warehouse/License Plates.
• Inventory Status: WHM manages this dimension setup as well. Inventory statuses can be setup on the Warehousing for AX menu under Setup/Inventory /Inventory Status. Statuses can be setup to either be available for reservation or not. Anything unavailable for reservation cannot be shipped.

TRACKING DIMENSION GROUP

Serial number and batch number are still configuration options, and can be configured normally. However there are new options on the dimension group that allow for WHM to capture serial and/or batch only at packing. In this case, WHM will take control of the configuration of the batch and serial dimensions.

ITEM GROUPS AND FILTER CODES

Item Filters are a new concept in WHM that allows a user to:

• Categorize items. These categories can then be used throughout the system, not just the warehouse.

• Limit which customers can order an item.

• Limit which items can be purchased from a vendor.

Filters are turned on and off via the item group, in addition the automated filter groups setup is defined on the item group as well. If a filter code is set as required, then the filter code must be specified when the item is setup in AX.

CUSTOMER FILTERS

Once item filters have been setup, customer filters may be specified. This is a button off the customer master itself. Customer filters allow a user to restrict what items can be ordered by the customer.

As the screenshot implies, multiple filters are allowed for a single customer, and wildcards are allowed. In the above example, the customer is allowed to order any item in the WAX item group with Code 1 = nm and Code 2 = waxp; or anything in the WAX item group with code 1= WAX; or anything in the DVR item group. Note these lines are an “or” condition, so if any line allows a customer to order an item, they are allowed regardless of the rest of the setup. Also, customer filters can have expiration dates.

VENDOR FILTERS

These work exactly the same as customer filters save that it applies to purchase orders and vendors.

GENERALLY AVAILABLE ITEMS

WHM allows setup that will make certain items available to all customers and/or vendors. Generally available item setup supersedes customer/vendor filters; if an item is generally available, customer/vendor filters are not even considered.

Items can be made generally available for either customers, vendors, or all, via the dropdown at the top of the screen. Wildcards are again allowed in this setup.

This screen is found on the Warehouse Management Module, under Setup/Filters/Generally Available Items

FILTER GROUPS

WHM can categorize items based on the filter codes. This allows users to place items into groups without ongoing maintenance of those groups.

This screen is found on the Warehouse Management module, under Setup/Filters/Filter Groups.

Any item that has a filter setup that meets a criterion of the bottom grid will get assigned the groups in the top grid. Again wildcards are allowed, and again an or condition exists between the lines.

FILTER PARAMETERS

This screen is found on the Warehouse Management module, under Setup/WAX Parameters/Filters tab.

The default filters are used for quick entry of customer/vendor filters. The wildcard is a required parameter to use wildcards in the system.

ITEM SPECIFIC SETUP

All of this setup is found on the WHM tab on the item details screen.

• The RF Descriptions 1 & 2 define what description is displayed on the RF for this item. If not specified, WHM attempts to display the item name broken apart (and possibly truncated as the item name does not fit on the small screen of an RF gun).
• NMFC Code is a standard National Motor Freight Classification code that determines how an Item is rated for certain carriers. It also controls how product details are grouped on the WAX Bill of Lading.
• Default Production Quantity defines the standard quantity that comes out of production each time a user issues a report as finished transaction. This is just a default and can be overridden on a production order.

UOM Sequence Groups

This is critical setup to WAX. This tells the system how the inventory is stored in the warehouse. This setup drives how the system locates product in the warehouse or how it finds locations to put inventory into.

A UOM Sequence group defines which units of measure an item is stored in, from smallest to largest. In the example below, the item is stored in eaches, then cases, the pallets.

In addition, this setup also drives unitization at receiving, cycle counting, and report as finished. All of the above are described in other sections of this manual.

The item must have a unit conversion record between all units of measure in a UOM Sequence group. In the example above, any item tied to this group would need an ea to pl conversion.

Physical Dimension Groups

In WHM, the physical dimensions or measurements of inventory can be specified. This is done by either setting up a general physical dimension group, or creating specific physical dimensions per item. You can specify weight, width, depth, height, (and therefore volume) for specific units of measure.

The following screen is for setting up physical dimension groups and is found on the Warehouse Management module at Setup/Inventory/Physical Dimension Groups.

Pack Size Categories and Location Stocking Limits

One of the ways WHM can determine how much can fit in a location is via stocking limits and pack size categories. Items can be put into a pack size category. This pack size category is then used in setting up stocking limits. Stocking limits basically define how many of a certain unit of measure can fit into a single location.

The following screen is found on the WHM menu at Setup/Warehouse Setup/Location Stocking Limits.

This setup can take either a location or location profile; and either a pack size category id, item number, or neither. The “allow unlimited quantity” checkbox basically means the location is unlimited in size, and WHM will not check to see if the location is overfull. If that is not checked, the user must specify a unit ID and a quantity to tell the system how many of that UOM fits in the defined location(s).

WHM also has a function for multi-sku pallets and locations where the system will count license plates instead of units of measure. For instance, a pallet rack has 3 pallet locations, but the pallets are odd shaped due to multiple skus being on each pallet. In this case, a unique unit of measure can be setup, and placed in the “Default License Plate UOM” on the WHM parameters screen. Then in location stocking limits, use that unit of measure and specify the number of allowed license plates in the quantity field.

VOLUMETRICS

Another way WHM can determine how much inventory can fit in a location is volumetrics. This method calculates how much unused volume there is in a location, and if the volume of the inventory we are locating exceeds it. Primary setup for volumetrics can be found on the Dimensions tab of the location profiles screen.

Depending on how a user wants volumetrics to work, there are some different ways of setting it up.

• A Storage Unit can be specified for the location profile. If specified, all physical dimension checks use that unit of measure.
• Users can choose between two different types of Volumetric Locating Methodologies. If the radio button is set to Usable Dimensions, all volumetric calculations will use the usable dimensions specified on the location profile as opposed to the actual dimensions. If the radio button is set to Fill Percentage, volumetric calculations will use the fill percentage (also setup on the location profiles screen) of the total volume when locating.
• When doing calculations using an item’s dimensions, volumetrics will use the WHM physical dimension setup discussed earlier. Any item specific physical dimensions override ones at the physical dimension group level.

Volumetrics will locate based on three separate dimension checks. If the location profile has a storage unit, all calculations will be based off that unit, and in the case of volume rounded up to the nearest whole number. Otherwise, calculations will use the highest unit of measure the user is locating.

• Validation that the length, height, and depth fields of an item do not exceed the corresponding dimensions of the location. If the location profile does not have a storage unit the validation will be on the inventory unit dimensions of the item, otherwise it will be in the storage unit.
• Validation that the weight limit of the location will not be exceeded. This check considers all inventory already in the location, and any inventory tied to open, in process, or created work pointed to that location.
• Validation that the available volume or space in the location will not be exceeded. Similar to weight, this check considers all inventory already in the location, and any inventory tied to open, in process, or created work pointed to that location.

LOCATION DIRECTIVES AND WORK TEMPLATES

Two of the most important configurations that are involved with controlling how inventory moves within a warehouse are Location Directives and Work Templates.

LOCATION DIRECTIVES

Location Directives can be accessed from Warehouse Management/Setup/Location Directives. There are quite a few important elements within the location directive form, but the two most important are the Work Trans Type drop-down and the Work Type field.

TOP GRID

The Work Trans Type identifies what WHM function the location directives are tied to. In the form below, the location directives displayed in the top-grid are associated with Sales Orders. What this means is that when the WHM picking / outbound function is invoked on the RF, the location directives listed below are the directives that will be analyzed to determine where the inbound inventory will be located within the warehouse.

The other key data in this form is the Work Type. The two most prevalent values that are used within location directives are simply “pick” and “put”. A work type equal to “put” means that the location directive is going to try and find the most ideal location to place or locate inventory coming into the system either from receiving, production, or inventory adjustments (ie. the system is trying to find a location to “put” the inventory into). A work type equal to “pick” means that WHM is going to try and find the most ideal location to reserve inventory from. There is not an actual pick done until the work is completed, but the reservation is the first step in picking inventory from AX.

Other key elements from the location directive form to note:

• Seq Num – for a given Work Trans Type, many location directives can be configured. Each time location directives are invoked by a WHM function, receiving/inbound for example, WHM will evaluate each location directive in Seq Num order until an appropriate location directive is found. So, when sequencing directives, it is critical to have the most specific directives with lower sequences and the more general directives with higher sequences.
• Edit Query Button – this button is used to determine what location directive should be selected and when. Pressing the button opens up the standard AX query window as shown.
• Directive Code – this field is used primarily by Work Templates and will be discussed further in that section. But, the important thing to note is that only location directives with a BLANK directive code will be evaluated by WHM when trying to select the appropriate directive during receiving, production, and adjustments/transfers.

MID GRID

Once a location directive has been selected by WHM, the process continues in an attempt to find an actual location to “pick from” or “put to”. The middle grid deals primarily with the quantity trying to be located or reserved. By having “From Qty” and “To Qty” fields and also the “Restrict by UOM” checkbox and button, sequences can be configured so that only quantities or specific UOM’s will select the sequence.

• Seq Num – used in much the same way as the Seq Num from the top-grid.
• From Qty, To Qty, Unit – this gives the ability to specify a quantity range for when this middle-grid sequence should be selected.
• Locate Qty – this only comes into use when trying to “put”/locate quantity into the warehouse. The valid values are described below:
  • License Plate Qty – when evaluating whether or not a quantity is within the “From” and “To” quantity ranges, use the quantity on the license plate being received.
  • Unitized Qty – when evaluating whether or not a quantity is within the “From” and “To” quantity ranges, use the quantity being unitized during the specific transaction.
  • Remaining Qty – when evaluating whether or not a quantity is within the “From” and “To” quantity ranges, what is the quantity left to be received on the Purchase Order Line currently being checked-in.
  • Expected Qty – when evaluating whether or not a quantity is within the “From” and “To” quantity ranges, use the total quantity of the Purchase Order Line, regardless of what has already been received.
• Restrict by UOM – allows this particular middle-grid sequence to be made specific to a unit of measure or multiple units of measure. When reserving quantity, if we only want to reserve pallets from a specific set of locations, then the middle-grid sequence would restrict that particular sequence to “PL” so that any quantity less than a pallet would not select the sequence.
• Locate Packing Qty – If a user specified a packing quantity on a sales order or production order, this checkbox restricts the system to only select locations with at least that packing quantity in the location.
• Allow Split – this specifies if WHM is allowed to split the quantity being received or the quantity being reserved across multiple locations or if the entire quantity must be located to a single location or reserved from a single location

BOTTOM GRID

The bottom grid is where locations, or ranges of locations, are actually specified. Once a location directive has been selected, and then a middle-grid sequence has been selected, the sequences configured in the bottom-grid are evaluated