Product documentation
Warehouse Management system directed cluster picking is a cost saver compared to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations paper based method of manual clustering by the mobile device worker.
The status of a load gives information about the progress of the picking process. Apart from the physical presence of the picked goods in front of a packing station, in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations there is no suitable trigger for the packing station to start packing when there are multiple works and or multiple shipments within a load.
Warehouse Management adds a Staging status Ready for packing, Packing started and other to the various load list pages. Use this status together with the new list page Loads picking complete.
In the packing station, Warehouse Management adds an acoustic signal for quantity errors and item errors.
Shipping label printing on the packing station is enabled by Warehouse Management .
To start a system directed cluster pick in Advanced Warehouse Management, the worker opens a mobile device item directed by cluster picking that has a cluster profile with the setting system directed.
Initially, after the cluster is generated, the temporary target license plates are used, equal to the individual work IDs.
When license plate scanning is specified on the cluster profile: the mobile device user picks the first line of a work within the cluster, he scans the actual target license plate, i.e. the bin in which the goods are picked. This bin ID now replaces the temporary target license plate. The second line for the same work needs to be confirmed to the same bin.
When position scanning is used, the temporary target license plate is kept.
Warehouse management > Loads > All loads
In standard Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations , for outbound loads, the Load status stays "In process" most of the time. A truck symbol is used in the list page “All loads”, “In picking loads” etc, but this indicator is not useful as a trigger for the packing station to start, or for the loading proces to start.
A better overview of the staging status of a load is required to know whether picking for this load is complete, and ready for packing, or packing or loading has started. Warehouse Management adds a Staging status for outbound loads.
Loads with a mixture of work to the packing station and work directly to the staging location or the baydoor:
If one or more put work lines for the load are heading for or have arrived at a packing location, and the packing process is not finished yet, the staging status for the packing station is displayed. Else the staging status for the staging area or baydoor is displayed.
| Field | Description | Remark |
| [None] | Waved | Work created, but picking has not started. |
|
Picking started |
In process |
One or more picking lines are still open. |
|
Ready for packing |
In process |
All pick complete, ready for packing, |
|
Packing started |
In process |
Packing has started, at least one load line is packed to a container line. |
|
Packed |
In process |
All picking and packing is finished, but packed container work not closed. |
|
Ready for loading |
In process |
All pick work complete, ready for loading. |
|
Loading started |
In process |
Some work is loaded, some work is ready for loading. |
|
Loaded |
Loaded |
All work for this load is closed. |
|
Shipped |
Shipped |
Outbound load is confirmed. |
No setup required.
Warehouse management > Loads > All loads > Fact box Open or in process work
Extra relevant information about current worker, remaining hours, current zone group, work status, zone, and location of the work is visible.
| Field | Description | Remark |
| Locked by user | User who is executing the work |
|
Work ID |
Work |
|
|
Hours |
Remaining time |
Decimal hours |
|
Zone group ID |
Current zone group of the work |
|
|
Work status |
Status Open, In process, Completed |
|
|
Zone ID |
Current zone of the work |
|
|
Location |
Work is proceeded to this location |
No setup required.
Warehouse management > Loads > All loads > Fact box Ready for packing
Warehouse management > Shipments > All shipments > Fact box Ready for packing
Information which fully picked work is now ready for packing.
| Field | Description | Remark |
| Target license plate ID | License plate, box or pallet on which the goods are picked |
|
Location |
Location in front of the packing station |
|
|
Weight |
Gross weight of the license plate, box or pallet |
|
|
Volume |
Gross volume of the license plate box or pallet |
No setup required.
Warehouse management > Loads > Loads picking complete
This new list page is a dashboard for the packing station and can be added to the desired work space. It displays all loads that are in process, and where no work is open or in process. It gives an overview which loads are ready to be packed, or where packing has started. As soon as the first packed container picking work is created, or when the loading status changes to loaded, the load disappears from this list.
No setup required.
Warehouse management > Loads > Loads with packed container work
This new list page is a dashboard for the expedition, staging and truck loading staff, and can be added to the desired work space. It displays all loads that are in process, and where open or in process packed container work exists. It gives an overview which loads are packed, but are not loaded yet.
No setup required.
Warehouse management > Loads > All loads : Show closed
It is important that all packing slips are posted, either when a single load is about to leave the premises, or upon day-end processing. With Ctrl-Shift-F3, setup a filter in the list page All loads:
In the filter dialog Inquiry - Loads, go to "Joins", and add the bold tables:
Tables
- Loads
- Load details (WHSLoadLine)
- Inventory transactions originator (InventTransOrigin)
- Inventory transactions (InventTrans)
Go to "Range", and add the ranges:
Loads: Load status = Shipped
Inventory transactions: Issue status = Picked
Save the query and create a Tile on the workspace "Outbound work monitoring".
Important
Warehouse management > Shipments > All shipments
Warehouse management > Shipments > Picking shipments
The shipment staging status is a field in the table Shipment statistics (DYSDWAShipmentStatistics) and reflects the least proceeded status of any work or container in this shipment.
Possible values are similar to the load staging status.
When a work is closed and when a container is closed, the shipment staging status is recalculated and updated if needed.
This update can be used in a business event, e.g. when staging status proceeds to Ready for loading, trigger the print of a packing list document.
Users can create tiles in work spaces, and saved views with all shipments in a certain status.
Hybrid packing/staging scenarios:
| Field | Description | Remark |
| [None] | Waved | Work created, but picking has not started. |
|
Picking started |
In process |
One or more picking lines are still open |
|
Staged |
In process |
All picking lines are picked and put to a staging location and the work is heading for a packing station (or no final location is determined yet) |
|
Ready for packing |
In process |
All pick complete, ready for packing, |
|
Packing started |
In process |
Packing has started, at least one load line is packed to a container line. |
|
Packed |
In process |
All picking and packing is finished, but packed container work not closed. Mobile container creation: All picking is finished, all put lines to a packing location are closed, but work not closed. |
|
Ready for loading |
In process |
All pick work complete, work is heading for a final shipping location, so ready for loading. There is no check on the status of the dock appointment whether the truck has arrived. |
|
Loading started |
In process |
Some work is loaded, some work is ready for loading. |
|
Loaded |
Loaded |
All work for this load is closed. |
|
Shipped |
Shipped |
Outbound load is confirmed. |
No setup required.
Warehouse management > Shipments > Shipment details
Warehouse management > Shipments > Route planner
Filter on shipments that can be packed or loaded, i.e. the shipments for which no open or in process work lines exist.
With Ctrl-Shift-F3, setup a filter:
In the filter dialog Inquiry - Shipment details, go to "Joins", and add the bold table:
Tables
- Shipments
- Work lines (NotExist)
Go to "Range", and add the ranges:
Shipments: Shipment status = In process
Work lines (NotExist): Work status = Open, In process
Save the query and create a Tile on the workspace "Outbound work monitoring".
Warehouse management > Shipments > Route planner
Warehouse management > Shipments > All shipments : Display closed shipments
It is important that all packing slips are posted, either when a single shipment is about to leave the premises, or upon day-end processing. With Ctrl-Shift-F3, setup a filter in the Warehouse Management list page Route planner:
In the filter dialog Inquiry - Shipment details, go to "Joins", and add the bold tables:
Tables
- Shipments
- Addresses
- Load details (WHSLoadLine)
- Inventory transactions originator (InventTransOrigin)
- Inventory transactions (InventTrans)
Go to "Range", and add the ranges:
Shipments: Shipment status = Shipped
Inventory transactions: Issue status = Picked
Save the query and create a Tile on the workspace "Outbound work monitoring".
Warehouse management > Periodic tasks > Cleanup > Shipment statistics cleanup
| Field | Description | Remark |
| Number of days to keep | The number of days of transaction data to keep | The small table shipment statistics table DYSDWAShipmentStatistics contains the shipment staging status and other operational information. If the shipment statistics table is not filled for existing open shipments, it can be filled through WHS parameters, Initialize AWHS. |
Warehouse management > Work > All work > Button Split work > Button Split work line
When the feature Work split is activated, the PC user can split off one or more open pick work lines to a new work.
In some cases (divide a pick line with 4 pcs over 4 different target LPs) it is optimal to split only a part of the pick work line, which is not possible in standard Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations .
In Warehouse Management functionality is added (PC) to split the work line within the current work. Then the mobile device worker can select the splitted work lines to build up the target LP.
In case the work line depends on open replenishment work, the replenishment work will take into account that the demand work line is now split.
Work lines with a unit that differs from the inventory unit can also be split. The split quantity must always be entered in inventory units though!
If full work line units are split, the work line unit on the reduced and the new work line will not change. If a work line unit is broken up in two fractions, the units of these work lines will change to inventory units or inner cartons.
Warehouse management > Setup > Work > Work class
A setting on the work class "Remain locked by user" can prevent that a worker who cancels a started work looses his work to a colleague.
This setting prevents work erroneously being taken over after unconscious cancellation.
Warehouse management > Work > All work > Button Reset user
In emergency cases, the lock that remained on the work can be suspended: Reset user will blank the locked user after the user remained locked after cancelling the work. This option should be used with care and only when it is certain that the locekd user is not starting to execute this work at the moment.
Warehouse management > Work > Work monitor
Work that was created more than n minutes ago, but not started yet.
Work that is in progress, but the last closed work line is more than n minutes ago.
Work for sales picking, cross docking, transfer issue that is due in n minutes.
These forms have a similar setup and can be used for creating filtered tiles.
| Field | Description | Remark |
| Work priority |
|
Work ID |
||
|
Minutes since creation Minutes idle Due in .. min |
Minutes since the creation date time of the work header of the open work Minutes since the last line was closed on this in progress work Minutes until the scheduled ship date and time of the load |
|
|
Blocked wave |
Work can be blocked due to replenishment or needs manual manual release |
|
|
Locked by |
Current worker |
|
|
Work status |
Open In progress In progress |
|
|
Warehouse |
|
Location |
Last known location of the idle or due work |
|
|
Work pool ID |
||
|
Target license plate ID |
||
|
Work order type |
||
|
Order number |
||
|
Work class ID |
|
Load ID |
If applicable |
|
Shipment ID |
If applicable |
Warehouse management > Packing and containerization > Pack
The standard error message in the packing station is “Invalid item”. This message is used for both excess quantity and items that are not part of the shipment.
In practice the eyes of the worker are not continuously focused on the screen, e.g. when he or she is using a Bluetooth scanner or similar. The standard message is too small, does not draw the attention of the worker, does not give the required information, and the worker can continue to scan other items. So after scanning all the physical items, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations will still display a few items that were not scanned, and a few not explaining messages “Invalid item”.
The packing station error signal in Warehouse Management :
No setup required.
Warehouse management > Packing and containerization > Pack
In Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations the container ID that is generated in the packing station when creation a new container depends on the number sequence defined in the Warehouse management parameters.
Warehouse Management adds the possibility to use a different number sequence for the container ID, depending on the shipping carrier.
Setup:
Only if both settings apply, the carrier specific number sequence is used.
Warehouse management > Packing and containerization > Pack
Through the button Carrier on the packing form it is possible to select a different shipping carrier and / or carrier service. This will change the carrier on the load and all shipments within that load.
If any containers exist within this load and container IDs are generated from a carrier number sequence (setting on packing profile and carrier), a warning is displayed to check whether the container IDs still comply with the carrier's number sequence. If not, delete existing containers and create new containers.
Warehouse management > Packing and containerization > Pack
The packing station is now fully integrated with the label print functionality. Printing shipping container or case labels can be set up in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations document routing.
In the packing station, the user can/must fill the user ID. This user ID can also refer to a physical packing station. This user ID is included in the license plate label and can be printed. The document routing query can be based on this user ID, to print the shipping labels on the appropriate ZPL printer.
When closing a container, the number of shipping labels (default 1 per container) can be specified. A new license plate label is generated based on the container that is connected to the shipment. The document routing creates the so called ZPL file (a text file containing container and shipment information, and formatting information).
From the license plate label and from the container, the label layout is displayed on the screen, and the ZPL code behind it can be viewed with the button Print, Show label code.
The ZPL code can be viewed and pasted in a label viewer (http://labelary.com/viewer.html).
Warehouse Management customers can get several predefined sticker layout examples for Zebra printers, e.g. Odette, VDA, DHL, DHL for you, DPD, Post NL, FedEx, GLS. Note that these examples usually require project specific change.
Setup container packing policy
Setup warehouse management parameters
Warehouse management > Packing and containerization > Pack > Button Containers for shipment
Through a button on the container screen, it is possible to add one or more extra containers to the load and shipment, and print a shipping label. E.g. if additional materials that are not in the released products, must be shipped, registered and labeled.
No setup required.
Warehouse management > Packing and containerization > Pack > Button Containers
Often in the packing process, multiple containers for the same shipment are being packed simultaneously. When all containers are packed, it is now possible to optionally enter the physical length, height, depth and weight of each container in a grid and close all containers in one step. Depending on the container packing policy setting, the gross container weight can be calculated automatically and a ship label can be printed automatically.
In the packing station, the lines can be sorted:
Suggested use: when the packing station employee checks the goods in the same sequence as they were picked, and the goods have no barcode, sort by location sort code.
In some situations, only the low weight packing lines must be counted thoroughly, while for the heavier items, the system calculated gross weight can be compared with the scale weight.
The default can be specified in the packing profile.
This setting can be activated on the packing profile will only display the packing lines that are picked on the scanned target LP / tote.
In case the packing station user needs to see the packing lines for other target LPs in the same shipment, the user needs to scan or type the shipment ID.
Several carriers and customers need to know the height of the pallets that will be shipped.
On the packing station, when stacking mixed or single SKU pallets, the user can enter the pallet height (container height) upon closing the container. A setting is added on the container type "Enter height": No, Optional or Mandatory.
A fact box Ready for packing is added to the PC Packing station form.
| Field | Description | Remark |
| Shipment ID |
|
Target license plate ID |
Target LP on the work |
|
Staging status |
Ready for packing Packing started |