Most functionality in the inventory component is automatically executed, generated by other flows or processes such as by the procurement process (where purchased parts are received into stock) or by the sales process (where stored parts are reserved and issued from stock).
Once you have setup the Warehousing functionality, there is no absolute need for you normally to be involved in the prioritization and assignment of every single warehouse task. If you have done the setup correctly, i.e., correctly distributed task types and location groups among the workers, the system will perform prioritization of the best possible task to start next for every worker, as long as the workload remains constant in volume and characteristics. If something happens that changes these conditions, then there is an immediate need to make adaptations.
The system provides ways of reviewing the current and future workload and resource availability balance, as well as ways of making quick changes to the system in order to regain a convenient workload or resource availability balance. All changes to the warehouse work or task list affect the workload.
It is possible to perform transport tasks in warehousing, if the system is set in that way. If so, a warehouse task is generated when a transport task is created. It is also possible to report pick lists in warehousing, depending on the setup of the system. If so, a warehouse task is generated when a pick list is created.
The warehouse tasks are initiated in order of their latest start date and priority. If a task has been assigned to a warehouse worker before it was started, this task is prioritized over other tasks. When a new task is started, it is assigned to a specific warehouse worker; depending on the task type and the location group, the worker can work on the next assigned task.
Warehouse workers can report deviations in the quantity picked. For example, a worker can report that picking was initiated from a different location than that listed on the pick list. The system can also perform various calculations to help you reviewing the warehousing efficiency.
If you are working in a Configure to Order (CTO) environment, you can view any configuration for the parts in a warehouse task.
In addition to stock movements generated by purchase orders, distribution orders, customer orders, and shop orders, you can perform one of several other stock movements.
You can receive parts or issue parts for various reasons. It is also possible to scrap parts from stock. Sometimes you might want to move parts from one site to another, or from one inventory location to another; the system is designed to help you inform the truck driver or the stacker that goods need to be transferred to a different inventory location.
Other kinds of stock movements are modifying the quantity of parts per handling unit and to handle shortages, i.e. distribute newly arrived parts between the different orders that have shortages for these parts.
If you are working in a Configure to Order (CTO) environment, you can view any configurations for the parts you handle.
It is possible to perform stock movement related transport tasks in warehousing, if the system setup is done accordingly. If so, a warehouse task is generated when a transport task is created.
Distribution orders are used for moving parts between sites. A distribution order identifies a need to move goods from one site (the supply site) to another site (the demand site). The part to be moved must have the same inventory part number on both sites. The demand and supply site can belong to the same company or different companies. Both the demand and supply site must be set up in the same database to use the distribution order. The demand site must be made available as an internal customer and the supply site must be made available as an internal supplier.
Planned distribution orders can be created and deleted manually or by planning tools. Released distribution orders cannot be deleted, but they can be cancelled. The same reservation and shipment processes that are used to execute customer orders are also used to execute the reservation and shipment on the distribution orders. The same receipt process that is used for purchase order receipts is also used when the distribution orders are received.
A rotable part pool is used to manually control the behavior of different processes in the logistics flow.
Whenever you want to make a physical inventory counting of a chosen inventory part location the system can assist you by creating a count report to be used as an inventory list. It is possible to "freeze" the inventory part location to ensure that no parts are removed from the location. As soon as the counting is reported the location will no longer be "frozen".
You can use the system to enter the results and also to update the quantity on hand with the result from the counting.
The system can assist you in the planning of purchasing and manufacturing of stored parts. Order proposals can be scheduled to run automatically or you can start them manually. The proposals will check for stored parts that are below the decided order point. If a part is found to be below the order point within the defined time period you can chose either to create a report or to generate a purchase requisition, a purchase order, or a shop order requisition, depending on whether the part is bought or manufactured.
You can enter material requisitions only if you are registered as an internal customer.
A material requisition consists of two levels, a requisition header and one or more requisition lines. A newly entered material requisition will have a status of Released and, if parts need to be purchased, a purchase requisition will be generated.
Once you have saved the material requisition, you can reserve materials (if sufficient quantity is currently available), plan, stop, or release the material requisition if necessary. You can also print the pick list for any reserved requisition lines. If requested, you can reverse the process, i.e., unreserve and even unissue the material requisition, line by line or as a whole.
Whenever a financial transaction takes place in the system, the predefined posting types and rules (defined in IFS/Accounting Rules) automatically generate the related posting. This means that you do not normally have to do anything manually, provided that you have defined your rules correctly.
However, if you want to define a code part value, depending on specific requisition information, i.e., you choose not to define a rule for this code part for all posting types affected or it is not possible to define a rule. In these cases, you must manually establish the relationship between the code part and the requisition by entering a pre-posting connected to the material requisition. The code part value that you enter as a pre-posting for the requisition will then affect several postings created for this requisition. The pre-posting can be entered on either the header or the line.
We recommend that you perform regular transfers of inventory and refinement transactions to IFS Financials. When doing so, you can define the order and date parameters used. All inventory transactions that fulfill the specified transfer conditions, and which have not yet been transferred, will be transfer to IFS Financials, and vouchers for the general ledger will also be created.