Stock Control - Logistics - In Depth

The Stock Control module is the foundation of the whole S5 Logistics Suite, providing accurate and flexible control over inventory levels for any type of product. Powerful features allow the module to be configured to precisely manage and handle any type of product or business process.

The de Facto S5 Stock Control module is fully integrated with the other Logistics Suite modules of Purchase Order Processing, Sales Order Processing and Transport, as well as the Financial Suite and Production, Costing and CRM modules. The Stock Control module bnefits from all the key features found across the Logistics module.

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The S5 Product Window

S5's Product window is the central point for access to all product related information. Additional information and analysis can be accessed from the 'more info' menu ....

Product Details provide the ability to define up to 25 character product codes, 80 character short descriptions, as well as variable length long descriptions. EAN codes can also be defined for use with the EDI options included within the system. Product codes can use an automated check digit function. This can use either a user-defined calculation, or a number of available standard procedures for calculating the digit.

Non-stock as well as stock items can be defined; these are normally used for such things as service items or delivery charges. Additionally, special options are available with these codes for automatically calculating their quantity or price, on sales or purchase orders.

de Facto S5 offers user definable wizards for creating products. These enable the user to be guided through all of the relevant steps needed to create a product. The wizard includes the facility to define automatic calculations for structured product codes and descriptions, etc.

Each product can have any number of other product codes (aliases) held in lists linked to individual or groups of customers and suppliers. These codes can be used during sales and purchase order entry and also printed on customer or supplier paperwork. These product codes can also store alternative descriptions, which can be held in alternate languages for printing on customer or supplier paperwork.

Alternative Product Codes also allow the user to link to other products for easy access from anywhere in the logistics suite. The use of these can be automated by the setting of the product status to 'discontinued', which has the effect of automatically selecting the alternative.

The de Facto S5 logistics suite provides optional methods of segregating stock, based on its current or intended usage. Types, for instance, can be used to differentiate saleable and loan stock within a single product code. Qualities could be used to select certain batches of product for customers based on their quality rating and respective requirements.

Associated products allow complex links to be handled between products for automated additions to sales and purchase orders. These facilities can be used, for instance, to automatically add manuals to sales of computers, or plastic trays to orders for fresh produce.

de Facto S5 allows for the definition of multiple sites, which can then be allocated multiple warehouses, each of which can have multiple locations. Each warehouse can have its own 'pick order' defined for use with both picking and put away lists. Products can be either individually or automatically registered within each warehouse.

Parameters such as 'minimum', 'maximum' and 'days stock' can be defined per warehouse. Free location controls can also be used when selecting locations to put stock into; this is especially useful when using pallet based warehousing.

A new iWMS (Integrated Warehouse Management System) module extends the current de Facto S5 offering to provide fully Integrated ERP / WMS system for the control of all types of products within a multi site or multi warehouse environment. Central to this are the powerful Movement Control, Stock Checking and Warehouse Enquiry features and functionality.

Products can be defined with any number of units of measure and automated conversions can take place between units. Stock can be held and orders placed in any unit of measure. Each unit can have its weight and volume stored.

Units of measure are defined in tables that can be either exclusively used by an individual or shared by groups of products. Commodity and EAN codes can also be defined at the unit of measure level.

Within de Facto S5, units of measure can be defined as 'variable' for products which are sold in non-standard measures. An example of this would be catch weight cases, where each case has a different weight. Other examples would be timber being sold by the length or pack, and priced per cubic metre, steel being sold by sheet, and priced per tonne, or cheese being sold as cheeses and priced per kilo.

Variable units allow the setting of a maximum variance from the standard, and also the automation of the writing off of weight or volume variance that can occur with these types of products.

Serial, lot, batch or consignment numbers are just a few examples of the types of tracking that can be handled by the de Facto S5 Logistics Suite. As well as recording the basic tracking number, additional data such as manufactured by, use by, and best before dates, or quality assurance data such as temperature, or specifications can be defined.

The product tracking system is extremely powerful and will allow the tracking of a product from source through production to the end customer. Product recalls are therefore easily handled and true consignment profitability becomes a simple process.

Product life issues are also easily handled, with the system able to define the minimum life required when receiving into stock from a supplier per product, as well the life required when picking orders per customer and product.

The de Facto S5 stock control module provides all the necessary facilities for transaction entries including adjustments, transfers, supplier receipts and returns, as well as customer returns and issues. Fast entry options are also available for all types of transactions; these allow the required fields to be specified by user and transaction type. These facilities are designed to speed up repetitive data entry tasks such as opening balance entries, and are typical of the power of de Facto S5.

A further useful option shared by all de Facto S5 transaction types is the ability to have both internal and external references, as well as a unique system number for all transactions. Descriptions and notes facilities are available at both the header and the detail level on all transactions. Additionally, user-entered reference and description data can be corrected easily after posting.

Requirements are handled by the ability to define the waste material usage of each product or unit of measure. Reports, for example, can then be used to complete Valpack reports, both in summary and in customer specific formats.

Facilities exist for both complete and perpetual stock checking; these include the ability to produce detailed or blind checking reports, to handle recounts, and finally the automated production of required adjustments.

Additional features include user-definable calculations, which can be used to apply increases for such things as storage charges.

All transaction types when posted are immediately updated to the respective ledgers, including the nominal ledger. Automated postings for such items as stock, cost of sales, work in progress, and accrual accounting are made. All postings are defined via sophisticated 'Nominal interfaces'. These control, for example, the selection of nominal accounts and cost centres for stock accounts or adjustment codes.

de Facto S5 offers standard facilities for defining multiple levels of analysis codes on all types of records and transactions, at both the header and the detail levels. These codes can have user-definable titles and choice lists. Many standard reports can then use these analysis codes to select and sort data.

VAT, Intrastat and Tariff Codes can be defined for each product, allowing for the easy completion of intrastats, calculation of duty accruals, and the flexible handling of special VAT handling needs for services etc.

New facilities have been added to allow location codes to be assigned in a structured manner, based upon up to 6 dimensions or elements. Additional controls have been added to handle warehouse zones, and automated carousels.

The ability to place restrictions on locations for single / multi batch and products has been added. Putaway, and pick locks can also be used to prevent the use of specified locations for a period of time. Fixed product locations can also be used for pick face replenishments.

These new facilities are utilised within the Sales Order or Purchase Order Processing, for increased efficiency in putaway and picking of products.

New Put Away options allow S5 to provide a suggested put away location for pallets. The suggestion takes into account the product, warehouse, and location criteria, and will select locations using the put away order for maximum efficiency. Suggested locations can, of course, be overridden.

The 'split physical' option that can be set on the product window will now be used within transfers of stock made using stock and warehouse transfers.

de Facto S5 v5.0 introduces a new concept of a Rotation Number on stock transactions details and physicals. This is used above the physical ID when picking stock. The rotation number is maintained whenever one physical is created from another, i.e. through transfers, splitting, credits based on sales, any reversal or cancellation of transactions, etc.

Rotation numbers are visible in Expediting, Trace and Transaction History windows, and in the Trace Report.

Rotation numbers are also visible when crediting a sale, allowing the selection of the appropriate rotation number.

Picking stock now uses rotation number order above the physical number order when sorting the list, before picking the stock. Stock with the lowest rotation number is picked first. The Manual Picking window shows the rotation number as does the Batch Advance Pick Allocation window.

This is a new option (v5.2) in Stock Control Parameters to 'Force Unique Serial Numbers' to prevent previously used serial numbers being used again for a serial tracked product.

In any transaction the entered serial number must be unique for the product code (different products can have the same serial number). Any entered serial number is validated against existing current and exhausted physical records. The system displays an appropriate message if a serial number currently exists or has been used before.

Exceptions to this are for Stock Return to Customer, and for Return from Supplier transactions where a serial number may be used again to allow the same product sent out to be returned to stock.

In WMS Parameters a new parameter called 'Command Keys' allows the user to define keys on the handheld device to perform any functions that appear on the device as menu options, eg Start, My Load, New Task, Unload etc.

The Handheld device can be configured to use the ALT, CTRL or Function keys together with an other numeric or alpha character on its keyboard.

Certain key combinations are reserved by Windows and cannot or should not be used e.g. CTRL + 2 closes Citrix and CTRL + D can close handheld processes. In testing it has proved to work best using:
- CTRL + alphabetic characters
- ALT + numeric keys
- Function keys + numeric keys

Note: other combinations can work fine as well.

An enhancement has been added to WMS Task Type records to allow a fixed packaging product to be allocated to the task.

When using the WMS Handheld Processes 'Pack' function for a product that originated from a task with an allocated packaging product the packaging details are automatically copied through to the Packing Details window, thus saving time and the need to know the appropriate packaging product.

When using the WMS Handheld Processes 'Product Query' and 'Location Query' in addition to the warehouse and location being displayed, the Zone, if applicable, is also displayed.

Each of the categories listed below will have multiple versions exploiting the many options that the standard reports provide.

In addition to Stock Control specific reports, de Facto S5 provides a comprehensive series of Standard Reports, many of which can be easily parameter driven by the user. S5 further provides the Vistas feature, which are a powerful and easy way of selecting, sorting, displaying and working with data from either single or multiple tables.