WMS – Putaway Logic – Limited Functionality ?

tjf

Hi there, looking for any help I can get. Client has the following profile ...

Full manufacturing site
Lot tracking for all items enabled
WMS enabled
Warehouse in a Zone (Bulk, Pick, Production etc) \ Bin configuration
Multiple cubage, weight bins
Bulk areas have ‘floating bins’ for space optimization
Pick by FEFO enabled

From what I can distill standard WMS put away functionality does not optimise the put away quantity to bin size i.e the putaway process seems to be ….

- Identify put away bins (via bin type)
- Use Putaway template to select bin or bins i.e find a floating bin that is empty etc etc
- If more than one bin selected – select bin based on bin ranking
- If bin ranking is the same selected highest alpha numeric of the bin code
- Define putaway qty until bin is filled – governed by the cubage\weight on the item versus cubage weight on the bin
- ‘Loop’ until entire qty has a put away suggestion

The problem we are encountering is that ‘part’ quantities of raw materials exist in small bins –‘part bins’ for want of a better term. Typically from a production pick you would want to pick these first (subject to FEFO rules). In order to do this the Bin Ranking is set higher than the large pallet bins. However this adversely affects the bulk put away in that these bins are suggested first. If we are receipting in a large qty of raw materials these ‘part bins’ will be suggested first. It is inefficient to break the pallet qty up to fill the ‘part bins’, nor would we want to be continually overriding the put away suggestion to send the put away to the larger pallet bins.

Any ideas to get around this via standard configuration? I have some ideas around modifications, has anyonelse modified this area?

Any feedback, ideas appreciated !!

Shedman

It seems to me that if you implement the Bin Ranking the other way around your problem is solved.

Now you put the Bin Ranking of the 'Part Bins' higher than the others, and they are thus selected later. What if you set the Bin Ranking lower instead of higher? Are they selected sooner then?

tjf

Thankyou. Yes did look at that ... the issue then is when returning part quantities of stock from PRODIN i.e stock that has not been consumed in the production process. We would want to use an internal put away to utilise the system suggestion. If bin ranking is set lower for the part bins it will suggest you return this stock to the pallet bins ... the opposite of what we would want. Similarly when stock is picked for production it will always suggest picking from the pallet bins instead of the part bins first.