AML Inventory Manager Inventory Management Solution

Transcription

1 User Manual AML Inventory Manager Inventory Management Solution Page 1

2 SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT I. General Terms and Conditions For the purposes of this License Agreement, Software is defined as the Quick Warehouse Inc. computer program with which this Software License Agreement is included and any updates or maintenance releases thereto. You is defined as the purchaser and or user of the Software. This software is NOT LICENSED for sale or use outside the United States of America. Making additional copies of the Software, or enabling others to use your registration code(s) or serial number(s), if any, is strictly prohibited. It is also prohibited to give copies to a person who has not purchased the appropriate license for the Software from Quick Warehouse Inc; to disclose interfaces to the Software, to install the Software on computers used by individuals who have not purchased the appropriate licenses for the Software from Quick Warehouse Inc; or to duplicate the Software by any other means including electronic transmission. The Software in its entirety is protected by copyright laws. The Software also contains Quick Warehouse Inc. trade secrets, and you may not de-compile, reverse engineered, disassemble, or otherwise reduce the Software to human-perceivable form and or disable any functionality which limits the use of the Software. You may not modify, adapt, translate, rent or sublicense (including offering the Software to third parties on an applications service provider or time-sharing basis), assign, loan, resell for profit, or distribute the Software, disk(s), or related materials or create derivative works based upon the Software or any part thereof. You may not network the Software, except to the extent you have purchased license(s) for the multi-user version as referenced below. The use by you of any services or content accessible through the Software may be subject to your acceptance of separate agreements with Quick Warehouse Inc or third parties. This Agreement applies to the: (i) Demo; (ii) single-user; and (iii) multi-user versions of the Software and other branded or customized versions unless otherwise agreed. Do not use the Software until you have carefully read the following Agreement. This Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions for licensing of the Software from Quick Warehouse Inc. to you, and installing and using the Software indicates that you have read and understand this Agreement and accept its terms and conditions. If you purchased the Software from a retail store or directly from Quick Warehouse Inc. or other authorized distribution channel, and do not agree with this Agreement, promptly return the Software and accompanying items to the place of purchase, or as provided below, within thirty (30) days of purchase with a dated receipt for a full refund. II. Additional Product Specific Restrictions Demo Versions You are granted a temporary limited non-exclusive license to use a copy of the Software on a trial basis for the specified number of uses in the materials accompanying the Demo versions of the Software. Prior to the expiration of the trial period, you may purchase the right to use the appropriate full version of either the single-user or multi-user versions of the Software which license terms are specified below, by contacting Quick Warehouse Inc. You may not copy the printed materials accompanying the Software if any, or print multiple copies of any user documentation until the software has been fully licensed by this agreement. BY YOUR USE OF THE DEMO VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT AFTER EXPIRATION OF THE TRIAL PERIOD, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO ACCESS AND/OR USE THE SOFTWARE OR ANY DATA YOU HAVE ENTERED INTO SUCH SOFTWARE UNLESS YOU PURCHASE THE APPROPRIATE FULL VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE. Single User Version If you purchased a full, single-user version of the Software, you are granted a limited non-exclusive license to use a copy of the enclosed Software on one computer. You may make one (1) backup copy of the Software for your own use. Registration of the Software with Quick Warehouse Inc. is required. Multi-User Version If you purchased the multi-user version of the Software, you are granted a limited non-exclusive license to: (i) access the software from all such computers residing on your company s network; and (ii) install one copy of the database on your company's network for use by such individuals. If you purchased the multi-user version of the Software, and if the Software supports portable handheld devices, you may use the portable handheld application software included with the Software on any Pocket PC based device certified by Quick Warehouse Inc. Making additional copies of the Portable Handheld Application Software, or enabling use your registration code(s) or serial number(s), if any, is strictly prohibited. Registration of the Software with Quick Warehouse Inc. is required. III. Termination This Agreement may be terminated by Quick Warehouse Inc. immediately and without notice if you fail to comply with any term or condition of this Agreement. Upon such termination, you must immediately destroy all complete and partial copies of the Software, including all backup copies. From time to time, Quick Warehouse Inc. may change the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Quick Warehouse Inc. will notify you of any such change. For the latest version of this Agreement, go to or such other site designated by Quick Warehouse Inc... Your continued use of this Software will indicate your agreement to the change. IV. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES EXCEPT AS PROVIDED ABOVE, THIS SOFTWARE AND ANY RELATED SERVICES OR CONTENT ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE SOFTWARE ARE PROVIDED "AS-IS," AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, QUICK WAREHOUSE INC. DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS SOFTWARE, DISKS, RELATED MATERIALS AND ANY SUCH SERVICES OR CONTENT, INCLUDING THEIR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, THEIR QUALITY, THEIR SECURITY, THEIR MERCHANTABILITY, OR THEIR NONINFRINGEMENT. QUICK WAREHOUSE INC. DOES NOT WARRANT Page 2

3 THAT THE SOFTWARE OR ANY RELATED SERVICES OR CONTENT IS FREE FROM BUGS, VIRUSES, ERRORS, OR OTHER PROGRAM LIMITATIONS NOR DOES QUICK WAREHOUSE INC. WARRANT ACCESS TO THE INTERNET OR TO ANY OTHER SERVICE OR CONTENT THROUGH THE SOFTWARE OR CONTINUED ACCESS TO THE DEMO VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE OR TO THE DATA ENTERED INTO THE DEMO VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE AFTER THE EXPIRATION OF THE TRIAL PERIOD. V. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND DAMAGES THE ENTIRE LIABILITY OF QUICK WAREHOUSE INC. AND ITS REPRESENTATIVES (AS DEFINED BELOW) FOR ANY REASON SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID BY THE CUSTOMER FOR THE SOFTWARE UNLESS OTHERWISE SEPARATELY AGREED. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, QUICK WAREHOUSE INC. AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, PARTICIPATING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT OR SERVICE PROVIDERS, DISTRIBUTORS, DEALERS OR SUPPLIERS ("REPRESENTATIVES") ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO: DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF PROFITS OR INVESTMENT, OR THE LIKE), WHETHER BASED ON BREACH OF CONTRACT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF QUICK WAREHOUSE INC. OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, AND EVEN IF A REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION AND/OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THE LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN QUICK WAREHOUSE INC. AND YOU. QUICK WAREHOUSE INC. WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE PROVIDED THIS SOFTWARE OR SERVICES WITHOUT SUCH LIMITATIONS. VI. General Provisions This Agreement sets forth Quick Warehouse Inc.'s and its Representatives' entire liability and your exclusive remedy with respect to the Software. You acknowledge that this Agreement is a complete statement of the agreement between you and Quick Warehouse Inc. with respect to the Software, and that there are no other prior or contemporaneous understandings, promises, representations, or descriptions with respect to the Software. This Agreement shall govern any services or content related to the Software, unless such services or content are subject to a separate written agreement between you and Quick Warehouse Inc. or its Representatives. However, the limitations of liability and disclaimer of warranties in this Agreement shall apply to Quick Warehouse Inc. and its Representatives with respect to such content or services except to the extent provided otherwise in a separate written agreement approved by Quick Warehouse Inc. between you and Quick Warehouse Inc. or the applicable Representative(s). This Agreement does not limit any rights that Quick Warehouse Inc. may have under trade secret, copyright, patent, or other laws. The Representatives of Quick Warehouse Inc. are not authorized to make modifications to this Agreement, or to make any additional representations, commitments, or warranties binding on Quick Warehouse Inc., other than in writing signed by an officer of Quick Warehouse Inc. Accordingly, such additional statements are not binding on Quick Warehouse Inc. and you should not rely upon such statements. If any provision of this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, then it is, to that extent, deemed omitted and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect. The validity and performance of this Agreement shall be governed by California law (without reference to choice of law principles), except as to copyright and trademark matters, which are covered by federal laws. This Agreement is deemed entered into at Santa Ana, California, and shall be construed as to its fair meaning and not strictly for or against either party. Page 3

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS (MANUAL REVISED BY RICK 6/13/05) TABLE OF CONTENTS...4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION QUICK WAREHOUSE OVERVIEW ABOUT THIS GUIDE SOFTWARE & WAREHOUSE TERMS SYSTEM OVERVIEW ORGANIZING THE WAREHOUSE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS CHAPTER 2: GETTING STARTED INSTALLING INVENTORY MANAGER HOW TO REGISTER YOUR SOFTWARE POPULATING THE DATABASE CREATING SECURITY LEVELS CREATE A WAREHOUSE ID CREATING USER LOGINS SETTING UP PREFERENCES ADDING VENDORS ADDING CUSTOMERS ADDING GATEGORIES ADDING LOCATIONS ADDING ITEM/PART NUMBERS CHAPTER 3: USING THE SYSTEM LOG IN CHANGING YOUR PASSWORD MAIN MENU MANAGING WINDOWS EXPORTING AND PRINTING REPORTS CHAPTER 4 INVENTORY MODULE THE INVENTORY MODULE LOOKUP FUNCTION NEW FUNCTION MOVE FUNCTION TRANSFER FUNCTION LOCATIONS FUNCTION CATEGORIES FUNCTION COUNT FUNCTION CHAPTER 5: SHIPPING MODULE THE SHIPPING MODULE SALES ORDERS FUNCTION LOOKUP FUNCTION PICK FUNCTION SHIP FUNCTION ISSUE FUNCTION RETURN FUNCTION CUSTOMERS FUNCTION SHIP TO FUNCTION CHAPTER 6: RECEIVING MODULE THE RECEIVING MODULE PURCHASING FUNCTION LOOKUP FUNCTION RECEIVE FUNCTION VENDORS FUNCTION CHAPTER 7: SYNC MODULE...89 Page 4

5 7.1 THE SYNC MODULE HANDHELD FUNCTION FLAT FILE IMPORT FUNCTION EXPORT FUNCTION CHAPTER 8: REPORTS MODULE THE REPORTS MODULE INVENTORY REPORTS SHIPPING REPORTS RECEIVING REPORTS OTHER REPORTS CHAPTER 9: ADMIN MODULE THE ADMIN MODULE PREFERENCES FUNCTION SECURITY FUNCTION USERS FUNCTION WHSE FUNCTION CHAPTER 10: HELP MODULE THE HELP MODULE ABOUT FUNCTION MANUAL FUNCTION REGISTER FUNCTION CHAPTER 11: IM MOBILE WHAT IS IM MOBILE? AML 5500 SEIRES PORTABLE HANDHELD SCANNER GETTING STARTED INPUT MENU COUNTING FUNCTION MOVING FUNCTION PICKING FUNCTION ISSUE FUNCTION RECEIVING FUNCTION SHIPPING FUNCTION TRANSFER RECEIVING FUNCTION DOWNLOADING DATA CHAPTER 12: BAR CODING TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCTION Page 5

6 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Page 6

7 1.1 QUICK WAREHOUSE OVERVIEW Quick Warehouse is an innovator and leading provider of software solutions specifically designed for small to mid-sized companies. Our solutions enable companies to dramatically improve the accuracy of their inventories and processes within their warehouse and manufacturing operations. Our software solutions combine state-ofthe-art software design with the latest in portable bar coding scanning technology. Page 7

8 1.2 ABOUT THIS GUIDE This guide is divided into sections for quick and easy reading. Sections at the beginning of this guide are designed to direct you through the initial preparation and implementation process. Menu Styles The menus in Inventory Manager are accessed through conventional pull down menus (top of the screen) or by clicking on the application module icons from tool bar. This feature is configurable by selecting the Actions pull down and checking View Tool Bars. Refer to the illustrations below for an example. Navigation Each application module has a number of functions you can select from. Navigation between the application modules and the functions within each module can be accomplished by using the blue shaded arrow to navigate back to the main tool bar. The illustration below shows how the modules and functions are laid out. This diagram illustrates the functions available under each module. Page 8

9 Conventions When a function is selected, you will notice that the software highlights the operative process in Blue. The word(s) in blue represents the operation requested. Below is an example. Notice the Modify button is blue. This indicates that you are modifying an existing record. Also notice the word Password is highlighted in Blue. This means that you need to enter a value for the prompt Password. Page 9

10 Mouse Keys Select- Click and release the left mouse button to choose an item, choose items from a pull-down list, accept an entry, close a screen, or open a module. Left Click-Within a search or query result, the left click mouse button is used to select the record in the query or search criteria. This is also used to populate fields in the software. Right Click- After using one of the many lookup functions in Inventory Manager, you may Rick Click on one of the results to perform further functions on the selected record. Right Clicking on a result usually brings up a pop-up menu which shows you the available function choices. The illustration below shows how this function works. Icons & Modules The software uses a series of Icons and Buttons to help you navigate through the various applications. Icons are the graphical representation of different Application Modules throughout Inventory Manager. In the majority of cases, a user will access different Application Modules by selecting its icon. Below are sample of Icons used within Inventory Manager: Buttons Buttons are used to navigate within an application function. They are normally used as a means to accept data or change modes (i.e. add versus modify, etc.). Below are a few examples: Page 10

11 1.3 SOFTWARE & WAREHOUSE TERMS The purpose of this section is to better acquaint you with the terminology used in this documentation. Terms outlined in this section are used throughout this manual and Inventory Manager. A B C D E F ABC Code- This is a field in our database that we use to determine the frequency of your cycle counting. Access Database- This is one of the types of databases you can choose to create when you install Inventory Manager. Active-This is a status condition in the software. It is used to determine if the item or the log-in ID is available for use. Adobe PDF- This is an output file format available in the software when you re printing reports. Back Order- Represents items on a sales order that have not been picked. Bar Code- Print medium we use for scanning data into our system. Bar Code Scanner- This is a hardware component that connects to a PC and is used for scanning bar codes printed on pick lists, packing lists, and receivers. Batch- This is the communications method for transferring data from a non-wireless handheld computer to a PC. Button- Graphical means to accept an entry or submit data into our application. Category- Field in Inventory Manager that is used for the purposes of further categorizing your inventory. Client- This is the Inventory Manager component that is loaded on a workstation PC. Company- Used in various areas of the software to represent an organization s name. Contact- Person s name. Format is typically First name followed by the last name. Cost- This is a field in the software that represents the cost of an individual item in inventory. Cost Average- This is a method used by the software to average the cost of an item. Cycle Count- This is a periodic inventory counting function. DemoQTInv.mdb- This is the name of the demo database available when you first install the software. Download- Method of transferring data from the handheld to the PC. Export- The process of taking data out of Inventory Manager for use by an external system. Flat File- Format for files that get imported and exported from Inventory Manager. G H I Handheld- Represents a portable device used to perform warehouse operations like picking, shipping, receiving, etc. Host- Represents another system. Typically one that houses the Accounting Software. IIS- Stands for Internet Services Manager. This is the medium we use to allow the AML 5500 Series handheld terminals to communicate in real time with the database. Import- The process of populating the Inventory Manager database with information from an external system. Inbound- Direction of product flow in the warehouse. Inventory- Represents the items in stock. It can also be used to imply the physical counting process. IP Address- Network address for a given handheld or workstation PC. Items- Representation for product or part number. J K L Level- Term that refers to the physical positioning of a shelf location. License- Legal document that defines the conditions for use of the software. Line Item- Representation for product or part number. Same as Item. Location- Precise place where product is stored. Page 11

12 M N O P Q R S T 5500 Series Handheld Terminal- portable inventory management device Max- Short for maximum. This is a field in the database that allows you to set the maximum quantity of stocking inventory. Min- Short for minimum. This is a field in the database that allows you to set the minimum quantity of stocking inventory. Module- Operational components available in the software (i.e. Inventory, Shipping, Receiving, etc) Move- The process of transferring items between locations..net Framework- Technology used in the development of certain Inventory Manager components. Outbound- Direction of product flow in the warehouse. Packing List- Document that is printed after the picking process is completed. Part Number- Representation for product. Same as Item. Password- Field used in various areas of the software to restrict use by non-authorized personnel. Pick- Process of filling a sales order. Picking- Process of filling a sales order. Pick List- Document that is printed for use during the picking process PO Cost- Cost field used in the purchasing module of the software. Portable- Represents a mobile device used to perform warehouse operations like picking, shipping, receiving, etc. Same as a handheld. Preferences- This is module in the software that is used to define security levels for personnel. It is also the area used in renaming certain fields in the database. Purchase Order- This is the function that allows the user to order products for receipt in the warehouse. Put-Away- The process of transferring items once their received to locations in the warehouse. Qty- Numeric field used throughout the software to represent quantity. QuickBooks- Popular accounting software package supported in Inventory Manager. Inventory Manager Mobile- Program component or module that runs on a batch handheld device. Inventory Manager Mobile RF- Program component or module that runs on a wireless handheld device. Receipt- Process of receiving products into the warehouse Receiver- Document that is printed after a Purchase Order is issued. Receiving- Process on accepting products into the warehouse. Reconciliation- Process that runs after an inventory is taken to determine the discrepancies between the physical count and the values in the database. Registration Key- An unlock code issued by Quick Warehouse that licenses the software for use. Rich Type Format (RTF) - This is an output file format available in the software when you re printing reports. Sales Order- This term is used to represent the software module where customer orders are entered. It is also used to represent the printed version of that customer s order. Security Level- Field used in the software to determine the type of access allowed in the software. Serial Number- Value generated by the software during the registration process. Shipping- Process performed after the picking function that signifies that the product has left the facility. Ship Confirm- Process performed after the picking function that signifies that the product has left the facility. Ship To- Field in the database that represents an alternate shipping address for a customer. SKU- Well-known abbreviation meaning Stock-Keeping Unit. Typically referred as another form of Part number or method for identifying an item. SQL- Database type available in Inventory Manager. Staging- Preparation process used prior to shipping Status- This term is used in the software to determine the condition in an item. Stock Number- Well-known term used in warehousing to represent an item or part number. Suspended- This is a status condition in the software. It is used to determine if the item or the log-in ID is available for use. Synchronize- This is the process of downloading data to a PC that was collected by a batch handheld. Tool Bar- Navigational process available in Quick-Inventory. Transfers- This term refers to a move function between warehouses or facilities. Page 12

13 U V W Unexpected Receipt- This is a condition whereby product is received with reference to an existing purchase order. UOM- Unit of Measure UPC- Type of bar code symbology used in the retail sector. It can also be used to represent an item or part number. User-ID- This is a field in the database that is needed to log in to the software. Vendor- Represents your procurement source for products Warehouse- Term used in the software to represent the physical location of the building. Whse ID- Field in the software used to present the Warehouse. Wireless- Means to communicate without wires. Wizard- An automated process used at the beginning of your software installation. Worksheet- Refers to the document listing of items used in the cycle counting activity. Workstation PC- Refers to a PC running a windows operating system. X Y Z Zones- Refers to the identification of areas within the warehouse. Page 13

14 1.4 SYSTEM OVERVIEW Inventory Manager is an effective solution for companies looking to take control of their inventory. This package is easy to use and comes with everything you ll need to track your inventory accurately. Inventory Manager will track each activity from incoming through to outgoing and everything in between. This easy-to-use software provides support for sales order entry, purchase order entry, receiving, put-away, picking, shipping, physical inventory and cycle counting capabilities. All these functions are available at both the PC workstation and at the batch handheld. Inventory Manager s functionality, such as Suggested Put-Away, Receiving, and Shipping are just a few of its key strengths. This functionality, combined with our standard reports and on-the-fly searching capabilities to deliver a powerful yet flexible solution to your everyday inventory problems. Inventory Manager consists of two components. The first is Inventory Manager s desktop software. The second is the handheld component that runs a portable batch data collect device. We refer to this as Inventory Manager Mobile or IM Mobile. This module runs on your AML 5500 Series handheld device. The illustration below shows the configuration for this system. On the PC, the application uses a Microsoft Access database to store your data. The flexibility and easy to use features of Microsoft Access makes it the right choice for Inventory Manager. You will not have to install or purchase Access on the PC running the Inventory Manager software. Page 14

15 1.5 ORGANIZING THE WAREHOUSE Organizing your warehouse is the first step in making your operation more efficient. Organization involves more than neatly stacked boxes. It encompasses everything from well-documented procedures to well laid-out floor plans. The old adage of garbage-in equals garbage-out holds very true in warehousing. The first step in organizing your warehouse is to evaluate the floor plan. Most warehouse floor plans were created to accommodate the existing racking equipment rather than the business of warehousing. You need to ask yourself the following questions: Do you have the appropriate racking and storage equipment for the type of products you stock? Are the locations laid-out to facilitate transitions between rows? Is there enough space for to walk freely between the isles? Do you have the right mix of shelving versus pallet locations? Do you have specific areas in your warehouse designated to handle functions like receiving, shipping, staging, packing, returns, and quality control holds? Is your receiving area designed for inbound functionality? Does your shipping area contain all the materials needed to perform the shipping function? Having the right design can make the difference. If your business requires the use of standard shelving, arrange them in a manner that makes sense. Create isles that flow through from start to finish. Design breaks in the isles to allow for easy transitions between areas. Identify distinct zones and areas where specialty work can be performed. In other words, map out an area for packaging, receiving, quality holds, etc. Below is a sample layout. Since every company facility is different, we can only make a generic recommendation. The diagram below shows distinct pathways for material flows. Notice that zones and functional areas segment the warehouse layout. Because Inventory Manager provides a sorted list of available locations to pick from, the time it takes to pull an order can be significantly reduced when using a similar warehouse layout. This ultimately results in higher productivity and increased accuracy. The second step in this process is to evaluate the tools available in the warehouse to perform the required functions. A good mechanic always has the best tools and keeps them in good working condition. You need to ask yourself the following questions: Do you have adequate equipment for handling the products you maintain? Do you have the right mix of forklifts, pallet jacks, dollies, and carts to address your material handling functions? Do you have the correct amount of counter space or floor space to stage, pack, and prepare your inventory for both inbound and outbound transactions? Do you perform scheduled maintenance on all the equipment used in the warehouse? Once you ve analyzed the warehouse and identified the changes in both design and equipment needs, you should create a plan to make the appropriate changes where possible. Start with the ones that don t cost anything and budget accordingly for those that do. The third step in organizing your warehouse is to evaluate and design a good location-numbering scheme. Numbering rows numerically is only the start. Your bin location numbers should be intuitive. They should include characteristics for levels, zones, and areas. They should also be designed for growth. Setting up locations involves the select of a location numbering scheme and the means to tag, label or identify the physical location. It s best to start with the numbering scheme first. Although the location field in Inventory Manager is a freeform field with no structural requirements, we recommend that you create one that best supports the type of operations performed in your warehouse. Here s a good example that could work for you: (1) The first digit can represent the warehouse number. If you are not using Inventory Manager to track multiple warehouses or inventories for multiple companies, this character is not required. (A) The second digit could be used to identify the zone. This is important when sorting by locations. The Zone designation can be sorted alphabetically and thus making it easier to identify areas in your warehouse. This is particularly important when the warehouse is divided by walls or is spread out by rooms. (01) The next two digits could be used to represent the row number. We don t recommend more that 99 rows in the same zone. This is usually an indicator that the workload by zone is not balanced. Page 15

16 (A) The fifth digit can be used to designate the shelf level. A is always the floor level and it goes up from there. (001) The final three digits can be used to identify the bin location sequence from the start of the row. The result is a number that looks like this: Once you ve identified the location numbering sequences, you now should determine how best to physically identify each location. This is particularly important if you are taking advantage of a portable bar code scanner. On average, most picking errors occur when the user selects a product from the wrong shelf. In most cases the products might look similar and thus the error goes undetected until the customer calls and requests a return. We recommend that you use bar coded labels to address this issue. Bar code labels can be used to identify a shelf, bin location or even in the form of an overhead sign to identify pallet, bulk or larger areas like staging lanes and packing stations. You can purchase a bar code label printer and blank label stock to print your own or you can purchase preprinted labels. Contact you local AML systems integrator for more information. The process of setting up locations in the software is covered in section 4.6 of this manual. Now that you have reviewed all of our suggestions for organizing your warehouse and have created a plan to organize, you are ready to start on the next step. Page 16

17 1.6 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Below are the minimum requirements for Inventory Manager. General PC Requirements Optional Windows 98, ME, NT 4.0, XP, and (Windows 95 is not supported) Pentium Class Processor with 500 MHz or faster Minimum of 50 MB of available storage (varies based on the amount of data in the database) Service Pack 6 or higher for Windows NT 4.0 (included on the CD in the tools directory) Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000 (included on the CD in the tools directory) Service Pack 2 for Windows XP (included on the CD in the tools directory) MDAC 2.7 or higher (included on the CD in the tools directory) 1024 X 768 minimum display resolution COM port when using handheld scanners You may want to install Microsoft Access if you wish to view your database or create your own report. Microsoft Access is not required for the software to function. Install a good inkjet printer on your PC. Although you can print to any printer on the network. Backup software. It is a good idea to back up your data on a regular basis. Install backup software on the PC to keep your data safe. Page 17

18 CHAPTER 2: GETTING STARTED Page 18

19 2.1 INSTALLING INVENTORY MANAGER System Installation Inventory Manager was designed to install and setup with as little time and effort as possible. The installation and setup process are divided into two Wizards. The first is the installation wizard, and the second and the database initialization wizard. Software Installation Inventory Manager provides a wizard that steps you through the initial set up of your warehouse. If you downloaded the software from our website, double click on the Setup.exe file. If you have the program CD, place it in your drive and it will walk you though the installation process. The Install Wizard will run automatically when the CD is placed in the drive. The following screens will be displayed during the installation process: Select the Next button to continue. The wizard will ask you to read and accept or decline the software license agreement. You must read our license agreement thoroughly and accept the terms to proceed further. This license agreement is also provided to you as part of this manual. Select the Next button to continue. Once you ve read and accepted the license agreement terms, the system will ask you for your company information. The screen below provides an illustration. At the bottom of the screen you re asked to decide who will use this software. What this means is that the shortcuts on your desktop and on the start menu will be created for everyone or just you. Once you ve made a choice, select the Next button to continue. Page 19

20 Now the wizard will confirm where on your computer to store the application. You can use our default location or choose one by selecting the Change button. If you choose something other than the default, don t forget its location. Select the Next button to continue.. This next screen provides a review of where the software will be installed. Now that we have all the information required, the wizard will confirm the information it gathered and ask you to acknowledge by pressing the Install button. If you wish to change anything, you may press the "Back" button" Choosing the Install button starts the installation process. The following screen will be displayed: Choose the Finish button to complete the installation. NOTE: You may be asked to restart your computer if you are using Windows 98. Page 20

21 What was installed? Inventory Manager is a single user system. This means that all the necessary files which allow the software to run are installed on your computer. This includes the program, database, libraries, fonts, registry settings. By default, Inventory Manager will install a clean database on your system. This means that when you start the software for the first time, you will need to initialize some settings. See the next page for Database Initialization. Database Initialization The first time you try to use the software with a clean database, Inventory Manager will start a Setup Wizard which will help you initialize some system settings. The wizard will walk you through each step of the way. Wizard The first screen in the configuration wizard provides a brief overview of the steps involved in the warehouse set up process. Step 1 involves the set up of the primary warehouse. You will have the opportunity to add additional warehouse later in the process but for now, this set up is intended for the main warehouse. The first requirement is to select a warehouse identifier. The Whse ID will be used throughout the software. It is important that you select a value that makes sense. We recommend that you use a naming convention already familiar to your employees. Some examples are Whse 1, Overstock Whse, and Dallas etc. Keep in mind that the name should be intuitive and easy to understand. Also, to minimize the amount of data input on your handheld device, keep the name short. Next enter your company name. The Company name will be used throughout the software on shipping documents, sales orders and reports. The Contact field should be the warehouse manager s name. This field will be useful if you create multiple warehouses and need to create a directory contact for each site. Address1, city, state, zip, and phone number are all required. They are required when printing Sales orders and Purchase Orders. Page 21

22 Step 2 requires that you designate a specific login for the system administrator. This login can be anything you choose. We recommend that you use something similar to Admin. The wizard will create the initial User ID field for the administrator. You will then be asked to create and confirm a password. Passwords in Inventory Manager are case sensitive. Step 3 involves the setting up of preferences in your database. The preferences function is divided into 3 areas: inventory, shipping and purchasing. These areas allow you to customize fields in Inventory Manager to better suit for your environment. Inventory: Part Number- This is a primary key field throughout the software. Whether you call your items Item Number, Items, P/N, or Part No., this field s naming convention should easily reflect what is used in your operation. SKU- Not everyone uses the SKU field. For those that do not and would still like to take advantage of this field, you can use this field to represent a Stock Number or even the manufacturer s part/model number. Vendor PN- the Vendor PN field is used establish a link between your vendor s part number and you own. In cases where you use the same part number, this field can be used for other purposes like identifying the vendor name. ABC Code- This field is used for inventory counting purposes. You can change the name to something else if you like, but keep in mind that its primary use will be for determining the frequency of Cycle Counting. It should not be used for any other purpose. Custom1 through Custom5- These fields are intended for use in applications where you need to be more descriptive of the inventory. They are optional but we recommend that you take advantage of them. These fields can be used for anything (Ex. Color, Weight, etc.) The Minimum and Maximum Stock Levels provide you with the ability to enter a default value. You can change these default values at the time you create a new item in you item master. If you would prefer not have the system assign a default Min/Max field, enter zeros in both fields. Page 22

23 Shipping: Custom1 and Custom2- These fields appear on the sales order entry screen as well as on shipping documents. They are optional but we recommend that you take advantage of them. Here are some examples for the custom fields: Customer PO, Shipping Method, Host S/O (Accounting Sales order number), Work Order, etc. Require Ship Confirm? The answer to this question will affect the behavior of the software when it comes to taking inventory out of you warehouse or stock room. If you answer Yes, the user in the warehouse will have to pick, then ship confirm what he/she picked before inventory is taken out of your warehouse. If you answer No, the user will only have to pick inventory to have it taken out of the warehouse. Packing List From Address This option allows you to choose how your address will appear on the packing lists for items shipped. If you choose Use warehouse address, then the address for the warehouse where the sales order exists will be used. If you choose Ask for an address, then you will be prompted to enter an address at the time the packing list is printed. And if you choose No Address, then your address will not be printed on your packing list. Purchasing: Custom1 and Custom2- These fields appear on the purchase order entry screen as well as on receiving documents. They are optional but we recommend that you take advantage of them. Here are some examples for the custom fields: Host PO (PO number from accounting system), Vendor S/O (Vendor s Sales order Number), RMA #, Reference Number, etc. Item Cost - Inventory Manager supports cost averaging, cost actual, and fixed costs methods of accounting for inventory value. When you select Average the system calculates the average cost of inventory at the time of receipt. Here is an example of how this is calculated: PO Cost ($10.00) X PO Qty (100) = $1, Current Cost ($ 12.00) X Current Qty (10) = $ Total Inventory Value for this item $1, Divided by the total amount in stock 110 Units New Cost Average $10.8 each When you select Use PO Cost. The system will, at the time of receipt, evaluate the cost of inventory for the item received as the last cost. This may or may not be favorable for your business. You will need to consult with your accounting department to determine the method most appropriate for your type of business. When you select Don t Change the system calculates inventory value based on the unit cost entered in the system when the item was first created in the database. Page 23

24 Step 4 in the process involves the registration process. This process is very important. You should be aware that if you do not register your software, it will expire within a random number of uses over 20 times. This means that after you log-in and out 20 times, we will, at random, shut down the software and ask you to register it or risk losing all your data. The Serial Number and Registration Key fields are provided to you when you purchase the software. This data is typically sent to your address when you purchase the software. Detailed instructions on how to register your software are listed in section 2.2 of this manual. Once you have entered the correct registration key code, press the Next button. The final screen confirms your successful registration process and requires that you press the finish button. Page 24

25 2.2 HOW TO REGISTER YOUR SOFTWARE If you downloaded the software on an Evaluation basis, you will not be required to enter a serial number or registration key value. However, keep in mind that the evaluation mode is designed to help you quickly assess the capabilities of the software prior to making the commitment to purchase it. While in evaluation mode, the software contains a bit of what we phrase Nag ware. At random intervals, the software will pop up a window that reminds you of the software s evaluation status. When you purchase a copy of Inventory Manager, you will receive an from our registration site or from your software vendor. This contains a reference number, which will be used in conjunction with a software serial number (unique number generated by your installation) to register your software. The software registration process consists of four steps. Step 1: You will need to find your Reference number and serial number. First, to get your serial number, log-in to the Inventory Manager application on your PC. Once you ve logged-in, From the Main tool bar select the Help module. From the Help module select the Register function. The following will display: The Serial Number displayed in the registration window is your software serial number. This serial number is unique to your PC. If the software is installed on another PC, this will be a different number. Next, you will need your reference number. This number was sent to you by when the software was purchased or provided to you by your software vendor. If you cannot find this or did not receive a copy, contact the reseller who sold you the software. Page 25

26 Step 2: Go to the website Select the Support Menu. Select Register a Product You must be a registered user on our website to register your software. If you have previously registered on our website, enter your User Name and Password and click the Login button. If you are a new user, click on the "Register Now" link just below the "Login" button. Creating a user name and password is simple. Fill in the required fields and press the submit button. You will be ed with a confirmation of your registration. Step 3: Now that you have your Reference number and serial number, enter them in the spaces provided and select AML Inventory Manager from the product list. Once the information is entered, press the Submit button. HINT: You may copy and paste your Reference Number and Serial number into the fields provided. This will eliminate the possibility of making a mistake when you enter these numbers. Page 26

27 If Reference number and the Serial number you entered are correct, the website will respond with the Registration Key required to unlock the software. If the information you entered is incorrect, you will be notified and asked to renter your registration information. NOTES: If you registration is successful, you will be sent an with the Reference Number, Serial Number, and Registration Key as a reminder. Please print this or save the for your records. Quick Warehouse will not replace lost Registration Keys. Once you register your software, you will not be able to return it for a refund. Page 27

28 Step 4: Enter the Registration Key provided by the webpage in box labeled Registration Key. See example below: HINT: You may copy your Registration Key from the Website and paste it into Inventory Manager. This will eliminate the possibility of making a mistake when you enter this number. When ready select the OK button. If this data is correct, you will see the following message. Congratulations you are now ready to use the software. If the registration is unsuccessful, you will be notified and asked to re-enter your registration key. After 3 failed attempts, the application will close. If you continue having problems with your registration number, please contact your software vendor or Quick Warehouse (Support@quickwarehouse.com) Page 28

29 2.3 POPULATING THE DATABASE Inventory Manager comes with a clean database and a demo database. The clean database is the one you will use to setup your inventory and run your warehouse. The demo database is provided to allow you to practice using the software. By default, Inventory manager installs the clean database as the default database. If you wish to use the demo database to practice and learn the software, please follow these steps: 1. Close the Inventory Manager application if it is open 2. Using file explorer, go to the directory where you installed your software. (The default installation directory is c:\program files\quick Warehouse\Inventory Manager\) 3. To install a clean copy of the database, double click on the file called "DemoDatabase.bat" 4. Start the application and login using the following information: User ID: Admin Password: Admin (Case sensitive) When you are ready to use the software for your warehouse "Live Mode", you must first remove the demo database, and install the live or "clean" database. Here are the steps you should follow: 1. Close the Inventory Manager application if it is open 2. Using file explorer, go to the directory where you installed your software. (The default installation directory is c:\program files\quick Warehouse\Inventory Manager\) 3. To install a clean copy of the database, double click on the file called "CleanDatabase.bat" 4. Start the application and follow the Inventory Manager Wizard to initialize your new database. (Section 2.1 of this manual) 5. Populate the database. The process of populating the database is a two-step process. First you must populate the database with the correct part numbers and their corresponding information. This is done through the Import function in the Sync module. Refer to section 7.4 for more details. The second step in this process is to take an actual inventory. This must be accomplished with the use of a handheld terminal. This is perhaps the most painful process of any warehouse software implementation. However, it is the most critical of all steps. In order to take advantage of all the features in Inventory Manager, you need to start with an inventory value that you can count on. Page 29

30 2.4 CREATING SECURITY LEVELS One of the first things that a System Administrator should do is configure the various security levels used by the warehouse personnel. Inventory Manager allows the System Administrator to create Security levels for each function of the warehouse operation. To setup up security levels, elect the Admin module from the Main toolbar, and then select the Security function icon. The following will be displayed: The Security Set Up screen is very important to the software. It determines which users have the authority to affect the inventory both from a transaction basis (meaning receiving, picking, put-away and shipping) and from an adjustment basis (Inventory Adjustments). To set a proper security level: First, select the Security Level by scrolling through the drop down list. Inventory Manager provides 10 levels of security to choose from. Security Level 1 is the highest level available to the system and should only be assigned to the system administrator and or the warehouse operations manager. Level 1 provides unlimited access to the entire software. Next, enter a value in the Description field that is appropriate for the security level you are about to define. A good example would be Picker, Shipper, or Warehouse Supervisor. These values should describe the function to be performed by the user assigned that level. To allow access to a certain function, use your mouse to check a box next to the function you wish to permit the selected security level to have. To remove access to a function, simply uncheck the corresponding box. When you are done, click on the OK button and you can now start the next level. You do not have to define all levels. However, we recommend that you create levels for individual functions like Picking & Shipping, Receiving & Put-Away, and Temp (View only). Although Inventory Manager is a single PC (user) system, the application may be used by multiple users on the same. Page 30

31 2.5 CREATE A WAREHOUSE ID Inventory Manager uses the Warehouse ID designator to establish the home position for on-hand stock, Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, and user logins. As part of the initial set up process, you already created a primary Whse ID. To access the Warehouse Maintenance window select the Admin module form the main toolbar, and then select the Whse function. Select New to add a new Warehouse. Enter the desired Whse ID designator. Although this is a freeform field, we recommend that you use a naming convention already familiar to your employees. Some examples are Bldg G, Overstock Whse, and Dallas. Keep in mind that the name should be intuitive and easy to understand. The Company name will be used throughout the software on shipping documents, sales orders and reports. Next enter the Contact for the specific warehouse. This would normally be the warehouse manager or supervisor, or in the event of a single warehouse implementation, the system manger. The system requires that all fields with the exception of Alt Phone and Fax be filled out completely. Once you ve filled in the blanks, click on Save. If you made a mistake or wish to change the data, click on Modify, pull down the Whse-ID drop down list, and select the appropriate Warehouse ID. Save changes accordingly. Keep in mind that you must also create User ID login and passwords for the new warehouse you just created. Page 31

32 2.6 CREATING USER LOGINS Once you define the security levels for each of the functions within your operation, you are ready to start creating a login for your personnel to use. To create or modify a login, select the Admin module from the main toolbar, and then select the Users function. The following will be displayed: Selecting the New button allows the system administrator to enter new logins for users authorized to use the system. 1. Warehouse - This limits the user login activity to a specific warehouse. Multi-warehouse users will require multiple logins. 2. User-ID - This field can be filled in with a unique name or it can be filled in with a unique number such as an employee number. If numbers are used, the comment field can be used to identify the individual user s name. 3. Passwords - Are required in order to perform functions within Inventory Manager. The Password is Case sensitive. 4. Security level should correspond to the access that is appropriate for the user being created. Refer to section 2.4 for more details on Security Levels. 5. Status is used by Inventory Manager to designate whether the login is active or has been suspended. Suspending a user login is away of deleting the user without actually removing them from the database. The feature can be used to deactivate a user that goes on vacation or extended leave of absence. 6. Comments is an optional field can be used to store additional information related to the specific login. It can also be used to identify the person s complete name, phone number, job title, department, etc. Once all the required fields are entered, select the Save button to store the information. To change an existing login attribute or to delete a user account, Click on the Modify button. You will be asked to select a warehouse and user id to modify by selecting these fields from a drop down list. Inventory Manager will allow users to modify their own passwords. See section 3.2 for more details. Page 32

33 2.7 SETTING UP PREFERENCES Inventory Manager provides the ability to change the naming convention for various fields that appear throughout the software. This feature helps you better understand the software by allowing certain fields to be renamed using familiar terms or better yet, naming conventions specific to your industry. Not only does this feature make Inventory Manager easily adept to most environments, it also makes it easier to train existing personnel on its use. Inventory Manager allows for the renaming of fields in the areas of the Item Records, Sales Orders and Purchase orders. Although Preferences were created as part of the initial configuration process, a user can change the attributes as often as necessary. Two items should be given consideration before making any changes. First, by changing an attribute or renaming a field, there may be data that exists in that field that is relevant to the previous naming convention. Also, in order for the revised naming conventions to take place, users will be required to log out and log back in for the changes to take effect. Users that do not log out will still see the previous configurations. To begin changing your preferences, click on the Admin module from the main toolbar, and then select the Preferences function icon. The following screen will be displayed. There are four sections in the Admin module that can be configured for your specific requirements. General- This section addresses the general look and feel of the software s methods for navigation. Select Tool Bar Only and the large icons will be available for use during navigation. Select Menu Only and the toolbar will be hidden. This gives you more room on the screen. Select Both to see both the toolbar and the menus at the top of the screen. Page 33

34 Inventory- This section addresses the naming conventions for anything related to an Inventory Item. Below is an example: The following fields are available for renaming: Part Number- This is a primary key field throughout the software. Whether you call your items Item Number. Items, P/N, or Part No., this field s naming convention should easily reflect what is used in your operation. SKU- Not everyone uses the SKU concept. For those that do not and would still like to take advantage of this field, you can use this field to represent a Stock Number or even the manufacturer s part/model number. Vendor PN- The Vendor PN field is used establish a link between your vendor s part number and you own. In cases where you use the same part number, this field can be used for other purposes like identifying the vendor name. ABC Code- This field is used for inventory counting purposes. You can change it to something you like but keep in mind that its primary use will be for determining the frequency of Cycle Counting. Custom1 through Custom5- These fields are intended for use in applications where you need to be more descriptive of the inventory. They are optional fields but we recommend that you take advantage of them. Some examples of their potential use are for Model Number, Substitute PN, Stock Number, Weight, Size, Color, Style, Owner, etc. The Minimum and Maximum Stock Levels provide you with the ability to enter a default value. If you would prefer not have the system assign a default Min/Max field, enter zeros in both fields. This value will be captured each time a new item is entered into the system. The users can then go back and change the Min/Max value if needed. Shipping- This section addresses the naming conventions for anything related to Sales Order. Below is an example: Custom1 and Custom2- The next set of preferences that need to be defined relate to sales orders. These fields appear on the sales order entry screen as well as on shipping documents. They are optional but we recommend that you take advantage of them. Some examples of uses of custom fields are Customer PO, Shipping Method, Host S/O (Accounting Sales order number), Work Order, etc. Require Ship Confirm? The answer to this question affects how you ship orders. If you select No the system will consider an order shipped once its picked and will bypass the shipping process unless you select yes during the pick. If you select Yes the system will require that all orders be shipped in addition to being picked. Packing List From Address - This question affects how the packing lists print. This area is primarily for users that are shipping products on behalf of their customers, where their customers do not wish the recipient to know the origin of the product. 1. Use Warehouse Address- This uses the default warehouse address entered in the software when the specific warehouse was created. 2. Ask for an Address- This gives you a blank screen and you fill in the Ship from address. 3. Use no Address- This option blanks out the address of the shipping warehouse. Page 34

35 Receiving- This section addresses the naming conventions for anything related to a Purchase Order. Below is an example: Custom1 and Custom2- These fields appear on the purchase order entry screen as well as on receiving documents. They are optional but we recommend that you take advantage of them. Here are some examples for the custom fields: Host PO (PO number from accounting system), Vendor S/O (Vendor s Sales order Number), RMA #, Reference Number, etc. Item Cost - Inventory Manager supports cost averaging, cost actual, and fixed costs methods of accounting for inventory value. When you select Average the system calculates the average cost of inventory at the time of receipt. Here is an example of how this is calculated: PO Cost ($10.00) X PO Qty (100) = $1, Current Cost ($ 12.00) X Current Qty (10) = $ Total Inventory Value for this item $1, Divided by the total amount in stock 110 Units New Cost Average $10.8 each When you select Use PO Cost, the system will (at the time of receipt) evaluate the cost of inventory for the item received as the last cost. This may or may not be favorable for your business. You will need to consult with your accounting department to determine the method most appropriate for your type of business. When you select Don t Change the system calculates inventory value based on the unit cost entered in the system when the item was first created in the database. Other- This section addresses the logo that gets printed on warehouse documents such as Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, and Packing Lists. Below is an example: To add or change the logo file, select the Change button. The system will display a directory for you to browse. Enter the path or use the browse function to search for and select the logo file. The logo file must contain 445 x 95 pixels in order to fit in the designated area. To save your choice, click the "Save" button. If you do not wish to use a logo on your documents, press the Clear/None button. Page 35

36 2.8 ADDING VENDORS Inventory Manager requires that you have vendors identified if you wish to generate Purchase Orders from the system. The vendor information is printed on your purchase order to make it easy to fax or your purchase order document to your suppliers. To access the Add Vendor function, select the Receiving module from the main toolbar, and then select the Vendors function. Click on the New button to create a new vendor. Now enter a Vendor name and a Contact. Enter the corresponding address. Click on Save when finished. Only the vendor name is required, the other fields are optional. For state, and zip the software will allow you to enter any information, this is so that you may support international vendors. To modify an existing vendor, select Modify, then choose the vendor, from the drop down list, that you would like to modify. Click on Save when finished. From the Modify section, you may also choose to delete a vendor record or print a map to their location. (Printing a map requires connection to the internet) Page 36

37 2.9 ADDING CUSTOMERS Inventory Manager maintains a database of your customers and relevant shipping information. Customer information is used for sales order entry. To enter a new customer, select the Shipping module from the main toolbar, and then select the Customer function. Click on the New button to enter a new customer into the system. Use the Customer field to indicate your customer s company name. The remaining address information fields are optional. It is important that you enter a complete address. Later in the software, you will have the option to print maps to your customer s location. If your company uses its own delivery drivers, this feature will help guide them to your customer s location. Press the Save button when you re finished. If your customers that have multiple shipping locations, you can enter multiple addresses for the same customer under the Ship To function. To modify existing customer data, select the Modify button and use the drop down list to find the desired customer you would like to change. Press the Save button when you re finished with the changes. From the modify section, you will also be able to delete a customer. To enter multiple shipping addresses for your customer, select the Shipping module from the main toolbar, and then select the Ship To function. To add a new site address for an existing customer, use the drop down list to find the customer. Give this address a site name by filling in the Site field. A good example might be Dallas Whse or New York. Fill in the remaining fields as you would have when entering a new customer. Press Save when finished. To modify existing customer data, select the Modify button and use the drop down list to find the desired customer and site. Make your changes and press the Save button when you re finished. From the modify section, you will also be able to delete a customer ship to address. Page 37

38 2.10 ADDING CATEGORIES The Category field in Inventory Manager is designed to help you group your inventory. This will come in handy when you need to search your database for specific types of items. Here s a good example of how to use this field: If you were in the automotive field and stocked various types of parts, you might elect to create a category called Motors. You could also structure your data to have subcategories. For example: Motors-Electric, Motors-DC, etc. This would give you the opportunity to view all items in stock with a category of Motors and or all items within a subcategory. You could then drill down a bit further and search by another field within the category grouping. Use your own ideas with this field. If you can t think of a use, don t worry, you can always go back and add or change the data. To create a new Category, select the Inventory module from the Main toolbar, and then select the Categories function. Press the New button to create a new category. The Description field is optional. Press Save when completed. To modify or delete an existing category, select the Modify button and use the pull down list to find the desired Category. If you choose to delete a category which has item/part numbers assigned to it, the system will not allow you to continue. Page 38

39 2.11 ADDING LOCATIONS Warehouse bin locations are a very critical component and a major contributor to the overall accuracy of your inventory. Inventory Manager requires that all locations be entered into the system before they are used to store materials. Although this is a freeform field and will accept any format you provide, we strongly encourage you to create standards for how this data is structured. Bin location numbering should be intuitive and easily to understand. For example, if you use the location sequence 01A-10B-023, one can easily assess that the number means Warehouse 01, Zone A, Row 10, Level B, and Bin 023. A more detailed explanation of this structure was provided in section 1.6 of this manual. To create a new Location, you must first log into the warehouse where the location is to be created. Select the Inventory module from the main toolbar, and then select the Locations function. To create bin locations within your warehouse press the New button. The system prompts for Location. Enter the desired Location followed by a Description. Here are some examples of how to use the description field: Bldg 5, Stock Room 2, Cage 5, Cabinet 3, etc. Entering data into the Square Feet field is optional. This field should be used for informational purposes. This field is printed on the Empty Locations Report to give you an idea of the square footage not being used in your warehouse. Press Save when completed. To modify or delete an existing location, select the Modify button. Use the drop down list to find the location you wish to modify. Press Save when completed. NOTE: You will not be able to delete locations with inventory in them. The System button on this screen is used to define the default Receipt Staging location, the default Pick Staging location, and the default In-Transit location. Locations selected for these fields must already be in the system before you can associate them with a specific function. Use the drop down lists to find the desired location for each work area. Press Save when completed. The Receipt Staging location is used by the system to establish a default location when items are received into inventory. Normally this field would be something like Dock 1 or REC. You will NOT be able to receive inventory until this location has been chosen. The Pick Staging location works similar to the receiving only that it will be used as the default location where products are placed after the picking function and just prior to shipping. A good example of how to name this location could be Shipping Dock or Shipping. This will make it easy for someone looking at an inventory screen to determine that product listed under the location of Shipping was most likely picked for an order and is ready to be shipped out. You will not be able to pick product until this location has been chosen. The In-Transit location is the temporary location where items are placed while they are in route from one warehouse to another. This allows you to search for items that have been transferred but not yet received by the other warehouse. You will not be able to transaction product until this location has been chosen. Page 39

40 2.12 ADDING ITEM/PART NUMBERS Inventory Manager maintains an item master database. Although not required, we recommend that you create categories and locations in the database prior to items. At this point, you can associate the category and the primary location with the new item you re about to create. To create a new Item or Part Number, select the Inventory module from the main toolbar, and then select the New function. Click on the New button to create a new part/item number. The Part/Item Number is the only required field on this screen. It must also be unique. SKU - Is an optional field. You can use this field if your warehouse operations use SKUs. If you do not use SKU numbers, you can make this a secondary description. Vendor PN Is an optional field. This field should be entered to match the vendor or manufacturer s part number. This field could also be used to represent a vendor name. Keep in mind that Inventory Manager provides 5 additional custom fields that you can rename to your specific requirements. Category This field is used throughout the software to help group products in during query functions. You must use the drop down list to select from the available categories already defined in the previous section on this manual. UOM (unit of measure) is another optional field. Although Inventory Manager does not perform any type of unit of measure conversion, it is always a good practice to be consistent with the data entered in the system. ABC Code is used for purposes of cycle counting and physical inventory. While this is a freeform field, you should be consistent with data entered into this field. For example, if you enter an A in this field, you could later run a query on all the items with a cycle count code of A. For your internal purposes, an A can mean represent items that should be counted every month or everyday, etc. Cost Is not required but highly recommended. Most accounting systems track overall inventory cost. With Inventory Manager, we provide the option to track costs at the item level. If you are consistent with your data entry, you can go as far as determine inventory value by vendor, category, warehouse, etc. This field is automatically calculated during receiving (See Cost Averaging 2.7) Standard Cost This field is there in case you would like to track your inventory by more than one cost category. A good example might be that you use the Cost field to track actual cost and the Standard Cost field to track a fixed cost or contracted costs. Price field is there in case you would like pricing to show up on sales orders and for compatibility with your host system. Min/Max and Description fields are self-explanatory. These fields are used for information and reporting purposes. Primary Location field is used to define where in the warehouse the item should be stocked. It does not mean that you can t store the same product in multiple locations, but rather this field is used as a starting point to guide warehouse personnel during Put-Away and Picking transactions. Custom These fields are provided to allow for more descriptive data to be associated with an item. Status Field is used to suspend inventory from being processed. Items that are suspended are not available for transactions like shipping and picking.. Page 40

41 CHAPTER 3: USING THE SYSTEM Page 41

42 3.1 LOG IN The login process requires the user to first select the Warehouse" in which the activities will be performed. Logins are tied to the Warehouse ID and assigned by the system administrator in the setup function. In order for a user to have access to multiple warehouses, their login must exist is all of them (see section 2.6 for more information). Use the drop down list to select from the available Warehouse to log-in to. Next, a User- D must be selected. The pull down list will display the available user logins. Once the appropriate user is selected the system will prompt for a password. The Password is required but will not be displayed for security reasons. The Password is case sensitive. Entering an invalid password will result in an error message being displayed. The user is asked to re-enter the password or choose a different user name and Warehouse to log into. Select the Login button to execute the request or the Exit button to cancel and exit the application. Page 42

43 3.2 CHANGING YOUR PASSWORD It is always a good idea to change your password. Inventory Manager keeps track of all transactions by User ID. This means that someone who knows your password can perform functions and you will be the person responsible. To change your password, select Change Password from the File pull down menu. To change your password, you will be asked to enter your old or current password, and then choose a new password. You will have to enter your new password twice to confirm the change. Page 43

44 3.3 MAIN MENU The Inventory Manager Main menu can be accessed by using either the menus at the top of the toolbar or by selecting the icons (Modules). From here, you can navigate your way to through to any of the functions available in the software and authorized by your login. Below is a summary list of modules and there corresponding functions available in the software. The Inventory module contains functions such as: Inventory Lookup, Add/Modify/Delete Items, Move Inventory, Create New Locations, Create New Item Categories, and Enter Inventory Counts. The Shipping module contains functions such as: Sales Order Entry, Sales Order Lookup, Picking, Shipping, Add New Customers, and Add New Customer Ship To Addresses. The Receiving module contains functions such as: Purchase Order Entry, Purchase Order Lookup, Receiving, and Add New Vendors. The Sync module contains functions that allow you to synchronize your data with a portable handheld scanner or a host/server system. The Reports module contains functions that allow you to run reports on inventory, shipping and receiving. The Admin module contains functions that allow you to set preferences, security, add/modify/delete user logins, and other administrative tasks. The Help module contains an online manual, registration, and information about your software. Page 44

45 3.4 MANAGING WINDOWS Inventory Manager allows you to open multiple windows at the same time. This can create a mess really quick. Since Inventory Manager is a Windows program, some of the functionality you are used to with other software is available to help in this situation. From the Window pull down menu you can choose to arrange the open functions in any number of ways, or you can choose to activate a particular window. From the image above, you can see that there are multiple windows open. The list 1-5 of functions is the list of open windows. You can select any one of them to bring that window to the front. Of you can select Cascade or Tile Vertical/Horizontal to arrange the windows in a way that would make them visible and easy to select. Page 45

46 3.5 EXPORTING AND PRINTING REPORTS All reports, including Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, Packing Lists, Pick Lists, and lookup reports in Inventory Manager can be printed or exported to PDF or RTF format. Every report document in Inventory Manger is displayed on the screen before it is printed. At the top of every report there is a tool bar with three standard buttons. Close: Closes the open report without printing. Print: Opens the printer selection dialog screen and prints to a selected printer. Export: Exports the report to pdf or rtf format. If you choose to Print the report, the system will ask you to select from the available printers configured in your Windows operating system. In some cases, this printer can be a fax machine or a modem on your PC. This will allow you to send Purchase Orders to your vendors through you fax machine or modem without printing the Purchase Order document. If you choose to Export the data, you will have the option to store the data in various format types. Below is a sample of the screen prompts and available formats. This feature will come in handy if you need to send documents via or export the information for use by another system. Simply choose the desired format and a name for the file. RTF: RTF is a rich type format. Basically it creates a word document which you can view with Microsoft Word or any other word processing program. The Rich Type Format keeps all of the document formatting (Bold, Italics, color) and margins in tact. PDF: PDF is an Adobe Portable Document Format. A person wishing to view this document must install Adobe Acrobat Reader. This program is available for free from Adobe.com. This format has a small footprint and is an industry standard for document sharing. Page 46

47 CHAPTER 4 INVENTORY MODULE Page 47

48 4.1 THE INVENTORY MODULE The Inventory Module allows users to access all of the functions in the software related to inventory management. This includes the following functions: The Lookup function allows you to search for inventory, perform functions on the results, or print your results. The New function allows you to create new inventory items or modify existing ones. The Move function allows you to move inventory from one location to another in the same warehouse. The Transfer function allows you to transfer inventory from one warehouse to another The Locations function allows you to create or modify bin locations. The Categories function allows you to create or modify item categories. The Count function allows you to create cycle count work sheets. Page 48

49 4.2 LOOKUP FUNCTION The ability to easily look-up information and query the database is a very important part of managing your inventory. Inventory Manager takes this concept to another level. Not only can you query any data-point in the database, you can also perform transactions on results of the query. For example, you can search for a particular item in inventory and once you find it, perform a move transaction right from query screen. This example will be explained in greater detail later in this section. To perform a search or query of your inventory, select the Inventory module from the main toolbar, and then select the Lookup function. You should see the following window: Notice the warehouse field defaults to the primary warehouse assigned to your log-in. For lookup and query purposes, you will have access to view inventory in other warehouses but will not have the ability to affect the inventory. You should also take note of the custom fields that you were asked to redefine as part of the initial set up. Those fields are now available to view and search against. There are a couple general rules that apply to all searches within Inventory Manager that you should be aware of. First, you can search on any field displayed on this screen. Second, you can use a wild card indicator (*) to assist in narrowing the search. For example, if you were looking for part numbers that start with the letter T, you can enter a T* in the part number field and select the Search icon and it will retrieve all the items in inventory whose part numbers start with the letter T. You can also use the wild card (*) indicator to search for values in a field or at the end of a field. For example: if you enter a *T or *T* the system list everything that has a T in that field or everything that ends with a T conversely. This feature is available throughout the software. You can also enter multiple search criteria such as part numbers that start with T in warehouse 001 with an on-hand quantity >0. If data exists based on the search criteria you ve selected, the system will display the results in a spreadsheet like configuration at the lower portion of the screen. The Print button will allow you to print a report on your query results. It will ask you to name the report and then display the results. Page 49

50 At this point you can choose to print or export the report. See section 3.5 for more information. Viewing Your Search Results Now that you have some results, you can sort by any column simply by clicking that column header. The system will first sort the results in the column in ascending order. If you click that same column again, it will sort the results in descending order. You can also move columns left or right. To move a column, click and hold a column header, then move your mouse to the left or right. The column order will not be saved after you change it. It will only change for the current result set. Page 50

51 Performing Transactions from Query Results The next sets of features available in this section relate to performing transaction against the data you identified in your search criteria. This function can be used to move products within your warehouse, organize bin locations, re-group merchandise by item number, etc. It can also be used to modify existing detail records at the part /item number level. To perform a transaction against a record in your results, move your mouse arrow to the desired record and press the right mouse button. The system will display four options (Detail, Move, Modify, and Adjustment). The Detail function displays information about the record you selected in a vertical spreadsheet format. This is just a viewing window. The Move function supports the relocation of the inventory between bin locations in the warehouse. The Move window displays the relevant data captured in the query and prompts you to enter the desired Qty and Move To location. Simply enter a desired quantity and use the drop down list to select from available bin locations in the warehouse. Once you fill in the required fields, the system will ask you to confirm your request. Press the OK button and the inventory is moved. Page 51

52 When you select Modify the system will display the Item Master modification screen, which allows you to modify the item s attributes in the database. Once you make the desired modifications, choose Save to save your work. The Delete key will allow you to delete the item from the database as long as no inventory exists in the system for this item. Cancel returns you back to the look up screen. When you select Adjustment the system will display the current inventory level for the item you selected. The adjustment function will only adjust inventory quantity in the location and warehouse selected. Replace the existing value in inventory with the desired value and click on the OK button. Page 52

53 4.3 NEW FUNCTION Inventory Manager maintains an item master database. Although not required, we recommend that you create categories and locations in the database prior to items. At this point, you can associate the category and the primary location with the new item you re about to create. To create a new Item or Part Number, select the Inventory module from the main toolbar, and then select the New function. Click on the New button to create a new part/item number. The Part/Item Number is the only required field on this screen. It must also be unique. SKU - Is an optional field. You can use this field if your warehouse operations use SKUs. If you do not use SKU numbers, you can make this a secondary description. Vendor PN Is an optional field. This field should be entered to match the vendor or manufacturer s part number. This field could also be used to represent a vendor name. Keep in mind that Inventory Manager provides 5 additional custom fields that you can rename to your specific requirements. Category This field is used throughout the software to help group products in during query functions. You must use the drop down list to select from the available categories already defined in the previous section on this manual. UOM (unit of measure) is another optional field. Although Inventory Manager does not perform any type of unit of measure conversion, it is always a good practice to be consistent with the data entered in the system. ABC Code is used for purposes of cycle counting and physical inventory. While this is a freeform field, you should be consistent with data entered into this field. For example, if you enter an A in this field, you could later run a query on all the items with a cycle count code of A. For your internal purposes, an A can mean represent items that should be counted every month or everyday, etc. Cost Is not required but highly recommended. Most accounting systems track overall inventory cost. With Inventory Manager, we provide the option to track costs at the item level. If you are consistent with your data entry, you can go as far as determine inventory value by vendor, category, warehouse, etc. This field is automatically calculated during receiving (See Cost Averaging 2.7) Standard Cost This field is there in case you would like to track your inventory by more than one cost category. A good example might be that you use the Cost field to track actual cost and the Standard Cost field to track a fixed cost or contracted costs. Price field is there in case you would like pricing to show up on sales orders and for compatibility with your host system. Min/Max and Description fields are self-explanatory. These fields are used for information and reporting purposes. Primary Location field is used to define where in the warehouse the item should be stocked. It does not mean that you can t store the same product in multiple locations, but rather this field is used as a starting point to guide warehouse personnel during Put-Away and Picking transactions. Custom These fields are provided to allow for more descriptive data to be associated with an item. Status Field is used to suspend inventory from being processed. Items that are suspended are not available for transactions like shipping and picking. Page 53

54 From the Modify section, you are also able to delete an item from your Item master table. You will always be asked to confirm that you wish to delete an item, and you will not be able to delete an item if there are any quantities for that item in inventory. NOTE: You will not be able to delete an item if that item carries a quantity in the inventory. Page 54

55 4.4 MOVE FUNCTION Put-Away Transactions, Inventory Moves, and Inventory Transfers are key tools in the process of managing your warehouse and inventory. These functions are designed to arm key warehouse personnel with the tools to effectively manage the warehouse. As Warehouse Managers or Supervisors, you should continually strive to improve efficiency and accuracy with your inventory. Studying the inventory movement and positioning of your product within the warehouse can improve productivity and overall inventory accuracy. Fast moving items should be placed closer to the outbound doors. Not having enough products in primary locations or having similar products scattered throughout the warehouse can sometimes slow down the picking process. This is where the movement process can help you organize your warehouse. Later in this manual we have a section that addresses lookups and reports. These are also tools that when combined with the ability to move products around the warehouse and track their whereabouts can prove to be very powerful. There are two methods for performing Put-Aways and Moves, One is from the PC workstation and the second is through the use of a handheld portable bar code scanning terminal. Chapter 5 in this manual addresses the process of using portable handheld terminals to perform these functions. Remember, a "Move" is an inventory move from one location to another in the same warehouse. If you wish to move an item to another warehouse, then use the transfer function. To perform a Move, select the Inventory module from the main toolbar, and then select the Move function. The difference between Put-Away and a Move is that Put-Away is associated with the function just after a receipt. From the perspective of Inventory Manager, a Put-Away and a Move are the same transaction. The Put-Away/Move function first prompts for a Part Number or Item Number. Use the drop down list to choose the correct item or part number. Because this happens to be a field that you can rename to accommodate your specific requirements, we vary the use of these terms throughout this manual. Recognize that they are considered one in the same for the purposes of this documentation. After selecting the Item or Part Number, the system will display the description for the item you selected. Next use the drop down list to select the Move From location. If you are doing a Put-Away function, the location would be something like REC or whatever you designed as the default receiving location. The system will only display the locations in the system that contain inventory for the item you selected. Once you choose the location, the system returns the total inventory available to from the location you selected. You can either leave the highlighted quantity or enter a new quantity in the Qty field. Keep in mind that the system will not allow you to move quantities higher that shown in the location you select. Use the drop down list to select the Move To location. Click on the OK button to complete the transaction. Inventory Manager will not allow you to move a quantity greater than the quantity available in the location you are moving inventory from. Page 55

56 4.5 TRANSFER FUNCTION Inventory Manager supports the transfer of products between distinct warehouse facilities. Whether the other warehouse is across the street or in another time zone, the Transfer function is used to track the product movement from the originating warehouse through to the receiving warehouse. The system accomplishes this task by moving the inventory from the originating warehouse in a transfer location. You define the transfer or In-Transit location during the initial set up phase of the software. For more details on how to define an In- Transit location, refer to section 4.6 in this manual. To perform a Transfer, select Inventory module from the main toolbar, and then select the Transfer function. In the illustration below, notice that the From Whse is grayed out and not available for change. The system recognizes your default warehouse ID based on your log-in. The system now requires that you select a To Whse. Use the drop down list to select from the available warehouses in the system. If the destination warehouse has not defined a default In-Transit location, the system will not allow you to complete the transfer. Next use the drop down list to find the Item Number or Part Number you wish to transfer. The description of the part selected will be automatically displayed. Now choose the From Location within your warehouse that the product was pulled out of. The system will only display locations with inventory that match the item you selected. Once you choose the From Location, the system returns the total inventory available in that location for transfer. You can either leave the highlighted quantity or enter a new quantity in the Qty field. Keep in mind that the system will not allow you to transfer quantities higher that shown in the location you selected. If you require more, perform another transfer and pick form another location for the balance of what you need. Click on the OK button to complete the transaction. Page 56

57 4.6 LOCATIONS FUNCTION Warehouse bin locations are a very critical component and a major contributor to the overall accuracy of your inventory. Inventory Manager requires that all locations be entered into the system before they are used to store materials. Although this is a freeform field and will accept any format you provide, we strongly encourage you to create standards for how this data is structured. Bin location numbering should be intuitive and easily to understand. For example, if you use the location sequence 01A-10B-023, one can easily assess that the number means Warehouse 01, Zone A, Row 10, Level B, and Bin 023. A more detailed explanation of this structure was provided in section 1.6 of this manual. To create a new Location, you must first log into the warehouse where the location is to be created. Select the Inventory module from the main toolbar, and then select the Locations function. To create bin locations within your warehouse press the New button. The system prompts for Location. Enter the desired Location followed by a Description. Here are some examples of how to use the description field: Bldg 5, Stock Room 2, Cage 5, Cabinet 3, etc. Entering data into the Square Feet field is optional. This field should be used for informational purposes. This field is printed on the Empty Locations Report to give you an idea of the square footage not being used in your warehouse. Press Save when completed. To modify or delete an existing location, select the Modify button. Use the drop down list to find the location you wish to modify. Press Save when completed. NOTE: You will not be able to delete locations with inventory in them. The System button on this screen is used to define the default Receipt Staging location, the default Pick Staging location, and the default In-Transit location. Locations selected for these fields must already be in the system before you can associate them with a specific function. Use the drop down lists to find the desired location for each work area. Press Save when completed. The Receipt Staging location is used by the system to establish a default location when items are received into inventory. Normally this field would be something like Dock 1 or REC. You will NOT be able to receive inventory until this location has been chosen. The Pick Staging location works similar to the receiving only that it will be used as the default location where products are placed after the picking function and just prior to shipping. A good example of how to name this location could be Shipping Dock or Shipping. This will make it easy for someone looking at an inventory screen to determine that product listed under the location of Shipping was most likely picked for an order and is ready to be shipped out. You will not be able to pick product until this location has been chosen. The In-Transit location is the temporary location where items are placed while they are in route from one warehouse to another. This allows you to search for items that have been transferred but not yet received by the other warehouse. You will not be able to transaction product until this location has been chosen. Page 57

58 4.7 CATEGORIES FUNCTION The Category field in Inventory Manager is designed to help you group your inventory. This will come in handy when you need to search your database for specific types of items. Here s a good example of how to use this field: If you were in the automotive field and stocked various types of parts, you might elect to create a category called Motors. You could also structure your data to have subcategories. For example: Motors-Electric, Motors-DC, etc. This would give you the opportunity to view all items in stock with a category of Motors and or all items within a subcategory. You could then drill down a bit further and search by another field within the category grouping. Use your own ideas with this field. If you can t think of a use, don t worry, you can always go back and add or change the data. To create a new Category, select the Inventory module from the Main toolbar, and then select the Categories function. Press the New button to create a new category. The Description field is optional. Press Save when completed. To modify or delete an existing category, select the Modify button and use the pull down list to find the desired Category. If you choose to delete a category which has item/part numbers assigned to it, the system will not allow you to continue. Page 58

59 4.8 COUNT FUNCTION Introduction Inventory Manager allows you to assign cycle count codes to every item in the database. The process of entering cycle count codes into the database is covered under sections 2.12 and 4.3 of this manual. Procedures for performing actual cycle counts using a portable handheld computer are covered in the Inventory Manager Mobile manual. The Cycle Counting process is used as a tool for monitoring and performing spot checks on your inventory. Most company accounting departments will have established guidelines for the frequency of inventory counts. The ABC code field provided in the database allows you to enter any value you wish. We recommend that you use a simply method to identify the types of counting your financial department requires. For example, a simple ABC method of coding items in the database can get you started. By assigning a generic variable such as A or B, you can easily create and change criteria to match anything you choose. Most companies will use A to represent items that you count weekly, B for items that require monthly, C for items that require counting quarterly and so on. There are no set rules for creating these count codes. Keep in mind that whatever coding schema you decide on will be used in printing count sheets and performing actual counts. Cycle Counting with Inventory Manager the 5500 Series Using the AML 5500 series portable handheld scanner to collect inventory counts is a very efficient and effective way to get a good count. The handheld scanner will collect the information in its memory pending transfer (Download) to the PC. At anytime during the inventory process, you can run the reconciliation process and the system will display the variances in your counts. Because you are using a batch handheld device, all discrepancies must be corrected manually in the database from the Inventory Lookup screen. Below is a summary of the steps involved in taking inventory: Step 1- The first step is to print count sheets based on the selection criteria desired. To print a count sheet you must access the Inventory module from the main toolbar. Next select the Count function. Remember, if you want to count everything in your warehouse, you will not need to print this count sheet. The system provides several criteria selections for the cycle count. Warehouse ID - You can use the drop down list to select from available warehouse identifiers in the system or you can select ALL. If you choose ALL you will not have the option to select a specific Location. Part number - If you are doing a cycle count based on part number, this will allow you to only count the item you require. However, if you are like most warehouses and would like to count by location, leave the Part Number field with the ALL criteria. Location If you would like to count a specific location only, then choose that location from this drop down list. Category This drop down list allows you to select a specific category of items to count. So, if you re an automotive parts warehouse, you can choose Oil Filters and the resulting report would show only oil filters. ABC Code This drop down list allows you to count items based on performance. If your high volume items are A code for example, you can count all A items only. Sort Order this option is used to help in the distribution of the printed count sheets. Use the Up and Down arrows to move the selected field to the top or button. The resulting report will be sorted based on the order shown. Page 59

60 When you ve completed the criteria selection process, click on the OK button. following report: The system will display the Please note that the count sheets printed by Inventory Manager include bar codes that can be scanned by a portable handheld scanner. The bar codes on this report serve as a data entry template in case the location or item number bar codes in your warehouse are unreadable or not available. Step 2- Print your count sheets and distribute them to your count team. If you are using handheld computers to perform this inventory, distribute them at this time. Step 3- You are now ready to take your inventory. Instructions for using the batch handheld scanner are in chapter 11 of this manual. Step 4- At different time intervals, you may want to download the captured data from your handheld scanner to the PC. A discrepancy report will be shown each time you download. This report provides details on the data collected during the inventory process. This report will not only provide details on count discrepancies, it will also provide details on any discrepancy related to the data that was scanned and stored in the handheld computer. Below is an example of this report. The import summary report can have any number of exceptions: Invalid Item Number Invalid Location Invalid Warehouse Mismatched quantity Page 60

61 In the example above, the user counted 4 locations. For two of those locations, the system quantity did not match the quantity counted. The solution is simple, recount the item in location 001-RA and adjust the inventory accordingly (Step 6 Below). For those items where there was not exception, the exception column is blank. Step 5- Depending on your company s inventory discrepancy policies, you may need to perform a second count on these locations. You can accomplish this by choosing the Print button on the screen above. The out put report can be used as a second count sheet. The procedure for a recount is the same as for a regular count. Step 6- By now you should be ready to reconcile or update your inventory with the corrected count data. This version of the software requires you to manually update each record in the database. In order to accomplish this, you must perform the following: From the Main toolbar select the Inventory module. Next select the Lookup function. Below is an example. For the purposes of this example, we will be referring to the sample data shown in the discrepancy report noted in step 4 above. To correct the exception items shown in the report, you must first look up their inventory value in the database. From the screen above, enter the item number ( ) in the field labeled Item or Part Number. Keep in mind that you may have elected to change the naming convention for these fields during the initial set up of the software. Next, enter the Location where the discrepancy exists (001-RA). Now press the Search button. The lookup function will display the query data containing the parameters you entered. Using your mouse button, right click on or double click on the item found in the search. The screen below is an example of this process. Page 61

62 When you select Adjustment the system will display the current inventory level for the item you selected. Replace the existing value in inventory with the desired value and click on the OK button. Perform step 6 for every item on the Inventory Discrepancy report until completed. Page 62

63 CHAPTER 5: SHIPPING MODULE Page 63

64 5.1 THE SHIPPING MODULE The Inventory Manager Shipping module can be accessed by using either the menus at the top of the tool bar or by selecting the icons. From here, you can navigate your way to through to any of the features available in the software and authorized by your login. Below is a summary list of functions available in the Shipping Module. The Sales Orders function allows you to create new sales orders. The Look Up function allows you to find sales orders based on your own query and perform functions on those results. The Pick function allows you to pick orders using the workstation PC. The Ship function allows you to confirm a pick before the items are shipped. The Customers function helps you manage your customer database. Here you can create new customers or modify information on existing customers. The Ship To function allows you to create multiple shipping addresses for existing customers. Page 64

65 5.2 SALES ORDERS FUNCTION Inventory Manager allows you to enter sales orders for customer shipments. Before a sales order can be entered into the system, you must ensure that the customer information exists in the database. Refer to section 2.9 for information on how to enter customers and customer ship to addresses. To enter a sales order, select the Shipping module from the main toolbar, and then select the Sales Orders function Header: Inventory Manager will automatically generate its own sales order number. Custom 1 and Custom 2 fields, which can be renamed to anything you choose, provide the ability to capture additional information specific to your requirements. The most logical information to capture here would be your customer s PO number and/or the sales order number generated by your accounting system. For more details on how to rename these fields, refer to section 9.2 under Preferences. The next data entry point is Customer. This refers to your customer s company name. The customer information must already exist in the database before you can enter a sales order. For more details on how to enter customers, refer to section 2.9 in this manual. Use the drop down list to select the desired customer. Once you select a customer, their shipping address and contact information will appear in the blank space to the right. If the shipping address is different from what is displayed for this customer, use the Ship To drop down list to select from alternate shipping addresses for this customer. To add additional Ship To addresses for your customer, refer to the section 2.9 in this manual. The Comments field is a freeform field where you can enter additional information or instructions about this customer and the order. A good example might be to use this area to comment about the shipping method or the customer s UPS or FedEx account number. Detail: The Category field selection is optional. This field is available to help you isolate or further drill down on the types of products you would like to add to the order. To select a Category use the drop down list to find the appropriate category. Part numbers in the selected category will be added to the Part Number drop down list. If you want to see all part numbers, select ALL. Next the system requires that you select a Part Number to be ordered. There is no limit to how many line items a sales order can have. However, we recommend that you keep it to a manageable quantity. Use the drop down list to select from the available part numbers in the database. If the part does not exist in the database, you must first enter it into the system before adding it to a sales order. Refer to section 4.3 in this manual for details on how to add items into the database. Once you select a correct part number, the system will automatically display the corresponding description and unit of measure. The system will also automatically fill in the price field with the price defined in the item master database. Now that you have selected a part numbers, enter an order quantity in the Qty field. This is strictly a numeric field. We do not support decimals in this field. You can only enter whole numbers. If the user enters a quantity greater than the quantity on hand for an item, a warning is displayed before the user is allowed to continue. Page 65

66 Once you have selected the desired part numbers and quantities, click on the Add To Order button. Note that if you enter the same item twice, the quantities are added together from the previous entry and the latest entry. Continue this process until you have selected all the part numbers for this order. Throughout the entry process, you can right-click on a line item and delete or modify an item on the sales order during entry. Additionally, if the user enters a quantity of zero and the line item is already on the sales order the line is deleted. In the case of a drop-ship, you can right-click on an item and select Change Qty Shipped and set that to the quantity ordered. This way correct quantity is picked or shipped and the inventory is not modified unnecessarily. To save your order, click on the Save button. If the items on your order appear in stock, the system will prompt, Do you want to print a sales order/pick List? Choose Yes and the following will be displayed: Remember, the image at the top of this document can be changed from the preferences function (See section 9.2) Next is the Pick List document. The system will once again display the document for your review. Much the same way as we discussed above for the Sales Order, you will have the option to print or export the Pick List. Printing the Pick List will NOT automatically remove items from inventory or show the order picked. The Pick List is designed to have you locate products in the warehouse where the items are stored. The Pick List provides a detailed listing of all the locations in the warehouse where the item on your sales order is located. Note that the Pick List contains bar coded values. The bar codes are designed to coincide with the use of a handheld terminal or a bar code scanner that is attached to a workstation PC. By scanning the bar codes, you can reduce the amount of physical data entry required thus reducing potential data entry errors. This document will also help alleviate the lack of bar coded warehouse locations or bar coded products. Page 66

67 5.3 LOOKUP FUNCTION The ability to easily look-up information and query the database is a very important part of managing your inventory. Inventory Manager takes this concept to another level. Not only can you query any data-point in the database, you can also perform transactions based on results of the query. For example, you can search for a particular Sales Order in the database and once you find it, print related documents, pick and ship from it, or modify its contents. Keep in mind that when options are grayed out, it signifies that the particular option is not available for the order you selected. For example, you can pick an order if the order was already picked complete. To access Sales Order Look Up, choose the Shipping module from the main toolbar, and then select the Lookup function. There are a couple general rules that apply to all searches within Inventory Manager that you should be aware of. First, you can search on any field displayed on this screen. Second, you can use wild card indicators to assist in narrowing the search. For example, if you were looking for sales orders for customers that start with A, simply enter an A* in the Customer field, select the Find button and it will retrieve all the Customer Sales Orders in the system that start with the letter A. You can also search for key words in the data by placing the data in between the wildcard (ex: *A* ). Your search can also use of wildcards in multiple fields on the screen. A good example might to if you are searching for Sales Orders for a specific customer on, before, or after a given date. By putting different wildcards in various fields, you can drill down on the exact information you need. If data exists based on the search criteria you ve selected, the system will display the results in a spreadsheet like configuration at the lower portion of the screen. Note the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen can be used to view additional data points for the records selected. You can also customize the results of the view by using your mouse to select a particular column in the display results area and move it around to better suit your view. To do this, place and hold down the left mouse button of your mouse on the column title you wish to move. Then merely drag it left or right to the position desired. Once you ve customized your view, you can also click on any of the field titles to sort by that field. Page 67

68 Performing Transactions from Query Results The next sets of features available in this section relate to performing a transaction against the data you identified in your search criteria. This function can be used to process picking transactions, shipments, modifications to the sales order data, and printing functions against any of the data in your search results. To perform a transaction against a record in your results, use your mouse to place the cursor on the desired record and click the right mouse button or double-click on the left button. The system will display nine options (Print Sales Order (Default), Print Sales Order (Format 2), Print Pick List, Print Packing List, Modify, Delete Sales Order, Pick, Ship, Returns). Below is a brief explanation for each function. 1. Print Sales Order (Default) - Allows re-printing of existing sales orders in the system. 2. Print Sales Order (Format 2) Allows you to print the sales order without showing the qty picked, shipped or the price. 3. Print Pick Slip Allows you to re-print the pick list for the selected sales order. 4. Print Packing List- Used for printing packing lists for items recently picked/shipped. 5. Modify- Used to modify existing sales orders. 6. Delete Sales Order- Used to delete sales orders from the system. 7. Pick- Used for picking items on the order. 8. Ship- Used to process order shipment (Ship confirm) 9. Returns- Used to process returns to the warehouse. To perform a transaction against a record in your results, move your mouse arrow to the desired record and press the right-mouse button. The system will display seven options. Below is a view of this screen. The Print Sales Order (Default), Print Sales Order (Format 2), Print Pick List, and Print Packing List functions first display the document on your screen for viewing purposes. At this point you can elect to print or export the document. The Modify function allows you to modify existing orders in the system. following screen will display. When you select this option, the At this point you can modify anything on the sales order. You can easily add new items or increase order quantities. To Modify data in the header fields, simply choose the field and replace the old data with the new data. Note that the SO Number field is grayed out. This means that this is the only field that you cannot change. Page 68

69 To add new items to your Sales Order, use the drop down list to select from the available part numbers in the database. Enter an order quantity in the Qty field. Next select the Add To Order icon. If the item did not exist on your sales order prior to this addition, the system will add a new line item to your order. If you are adding more of the same item, the system will increase the existing order quantity by the amount you ve entered. You can also use your mouse to right click on the sales order line items and the system will make three options available. The options are Change Qty Ordered, Change Ship Qty and Delete Line. Values entered under these prompts will replace those already existing in the system. Continue this process until all the changes are completed. Press the Save button to update your sales order. The Pick function allows you to pick items out of inventory for the existing order. When you select this option, the following screen will display. Details on how to perform a Pick from this option are available in the Pick (Section 5.4) of this chapter. The Ship function allows you to Ship out the order previously picked. When you select this option, the following screen will display. Details on how to perform a Ship function from this option are available in the Ship (Section 5.5) of this chapter. The Delete function allows you to delete a sales order in the system. Once you select this option, the system will completely remove all existing data for this order. NOTE: Once a sales order has been deleted, it cannot be retrieved. All data including history associated with the order is deleted. Page 69

70 5.4 PICK FUNCTION The Pick function allows you to pick items out of inventory for the existing order. To access the Pick function, select the Shipping module from the main toolbar, and then select the Pick function. The following screen will be displayed: Note that the system has already filled in the answer to the Ship Confirm question. This was set in the Preferences section (9.2) of the manual. You can change it for this particular order or go to section 9.2 and change the default to read Yes for all orders. What your answer means: No If you answer no to the Ship Confirm question, then inventory is decremented as you pick. The items that you pick will be considered shipped. Yes If you answer yes to the Ship Confirm question, the inventory is staged in the Shipping Location until you perform a Ship Confirm function. Step 1- Use the drop down list to select the specific Sales Order you wish to pick. If you are using a previously printed pick list and have a scanner connected to the PC, you can also scan in the sales order number. Only sales orders which have not been picked are displayed in this list. Step 2- Use the drop down list to select the Item Number or part number you wish to pick. The system will only display items that are available to pick on the order selected. Once you select the item, the system will display the item s description, unit of measure, and quantity available to be picked. The screen below illustrates this function. Page 70

71 Step 3- Next use the Location drop down list to select the location from where you wish to pick the item. The system will display a warehouse bin location and available pick quantity. Use the mouse to select desired location. If you are using a previously printed pick list and have a scanner connected to the PC, you can also scan in the location from where it was picked. If the quantity to be picked is greater than the quantity in any one location, perform the pick operation again and empty each location until the entire order quantity is filled. The system will not allow you to pick more than is available at each location. The screen below illustrates this function. At this point, enter the quantity picked in the Qty field. The system will default to the quantity left open on the sales order. You can override the quantity and enter a value equal to or less than the balance open. The system will not allow you to over pick. Next, use the mouse to click on the OK button. Page 71

72 5.5 SHIP FUNCTION The function of Shipping within Inventory Manager is the transaction that decrements inventory. It is also the process that will allow you to collect shipping data for the sales order previously picked. It is not meant to replace your manifesting software. You will still be required to use your individual shipping stations. To access the ship confirm function, select the Shipping module from the main toolbar, and then select the Ship function. The following screen will be displayed: To ship an order, use the drop down list to select from the list of available Sales Orders in the system. Orders shown on the drop down list are those that were picked (And the user who picked the order or the system preferences indicated that a ship confirm is required). Once you select the sales order, the system will display the corresponding ship to address. If the address is incorrect, you will need to use the Lookup function to find and modify the ship to address. Refer to section 5.3 for more details on how to perform Lookups on sales orders. Below is a sample screen shot: Click on the Next button. The system now displays a summary of the items on the particular order you are about to ship. The illustration below provides a view of this summary. If the summary is correct, choose Next. Now that you have confirmed the shipment, Inventory Manager provides a Comments field for additional information to be logged. We recommend that you use this field to enter information such as the number of packages in the order or any tracking numbers associated with the shipment. Page 72

73 After you finish with the comments field choose the Ship button. The system will now ask you to select the shipping warehouse address you wish to have displayed on the packing list. This feature is very helpful for orders that are shipping from your warehouse to your customer s customer. It allows your address to be kept confidential. This feature also provides you the option to enter an address other than that of the shipping warehouse. (You will only be asked for a shipping address if you have set this option in the preferences section) Below is an example of this functionality. Select the desired option and press OK. Remember, the image at the top of this document can be changed from the preferences function (See section 9.2) Page 73

74 5.6 ISSUE FUNCTION Inventory Manager allows you to ship product (issue) without having a sales order. This function is useful for those customers who wish to track what leaves the warehouse without having to create a sales order in advance. This function effectively creates the sales order and picks it in the same step. To deplete inventory without creating a sales order, select the Shipping module from the main toolbar, and then select the Issue function. This function is fairly simple. A sales order number is generated automatically; this will allow you to later track the order and to report on this activity. Custom 1 is the same custom filed defined in the sales order screen (Remember, this can be changed to say anything you desire from the preferences function). This field is useful for tracking your host s Sales order number or other reference number. The actual body of the sale order starts with the part number. Simply select a part number and a description, price and unit of measure is shown below it. The next step is to select a location where you are taking the inventory from. Finally, enter the quantity of the item you wish to take. After issuing the first item, the system will remember the data you entered in custom 1 and ask you for the next part number. As long as you are in this screen, the next items you issue will be part of the same sales order. To start a new Issue simply close the window and open it again. Page 74

75 5.7 RETURN FUNCTION Inventory Manager allows you to return product which has been shipped on a previously picked sales order. This function is useful for those customers who wish to track what was received at the warehouse as a RETURN versus a shipment from a vendor. To return inventory, select the Shipping module from the main toolbar, and then select the Return function. This function is fairly simple. A sales order number is optional, but having this will allow the system to associate the items being returned with the original sales order it was shipped under. This will also allow the system to update the actual sales order with the return information. Select or enter a part number you wish to return. The part number must exist in the system to be able to return the product. Next, enter the quantity of the item that is being returned. If you have entered a sales order number, the system will check that this item was previously sold under the given sales order number. Also, it will check that the quantity being returned is not greater than the quantity that was shipped. Finally, select a location where the items will be placed in the warehouse. By default, the system will have already selected the receiving area as the location to place the inventory. You can change this by selecting a different location from the drop-down list. Note you can also start a return from the sales order lookup screen. In an ideal case, you would lookup the order which you are about to take a return on using the sales order lookup screen. From the results you may select the returns function and the function is automatically started with the sales order number already filled in for you. Page 75

76 Finally, the returns function will affect two reports in the system. First, the receiving summary report will now show receipts which were the result of inventory being returned. In the PO column of this report you will see the word Return xxxx Where xxxx stands for the sales order number which the returns are attributed to. If no sales order number was entered at the time of the return, then this column would simply show Return The last report, the sales order printout will be changed to show the returns made against the sales order being printed. For example, if you had shipped items on a sales order in the past, and subsequently took a return against those items shipped, then a re-print of the sales order would show those returns at the bottom of the printout. Page 76

77 5.8 CUSTOMERS FUNCTION Inventory Manager maintains a database of your customers and relevant shipping information. Customer information is used for sales order entry. To enter a new customer, select the Shipping module from the main toolbar, and then select the Customer function. Click on the New button to enter a new customer into the system. Use the Customer field to indicate your customer s company name. The remaining address information fields are optional. It is important that you enter a complete address. Later in the software, you will have the option to print maps to your customer s location. If your company uses its own delivery drivers, this feature will help guide them to your customer s location. Press the Save button when you re finished. If your customers that have multiple shipping locations, you can enter multiple addresses for the same customer under the Ship To function. To modify existing customer data, select the Modify button and use the drop down list to find the desired customer you would like to change. Press the Save button when you re finished with the changes. From the modify section, you will also be able to print a map to the customer s address, or delete a customer record. Printing a map will require and internet connection. Page 77

78 5.9 SHIP TO FUNCTION Inventory Manager will maintain a database of your customers and available shipping locations. Alternate Ship To addresses is used in the sales order, picking and shipping process. To enter multiple shipping addresses for your customer, select the Shipping module from the main toolbar, and then select the Ship To function. To add a new site address for an existing customer, use the drop down list to find the customer. Give this address a site name by filling in the Site field. A good example might be Dallas Whse or New York. Fill in the remaining fields as you would have when entering a new customer. Press Save when finished. To modify existing customer data, select the Modify button and use the drop down list to find the desired customer and site. Make your changes and press the Save button when you re finished. From the modify section, you will also be able to print a map to the customer s address or delete a customer ship to address. Printing a map requires and internet connection. Page 78

79 CHAPTER 6: RECEIVING MODULE Page 79

80 6.1 THE RECEIVING MODULE The Inventory Manager Receiving Module can be accessed by using either the menus at the top of the tool bar or by selecting the icons. From here, you can navigate your way to through to any of the features available in the software and authorized by your login. Below is a summary list of functions available in the software. The Purchasing function allows you to crate purchase orders for items and vendors in the database. Here you can create purchase orders, print receivers and purchase orders. The Look Up function allows you to look up and query data for all available purchase order related data. Here you can print purchase orders, print receivers and receive against open purchase orders. The Receive function allows you to receive orders using your PC workstation. You can receive against existing POs, unexpected POs, or process receipts from transfers coming out of other warehouse locations. The Vendors function allows you to maintain a database of vendors you use to source the products in your warehouse. Page 80

81 6.2 PURCHASING FUNCTION Inventory Manager allows you to create purchase orders for inbound products coming to your warehouse. Before a purchase order can be entered into the system, you must ensure that the vendor and part number information exists in the database. Refer to sections 4.3 and 6.5 for information on how to enter vendors, part numbers and related information. To create a purchase order, select the Receiving module the main toolbar, and then select the Purchasing function. The following screen will be displayed: Header: The system will assign its own receiver number. This number is displayed for your review in the header section of the screen. This field cannot be modified. The first two prompts are for the Custom 1 and Custom 2 fields that you were asked to rename at the beginning of the preferences (Section 2.7 & 9.2) set up process. If you haven t already renamed these fields, this might be a good opportunity to get an understanding of their use. These fields are typically used to associate our internal receiver number with your external purchase order number or your vendor s reference number. In either case, it is important to rename these fields to something that makes sense for your specific needs. Next you need to choose the Vendor for this purchase order. Vendors must already exist in the database before you can add them to a purchase order. For more details on how to enter a vendor, refer to section 6.5 of this manual. Use the drop down list to find and select the desired vendor. information will appear at the top right hand side of the screen. Note that the vendor address and contact Next choose the warehouse where this product will be delivered. Use the drop down list to select from a list of the available Warehouse facilities. Refer to section 9.5 in this manual for more details on how to add warehouses. The Comments field can be used to note any type of information. A good use for this field would be to provide your vendors with additional information about your order. For example, one might provide shipping method details or packaging requirements. In either case, keep in mind that this field is a freeform field and will accept any information. Page 81

82 Detail: The Category field selection is optional in this area. This field is available to help you isolate the types of products you would like to order. To select a Category use the drop down list to find the appropriate category. So for example, if you are an automotive parts warehouse, and you are ordering Frahm Air Filters, you can narrow down the parts you want to see to those in this category. You may also choose All to view all parts. Next the system requires that you select a Part Number to be ordered. There is no limit to how many line items a purchase order can have. However, we recommend that you keep it to a manageable quantity. Use the drop down list to select from the available part numbers in the database. If the part does not exist in the database, you must first enter it into the system before adding it to a purchase order. Refer to section 4.3 in this manual for details on how to add items into the database. Once you select a correct part number, the system will automatically display the corresponding description, unit of measure, and standard cost. Now that you have selected a part number, enter an order quantity in the Qty field. This is strictly a numeric field. We do not support decimals in this field. You can only enter whole numbers. Once you have selected the desired part numbers and quantities, click on the Add To Order button. Note that if you enter the same item twice, the quantities are added together from the previous entry and the latest entry. Continue this process until you have selected all the part numbers for this order. Throughout the entry process, you can right-click on a line item and delete or modify an item on the purchase order during entry. Additionally, if you enter a quantity of zero and the line item is already on the purchase order the line is deleted. In the case of a drop-ship, you can right-click on an item and select Change Qty Received and set that to the quantity ordered. This way correct quantity is received, the order will be closed automatically, and the inventory is not modified unnecessarily. To save your order, click on the Save button. When you save a new order, the system will prompt, Do you want to print a Purchase Order/Receiving List? Below are examples of both the Purchase Order and Receiving List printouts. Page 82

83 If you select Yes the system will first display a copy of the Purchase Order. At this point you have the option to select from the print or export button located at the top left portion of the screen. Next is the PO Receiver document. The system will once again display the document for your review. The PO Receiver document is used to inform your receiving personnel of an inbound order. It will contain the quantities to receive, and the part numbers in bar-coded format to expedite the receiving process and eliminate receiving errors. You can always reprint the receiver list by selecting an order from the lookup function described in the next section. Page 83

84 6.3 LOOKUP FUNCTION The ability to easily look-up information and query the database is a very important part of managing your warehouse operations. Inventory Manager takes this concept to another level. Not only can you query any data-point in the database, you can also perform transactions on results of the query. For example, you can search for a particular Purchase Order in the database and once you find it, process a receipt, delete the PO, Modify the PO, print a Receiving List, or reprint the PO. All these functions are accessible from the query results under the Purchase Order Lookup function. To perform a search or query of your Purchase Order data, select the Receiving module from the main toolbar, and then select the Lookup function. You should see the following screen: Notice the warehouse field defaults to the primary warehouse assigned to your login. You should also take note of the custom fields that you were asked to redefine as part of the initial set up. Those fields are now available to view and search against. There are a couple general rules that apply to all searches within Inventory Manager that you should be aware of. First, you can search on any field displayed on this screen. Second, you can use wild card indicators to assist in narrowing the search. For example, if you were looking for purchase orders for vendors that start with A, simply enter an A* in the Vendor field and click on the Find button and it will retrieve all the Vendor Purchase Orders in the system that start with the letter A. You can also search for key words in the data by placing the data in between the wildcard (ex: *A* ). Your search can also use of wildcards in multiple fields on the screen. By putting different wildcards in various fields, you can drill down on the exact information you need. If data exists based on the search criteria you ve selected, the system will display the results in a spreadsheet like configuration at the lower portion of the screen. Below is an example: Page 84

85 Performing Transactions from Query Results The next sets of features available in this section relate to performing transaction against the data you identified in your search criteria. This function can be used to process receipts against the PO in your search results. From this screen, you can also print a Receiving List, re-print the PO, modify the PO, and or delete the PO. To perform a transaction against a record in your results, move your mouse arrow to the desired record and press the right mouse button. The system will display five options (Print PO, Print Receipt List, Modify PO, Delete PO, and Receive). The Print PO and Print Receipt List functions first display the PO/Receipt List on your screen for viewing purposes. At that point you can elect to print or export the document. The Modify function allows you to alter the information on a purchase order. When you select this option, the following screen will display. At this point you can modify anything on the purchase order. You can easily add new items or increase order quantities. To Modify data in the header fields, simply choose the field and replace the old data with the new data. Note that the Receiver Number field is grayed out. This means that this is the only field that you cannot change. To add new items to your PO, use the drop down list to select from the available part numbers in the database. Enter an order quantity in the Qty field and the item s cost in the Cost field. Next select the Add To Order icon. If the item did not exist on your purchase order prior to this addition, the system will add a new line item to your PO. If you are adding more of the same item, the system will increase the existing order quantity by the amount you ve entered and replace the existing cost with the latest cost you selected. You can also use your mouse to right click on the purchase order line items and the system will make two options available. The options are Change Qty Ordered and Change Qty Received. Values entered under these prompts will replace those already existing in the system. To Receive an item using the Receive function, refer to section 6.4 of this manual. Page 85

86 6.4 RECEIVE FUNCTION Receiving involves the receipt of goods into the warehouse. Inventory Manager allows this function to be performed one of two ways. You can perform this function on the PC workstation or you can use a portable bar code scanning terminal. Chapter 11 in this manual addresses the process of receiving products with a portable scanning terminal. To receive products at the PC Workstation, select the Receiving module from the main toolbar, then select the Receive function. (You can also start the receiving function by right-clicking on a result in the PO Lookup) The PC Workstation Receiving screen provides three types of Receiving methods. The first method is for the receipt of purchase orders that were created in Inventory Manager. Details on how to create purchase orders are provided in section 4.4 of this manual. The second method is used for receiving purchase orders that were not entered into the Inventory Manager system. This method is known as an Unexpected Receipt. This can also be used to record the receipt of non-inventory items like shipping supplies, tape, boxes, etc. It is a great opportunity to track other products in your facility. The third method of receiving product is for the receipt of products shipped or Transferred from another warehouse or facility. Inventory Manager tracks the movement of products between warehouses to ensure that the initial shipment is confirmed on the receiving end. In all three of the above examples, the system will place the inventory received in the designated default Receiving location. To receive inventory for a purchase order that exists in Inventory Manager, check the With Receiver Number radial button on the screen. Use the drop down list to select the desired Receiver Number. If you do not know the receiver number, you can search for existing purchase orders under the Lookup function from the Receiving module. (Section 4.11 of this manual) Page 86

87 Once you select the receiver number, the system will provide a list of items on the purchase order you selected. Use the drop down list to select the appropriate Part Number to be received. The system will display the part description, unit of measure, and the quantity open for receipt that the line item that you have chosen. Enter the desired quantity to be received in the Qty field. You may not receive more than was on the purchase order. If you receive an over shipment and would like to accept it, you can either process the additional items as an unexpected receipt, or you can modify the purchase order quantity field to allow for the over shipment. If a partial receipt is processed, the system will keep the same Receiver number and allow you to use the part number drop down list to select the next item to be received. If you receive the order complete, the system will display an Order Complete message reminding you that no more items are available for receipt on this receiver number. The second method of receiving products into inventory is by using the Unexpected Receipt method. Unexpected receipts are receipt of products that were not anticipated or planned for but yet are accepted into inventory. The Unexpected Receipt concept also works well if you choose not to enter purchase orders in the system. To perform an Unexpected Receipt click-on the unexpected receipt radial button on the PO Receiving screen shown below. In the screen below, notice that the system bypasses the Receiver Number prompt and goes straight to the Part Number prompt. Use the drop down list and choose from the available part numbers in the database. While this process does not require a purchase order, it does require that the part number you receive is in the database. Refer to section 2.12 for more information on how to enter part numbers in the system. The system will display the part description and unit of measure for the part number you selected. Enter the desired quantity to be received in the Qty field and press the OK button. The third and final method available for receiving products into inventory using the PC workstation is that of From Transfer. This method for receiving is used to process products that were shipped from another warehouse into yours. The system will not allow you to process transfers for products that were not properly transferred from the other warehouse. More details on how to perform a transfer are provided in section 4.6 of this manual. The result of any receipt function in Inventory Manager automatically displays the item and quantities received in the default receiving location. This location was assigned during the initial installation and set up of the software. To add or modify the default receiving location refer to section 2.11 of this manual. Page 87

88 6.5 VENDORS FUNCTION Inventory Manager requires that you have vendors identified if you wish to generate Purchase Orders from the system. The vendor information is printed on your purchase order to make it easy to fax or your purchase order document to your suppliers. To access the Add Vendor function, select the Receiving module from the main toolbar, and then select the Vendors function. Click on the New button to create a new vendor. Now enter a Vendor name and a Contact. Enter the corresponding address. Click on Save when finished. Only the vendor name is required, the other fields are optional. For state, and zip the software will allow you to enter any information, this is so that you may support international vendors. To modify an existing vendor, select Modify, then choose the vendor, from the drop down list, that you would like to modify. Click on Save when finished. From the Modify section, you may also choose to delete a vendor record or print a map to their location. (Printing a map requires connection to the internet) Page 88

89 CHAPTER 7: SYNC MODULE Page 89

90 7.1 THE SYNC MODULE The Inventory Manager Sync module can be accessed by using either the menus at the top of the tool bar or by selecting the icons. From here, you can navigate your way to through to any of the menus available in this module and authorized by your login. Below is a summary list of menus available in this module. The Handheld function allows you to receive data collected on your AML 5500 series handheld scanner. The Flat File function allows you to import files from your host or server in a flat file format. The Export function allows you to export information from Inventory Manager to a file that will be imported by your host/server system. Page 90

91 7.2 HANDHELD FUNCTION The Inventory Manager Handheld Menu can be accessed by using either the menus at the top of the tool bar or by selecting the icons. This function is used to transfer data between your AML 5500 series portable handheld scanner and the Inventory Manager database through the COMM (RS-232) interface. Data collected on the 5500 Series portable handheld scanner is stored in the database until you decide to delete it. This means you can run a report on all scanned data that has not been deleted. Each time you choose to synchronize or import a file, you might be asked if you want to delete the old data from your table. Pressing Yes will erase the old scanned data and pressing No will append the new data just scanned with the old data. To access the handheld function, select the Sync module from the main toolbar, and then select the Handheld function to get the screen shown below. First, the COMM Device function is used for transferring data from the AML 5500 series portable handheld scanner to your PC using a serial connection. The interface is very simple to use. Here are the steps required for a successful download. 1. Using the RS-323 cable that came with you 5500 series portable handheld scanner, connect the handheld terminal to your PC (make sure you select the right COM port on your PC) 2. From the Setup option on the Main Menu of the 5500 series terminal, choose Comm. Setup a. Use the arrow keys on the handheld terminal, (UP to move up to the previous option, Down to move down to the next option, LEFT/RIGHT to select or change an option) set your options to the following: Option Value Protocol None Flow Ctrl None Baud Rate 9600 Parity None Data Bits 8 Stop Bits 1 Char Delay 1 ms Data Menu Mode RS232 PORT SOT Text BLANK SOT Delay 0 ms EOT Text BLANK EOT Delay 0 ms b. Once you setup your comm. settings, return to the main menu and choose Communications c. Choose Send from the Communications Menu d. Choose Data Files from the Send Menu (DO NOT SEND THE FILES YET) 3. On the PC running the Inventory Manager Program, choose Handheld from the Sync. Menu. 4. Ensure that the settings on the PC match the settings you established in step Press the Receive button on the PC 6. Select the file or files you wish to send on the handheld terminal. Page 91

92 During the download process, the screen will show the records being transferred. If no records are being transferred, the program will time out after 15 seconds. You may also press the step button to stop the data transfer. Once the download is complete, the Inventory Manager program will tell you how many records have been received. Next, you are asked if you wish to see the scanned data report. Press Yes to see the report, or press No to view it later. The report is a simple one, it will show you all of the transaction that were just imported, and show you if there were any exceptions during that import. Exceptions need to be manually corrected. When you close the report, or the next time you do an import, you will be asked if you want to delete the scanned data. This means that you are deleting the data from the report only and not from the system. Transaction that did not have any exceptions have already been processed at this point. Page 92

93 The File Import option is another method of importing your scanned data into the system. If you prefer to save your data to a text file first, and then import it, then this option is for you. Using this option, you will be required to select the file you wish to import. This file must be in a predefined format and must have a qwd extension. The last option from the handheld sync function is Print Report. This option allows you to re-print the scanned data report described in the paragraphs above. Page 93

94 7.3 FLAT FILE IMPORT FUNCTION Most accounting systems in the market today focus their attention on providing features that enhance a company s accounting practices. Seldom will you see an accounting package with a strong Inventory/Warehouse Management component and even more rarely will you see an accounting package that ties the latest material handling techniques with advances in wireless and portable bar code scanning technology. This section provides a detailed review on how to import and export data from Inventory Manager. Inventory Manager features an import/export function that can be used to populate its database as well as to extract data for use by another system. This type of data is typically exported from an accounting system and imported into Inventory Manager. Flat File Import Inventory Manager supports the importing of data from external accounting software packages as a means to populate the database with Inventory data, Sales Order Data, Purchase Order Data, Customer Information, and Vendor Information. The Flat File Import function will import data exported by your accounting system and update the Inventory Manager database. Once you successfully import data into Inventory Manager, you can use the information to pick sales orders and receive purchase orders without the need to manually re-enter the data. Importing data into Inventory Manager is very simple. First, you must have your files in the format expected. This format is defined below for each of the files that can be imported. If your data is in Microsoft Access or Microsoft Excel, there is an export function in each of these programs that will help you export the data from these applications to a flat file or a tab delimited file. If you need assistance please contact your software vendor or see the Microsoft help documentation. To access the Flat File Import function, choose the Sync module from the main toolbar, and then select the Flat File function. The Flat File import function provides you with various options for selecting the type of data needed to process transactions in Inventory Manager. Below is a description of each option. Item Master When selected, the Item Master Import function will duplicate the items or part numbers exported from your accounting and use this data to populate the database in Inventory Manager. You must provide the direct path or use the browse button to identify the location of the flat file or tab delimited file being imported. Customers Importing the Customer database is critical to saving the time it would take to manually enter the information into both systems. Information contained in this import is used throughout the software and printed on pick lists and packing lists. You must provide the direct path or use the browse button to identify the location of the flat file or tab delimited file being imported. Page 94

95 Sales Orders Importing Sales Orders data is critical to saving time and eliminating potential data-entry errors. Information contained in this import is used throughout the software and printed on pick lists and packing lists. You must provide the direct path or use the browse button to identify the location of the flat file or tab delimited file being imported. Vendors Importing the Vendor database allows you to create and modify purchase order in Inventory Manager. You must provide the direct path or use the browse button to identify the location of the flat file or tab delimited file being imported. Purchase Orders Importing the Purchase Order database allows the software to perform validations against PO s received in the warehouse. Without purchase orders, the warehouse personnel wouldn t know the difference between an over shipment and a shortage. The Purchase Order import should be used to import new purchase orders as they are created in your accounting system. You must provide the direct path or use the browse button to identify the location of the flat file or tab delimited file being imported. Once you ve selected the various options available for importing, click the synchronize button. If an error occurs, you will see the following: Select Yes from this screen to view the error log file. Below is an example of the error log file. Import errors are caused by a number of different situations. Most of the errors are related to the timing of the imported data. For example, if you import sales order information before you import customer information, you are likely to cause an error. Inventory Manager will not allow a sales order to be created for an item that is not in the database or for a customer that doesn t exist. Flat File Import Format The tables below contain the flat file formats for importing data into Inventory Manager. All data to be imported must be present and record size must match. Page 95

96 Table Name: Item Master Record Size: 522 Field Start Length Comments Part Number 1 50 SKU Vendor Number Description Category UOM ABC Code Cost Can be left or right justified. (2 decimal Places only) Standard Cost Can be left or right justified. (2 decimal Places only) Price Can be left or right justified. (2 decimal Places only) Min Can be left or right justified. (2 decimal Places only) Max Can be left or right justified. (2 decimal Places only) Primary Location Custom Custom Custom Custom Custom Status = Active, 0 = Suspended Table Name: Customer and Ship To Locations Record Size: 905 Field Start Length Comments Customer ID 1 50 Site Leave site blank if this is the main address (Bill To) Contact Addr Addr City State Zip Country Phone Alt Phone Alternate Phone Fax Comments Table Name: Vendors Record Size: 855 Field Start Length Comments Vendor ID 1 50 Contact Addr Addr City State Zip Country Phone Alt Phone Alternate Phone Fax Comments Page 96

97 Table Name: Purchase Orders Record Size: 511 Field Start Length Comments Ref Number 1 50 Reference Number Custom Custom Vendor ID Order Date 161 MM/DD/YYYY (10) Comments Part Number Qty Ordered Decimals will be ignored. Qty Received Decimals will be ignored. Cost Left or Right Justified. (2 Decimal Places max) NOTE NOTE If the Vendor ID or the Part Number has not been previously imported or they don t exist in the database at the time of the import, then the record is ignored. If the Quantity Received is less than the Quantity received in the database for this record, then it is ignored. Table Name: Sales Orders Record Size: 574 Field Start Length Comments Ref Number 1 50 Reference Number Custom Custom Customer ID Site Order Date 211 MM/DD/YYYY (10) Comments Part Number Qty Ordered Qty Picked Qty Shipped Price NOTE NOTE If the Customer ID or the Part Number has not been previously imported or they don t exist in the database at the time of the import, then the record is ignored. Site may be left blank. Page 97

98 7.4 EXPORT FUNCTION Most accounting systems in the market today focus their attention on providing features that enhance a company s accounting practices. Seldom will you see an accounting package with a strong Inventory/Warehouse Management component and even more rarely will you see an accounting package that ties the latest material handling techniques with advances in wireless and portable bar code scanning technology. This section provides a detailed review on how to export data from Inventory Manager. Inventory Manager features an export function that can be used to send files to be used for updating other systems. This type of data is typically imported into an accounting system. Export Inventory Manager supports the exporting of data from its database for use by external accounting systems. To access the Export function, choose the Sync module from the main toolbar, and then select the Export function. Export To You must provide the direct path or use the browse button to identify the location (folder) of the files being exported. Export Format You may choose to export your files in a fixed length or delimited format. This option allows you to export data into a format that your other system can easily read or import. If you selected a delimited format, you will be asked to select a delimiter. Item Master When selected, the Item Master export function will duplicate the items or part numbers maintained in the Inventory Manager database and export them for use by your accounting or other external systems. Inventory Exporting the inventory value goes hand-in-hand with the item master. However, in this case, exporting the inventory value allows you to determine variances or discrepancies between systems. Picks/Shipping The purpose for selecting this option is to export picking and shipping transactions. The date range option provides the ability to select orders picked and shipped within a specific date range. Receipts The purpose for selecting this option is to export receipts for purchase orders and warehouse transfers received in the Inventory Manager system. The date range option provides the ability to select orders received within a specific date range. Customers When selected, the Customer export function will duplicate the customer information maintained in the Inventory Manager database and export them for use by your accounting or other external systems. Vendors When selected, the Vendor export function will duplicate the vendor information maintained in the Inventory Manager database and export them for use by your accounting or other external systems. Page 98

99 File Export Format Data exported by Inventory Manager will be in the format listed in the following tables. For fixed length files, the data will have the lengths described below and the items in each record are sequential according to the layout below. If you chose a delimited file, then the length may vary, but the filed number for each element will be 1 -? according to the layout below. Item Master File Name: QT_ITEM_MASTER.TXT Field Length Comments Part Number 50 SKU 15 Vendor Number 20 Vendor Part Number. Description 50 Category 50 UOM 10 ABC Code 5 Cost 12 Left justified with leading zeros Standard Cost 12 Left justified with leading zeros Price 12 Left justified with leading zeros Min 12 Left justified with leading zeros Max 12 Left justified with leading zeros Primary Location 10 Custom1 50 Custom2 50 Custom3 50 Custom4 50 Custom5 50 Inventory File Name: QT_INVENTORY.TXT Field Length Comments Part Number 50 Whse ID 10 Location 10 Qty 12 Left Justified with leading zeros. Customers and Customer Sites File Name: QT_CUSTOMERS.TXT Field Length Comments Customer ID 50 Site 50 If site is blank, then this is the bill to address. Contact 50 Addr1 50 Addr2 50 City 50 State 50 Zip 50 Country 50 Phone 50 Alt Phone 50 Alternate Phone Fax Comments 255 Page 99

100 Vendors File Name: QT_VENDORS.TXT Field Length Comments Vendor ID 50 Contact 50 Addr1 50 Addr2 50 City 50 State 50 Zip 50 Country 50 Phone 50 Alt Phone 50 Alternate Phone Fax Comments 255 Page 100

101 Picks/Ship Confirm File Name: QT_SO.TXT Field Length Comments SO Number 10 Sales Order Number Ref Number 50 Reference number Custom1 30 Custom2 30 Customer ID 50 Part Number 50 Qty Ordered 12 Left Justified with leading zeros Qty Shipped 12 Left Justified with leading zeros Ship Comments 255 Shipping comments (Tracking Numbers) Ship Date MM/DD/YYYY (10) Receiving File Name: QT_PO.TXT Field Length Comments PO Number 50 Could be blank if unexpected or Transfer if received from a transfer Ref Number 50 Reference number Whse ID 10 Receiving warehouse. Part Number 50 UOM 10 Qty 12 Left Justified with leading zeros Receipt Date MM/DD/YYYY (10) Page 101

102 CHAPTER 8: REPORTS MODULE Page 102

103 8.1 THE REPORTS MODULE The Inventory Manager Help Menu can be accessed by using either using the menus at the top of the tool bar or by selecting the icons. From here, you can navigate your way to through to any of the menus available in this module and authorized by your login. Below is a summary list of menus available in this module. The Inventory function contains a collection of reports related to inventory and warehouse management. The Shipping function contains a collection of reports related to Sales orders. The Receiving function contains a collection of reports related to purchase orders. The Other function contains a collection of reports related to other areas of the software. Page 103

104 8.2 INVENTORY REPORTS There are numerous standard reports available within Inventory Manager. Each is designed to assist in the management of the inventory process. In addition to the standard reports, Inventory Manager also provides querying and lookup functionality that can be used to create virtually any report on-the-fly. The system includes standard reports for three basic areas. These areas include Inventory, Shipping, and Receiving. To access the standard inventory reports, select Reports from the main toolbar, and then select the Inventory reports icon. The following screen will be displayed: Inventory Reports The system provides four basic reports under the category of Inventory. Min/Max, Empty Locations, and Price List Report. They are On-Hand Summary, On-Hand Summary Report This report provides a detailed view of the inventory. If you choose to run this report, you can select from different criteria by using the drop down lists for the Warehouse and Part Number fields. If you choose ALL for Criteria, you will get a complete summary of the entire inventory in all warehouses and all locations. The report includes a breakdown by warehouse by item by location. It also includes a total dollar value by item and warehouse. This can come in handy when trying to compare the book value of your inventory with the value tracked in Inventory Manager. After you select the criteria, press the OK button. The results from the combinations of criteria can produce a detailed report for every item in stock. Keep in mind that if you have a large database, this report could take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes to run. Below is a sample of this type of report: Page 104

105 Min/Max Report The Min/Max report is used to analyze inventory levels at the item and warehouse level. Inventory Manager will allow you to select the specific warehouse or ALL warehouses. The user can also specify whether to see items that are below their Min/Max Level only or below and above the predefined Min/Max levels. Below is a sample of this report. Empty Locations Report This report is designed to help the warehouse manager or supervisor to view all locations that are empty within the warehouse and will serve as a tool to help arrange products within the warehouse or make room for more products. To run this report, select the Empty Locations radial button. Next select the Warehouse criteria. Press OK and the report will appear on the screen. Below is an example of the report. Page 105

106 Price List Report This report is designed to help the warehouse manager and accounting department track and audit the pricing of the items in the warehouse. This report allows you to narrow down your results by selecting a warehouse and a particular part number. You can also use a wild card * character in the part number field to find more specific results. So for example, you may enter A* in the part number field to get all items that start with A. Below is an example of this report. Page 106

107 8.3 SHIPPING REPORTS There are numerous standard reports available within Inventory Manager. Each is designed to assist in the management of the inventory process. In addition to the standard reports, Inventory Manager also provides querying and lookup functionality that can be used to create virtually any report on-the-fly. Shipping Reports The system provides six basic reports under the category of Shipping. They are Open Sales Order, Shipping Detail, Back Order Detail, Back Order Summary, Summary by Whse/Item and Summary by Customer/Item. Select the Reports module from the main toolbar, and then select the Shipping reports icon. The following screen will be displayed: Open Sales Order Report The Open Sales Order Report is designed to provide a summary of orders that are still open. An order is considered open when it has not been completely picked and/or shipped. The purpose of this report is to provide visibility to orders in the system which requires some sort of action. It is also a quick check-and-balance to ensure that nothing was missed during the shipping process. To run this report, select the Open Sales Orders radial button. Next select the Warehouse from which you would like to view open orders. You can use the drop down lists to select a Warehouse or simply choose All. Next you can select a date criteria for the orders. You can choose a warehouse and date range criteria or run the report with no criteria by choosing ALL and No Dates. Once you ve determined the desired criteria, press the OK button. Below is an example of the Open Sales Orders Report. Page 107

108 Shipping Detail The next report available with Inventory Manager is the Shipping Detail Report. This report is designed to provide details on orders for any given date range or warehouse. This report is very important as it can be used to trigger certain events. For example, the most common approach is for the warehouse to use this report to as a means to manually invoice orders in your accounting system. To run this report, choose the Shipping Detail report radial button. displayed: The following screen will be You can choose a Warehouse, specific SO Number, and Shipping Date range criteria or run the report with no criteria. Below is an example of the Shipping Detail Report. Back Order Detail The next report available with Inventory Manager is the Back Order Detail Report. This report is designed to provide details on orders with quantities not picked. This is different from the Open Sales Orders report listed prior. If this report is run after the receiving process, it will provide details on back ordered sales orders. To run this report, choose the Back Order Detail Report radial button. Page 108

109 You can choose a Warehouse and Order Dates range criteria or run the report with no criteria by choosing ALL. Below is an example of the Back Order Detail Report. Back Order Summary The Back Order Summary Report is the summarized version of the detail report mentioned above. To run this report, choose the Back Order Summary Report radial button. Below is an example: This report has no available criteria to select from. It merely runs a report of back ordered sales orders in summary form. This report is useful in providing warehouse supervisors with a look at what still needs to be shipped. The report gives information about the sales order number, the item, the quantity ordered, the quantity on hand, and the quantity on order. Press the OK button to run this report. Below is an example. Page 109

110 Summary By Whse/Item The next report available with Inventory Manager is the Summary- By Whse/Item Report. This report is designed to provide shipping details by Warehouse and Item. To run this report, choose the Summary- By Whse/Item Report radial button. You can choose a Warehouse, specific Part Number, and Shipping Dates range criteria or run the report with no criteria. Below is an example of this report: Summary By Customer/Item The next report available with Inventory Manager is the Summary- By Customer/Item Report. This report is designed to provide shipping details by Customer and Item. To run this report, choose the Summary- By Customer/Item Report radial button. You can choose a specific Customer and Shipping Dates range criteria or run the report with no criteria. Below is an example of this report: Page 110

111 8.4 RECEIVING REPORTS There are numerous standard reports available within Inventory Manager. Each is designed to assist in the management of the inventory process. In addition to the standard reports, Inventory Manager also provides querying and lookup functionality that can be used to create virtually any report on-the-fly. Receiving Reports The system provides two basic reports under the category of Receiving. They are Open Purchase Orders and Receiving Summary Report. The Open Purchase Orders Report displays a listing of all purchase orders in Inventory Manager that have a balance not received. This is a detail level report. The Receiving Summary Report is summary by Purchase Orders and item numbers received for the selected criteria. Open Purchase Orders To run the Open Purchase Orders report, select the Reports module from the main toolbar, and then select the Receiving report icon. The following screen will be displayed: Using your mouse, select the Open Purchase Orders radial button. Next enter or select the criteria for this report. Use the drop down list to select the Warehouse number. Next you have the option to select a date criteria. Use the drop down lists to find a From date and To date for the reporting criteria. These dates will reflect purchase orders received during that time frame. When ready, press the OK button. Page 111

112 Receiving Summary To run the Receiving Summary Report, choose Reports from the main toolbar, and then select the Receiving report icon. Click on the Receiving Summary radial button. Below is an example of this screen: Next choose a Warehouse for the first criteria selection. You can select an individual warehouse or ALL. Now determine whether you wish to enter a date range for the report or simply select all dates. If you select a date range, the system will display a calendar to assist you in picking the desired date range. Press the OK button to view the report. When the Receiver Number field is blank, it represents an unexpected receipt. If it contains the word Transfer it represents a receipt of a transfer from another warehouse. Page 112

113 8.5 OTHER REPORTS There are numerous standard reports available within Inventory Manager. Each is designed to assist in the management of the inventory process. In addition to the standard reports, Inventory Manager also provides querying and lookup functionality that can be used to create virtually any report on-the-fly. Other Reports The system provides two basic reports under the category of Other They are Customer List and Vendor List Report. The Customer List Report displays a listing of all customers in Inventory Manager. The Vendor List Report displays a listing of all vendors in Inventory Manager. Customer List To run the Customer List Report, choose Reports from the main toolbar, and then select the Other report icon. Click on the Customer List radial button. Below is an example of this screen: The Customer List report does not allow you to choose any criteria, and is printed in landscape orientation. Page 113

114 Vendor List To run the Vendor List Report, choose Reports from the main toolbar, and then select the Other report icon. Click on the Vendor List radial button. Below is an example of this screen: The Vendor List report does not allow you to choose any criteria, and is printed in landscape orientation. Page 114

115 CHAPTER 9: ADMIN MODULE Page 115

116 9.1 THE ADMIN MODULE The Inventory Manager Admin Module can be accessed by using either using the menus at the top of the tool bar or by selecting the icons. From here, you can navigate your way to through to any of the functions available in this module and authorized by your login. Below is a summary list of functions available in this module. The Preferences function allows you to customize your software look and feel. The Security function allows you to setup security levels (groups). The Users function allows you to create or modify user logins. The Whse function allows you to create or modify warehouse locations. Page 116

117 9.2 PREFERENCES FUNCTION Inventory Manager provides the ability to change the naming convention for various fields that appear throughout the software. This feature helps you better understand the software by allowing certain fields to be renamed using familiar terms or better yet, naming conventions specific to your industry. Not only does this feature make Inventory Manager easily adept to most environments, it also makes it easier to train existing personnel on its use. Inventory Manager allows for the renaming of fields in the areas of the Item Records, Sales Orders and Purchase orders. Although Preferences were created as part of the initial configuration process, a user can change the attributes as often as necessary. Two items should be given consideration before making any changes. First, by changing an attribute or renaming a field, there may be data that exists in that field that is relevant to the previous naming convention. Also, in order for the revised naming conventions to take place, users will be required to log out and log back in for the changes to take effect. Users that do not log out will still see the previous configurations. To begin changing your preferences, click on the Admin module from the main toolbar, and then select the Preferences function icon. The following screen will be displayed. There are four sections in the Admin module that can be configured for your specific requirements. General- This section addresses the general look and feel of the software s methods for navigation. Select Tool Bar Only and the large icons will be available for use during navigation. Select Menu Only and the toolbar will be hidden. This gives you more room on the screen. Select Both to see both the toolbar and the menus at the top of the screen. Page 117

118 Inventory- This section addresses the naming conventions for anything related to an Inventory Item. Below is an example: The following fields are available for renaming: Part Number- This is a primary key field throughout the software. Whether you call your items Item Number. Items, P/N, or Part No., this field s naming convention should easily reflect what is used in your operation. SKU- Not everyone uses the SKU concept. For those that do not and would still like to take advantage of this field, you can use this field to represent a Stock Number or even the manufacturer s part/model number. Vendor PN- The Vendor PN field is used establish a link between your vendor s part number and you own. In cases where you use the same part number, this field can be used for other purposes like identifying the vendor name. ABC Code- This field is used for inventory counting purposes. You can change it to something you like but keep in mind that its primary use will be for determining the frequency of Cycle Counting. Custom1 through Custom5- These fields are intended for use in applications where you need to be more descriptive of the inventory. They are optional fields but we recommend that you take advantage of them. Some examples of their potential use are for Model Number, Substitute PN, Stock Number, Weight, Size, Color, Style, Owner, etc. The Minimum and Maximum Stock Levels provide you with the ability to enter a default value. If you would prefer not have the system assign a default Min/Max field, enter zeros in both fields. This value will be captured each time a new item is entered into the system. The users can then go back and change the Min/Max value if needed. Shipping- This section addresses the naming conventions for anything related to Sales Order. Below is an example: Custom1 and Custom2- The next set of preferences that need to be defined relate to sales orders. These fields appear on the sales order entry screen as well as on shipping documents. They are optional but we recommend that you take advantage of them. Some examples of uses of custom fields are Customer PO, Shipping Method, Host S/O (Accounting Sales order number), Work Order, etc. Require Ship Confirm? The answer to this question affects how you ship orders. If you select No the system will consider an order shipped once its picked and will bypass the shipping process unless you select yes during the pick. If you select Yes the system will require that all orders be shipped in addition to being picked. Packing List From Address - This question affects how the packing lists print. This area is primarily for users that are shipping products on behalf of their customers, where their customers do not wish the recipient to know the origin of the product. 4. Use Warehouse Address- This uses the default warehouse address entered in the software when the specific warehouse was created. 5. Ask for an Address- This gives you a blank screen and you fill in the Ship from address. 6. Use no Address- This option blanks out the address of the shipping warehouse. Page 118

119 Receiving- This section addresses the naming conventions for anything related to a Purchase Order. Below is an example: Custom1 and Custom2- These fields appear on the purchase order entry screen as well as on receiving documents. They are optional but we recommend that you take advantage of them. Here are some examples for the custom fields: Host PO (PO number from accounting system), Vendor S/O (Vendor s Sales order Number), RMA #, Reference Number, etc. Item Cost - Inventory Manager supports cost averaging, cost actual, and fixed costs methods of accounting for inventory value. When you select Average the system calculates the average cost of inventory at the time of receipt. Here is an example of how this is calculated: PO Cost ($10.00) X PO Qty (100) = $1, Current Cost ($ 12.00) X Current Qty (10) = $ Total Inventory Value for this item $1, Divided by the total amount in stock 110 Units New Cost Average $10.8 each When you select Use PO Cost, the system will (at the time of receipt) evaluate the cost of inventory for the item received as the last cost. This may or may not be favorable for your business. You will need to consult with your accounting department to determine the method most appropriate for your type of business. When you select Don t Change the system calculates inventory value based on the unit cost entered in the system when the item was first created in the database. Other- This section addresses the logo that gets printed on warehouse documents such as Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, and Packing Lists. Below is an example: To add or change the logo file, select the Change button. The system will display a directory for you to browse. Enter the path or use the browse function to search for and select the logo file. The logo file must contain 445 x 95 pixels in order to fit in the designated area. To save your choice, click the Save button. If you do not wish to use a logo on your documents, press the Clear/None button. Page 119

120 9.3 SECURITY FUNCTION One of the first things that a System Administrator should do is configure the various security levels used by the warehouse personnel. Inventory Manager allows the System Administrator to create Security levels for each function of the warehouse operation. To setup up security levels, elect the Admin module from the Main toolbar, and then select the Security function icon. The following will be displayed: The Security Set Up screen is very important to the software. It determines which users have the authority to affect the inventory both from a transaction basis (meaning receiving, picking, put-away and shipping) and from an adjustment basis (Inventory Adjustments). To set a proper security level: First, select the Security Level by scrolling through the drop down list. Inventory Manager provides 10 levels of security to choose from. Security Level 1 is the highest level available to the system and should only be assigned to the system administrator and or the warehouse operations manager. Level 1 provides unlimited access to the entire software. Next, enter a value in the Description field that is appropriate for the security level you are about to define. A good example would be Picker, Shipper, or Warehouse Supervisor. These values should describe the function to be performed by the user assigned that level. To allow access to a certain function, use your mouse to check a box next to the function you wish to permit the selected security level to have. To remove access to a function, simply uncheck the corresponding box. When you are done, click on the OK button and you can now start the next level. You do not have to define all levels. However, we recommend that you create levels for individual functions like Picking & Shipping, Receiving & Put-Away, and Temp (View only). Although Inventory Manager is a single PC (user) system, the application may be used by multiple users on the same. Page 120

121 9.4 USERS FUNCTION Once you define the security levels for each of the functions within your operation, you are ready to start creating a login for your personnel to use. To create or modify a login, select the Admin module from the main toolbar, and then select the Users function. The following will be displayed: Selecting the New button allows the system administrator to enter new logins for users authorized to use the system. 7. Warehouse - This limits the user login activity to a specific warehouse. Multi-warehouse users will require multiple logins. 8. User-ID - This field can be filled in with a unique name or it can be filled in with a unique number such as an employee number. If numbers are used, the comment field can be used to identify the individual user s name. 9. Passwords - Are required in order to perform functions within Inventory Manager. The Password is Case sensitive. 10. Security level should correspond to the access that is appropriate for the user being created. Refer to section 2.4 for more details on Security Levels. 11. Status is used by Inventory Manager to designate whether the login is active or has been suspended. Suspending a user login is away of deleting the user without actually removing them from the database. The feature can be used to deactivate a user that goes on vacation or extended leave of absence. 12. Comments is an optional field can be used to store additional information related to the specific login. It can also be used to identify the person s complete name, phone number, job title, department, etc. Once all the required fields are entered, select the Save button to store the information. To change an existing login attribute or to delete a user account, Click on the Modify button. You will be asked to select a warehouse and user id to modify by selecting these fields from a drop down list. Inventory Manager will allow users to modify their own passwords. See section 3.2 for more details. Page 121

122 9.5 WHSE FUNCTION Inventory Manager uses the Warehouse ID designator to establish the home position for on-hand stock, Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, and user logins. As part of the initial set up process, you already created a primary Whse ID. To access the Warehouse Maintenance window select the Admin module form the main toolbar, and then select the Whse function. Select New to add a new Warehouse. Enter the desired Whse ID designator. Although this is a freeform field, we recommend that you use a naming convention already familiar to your employees. Some examples are Bldg G, Overstock Whse, and Dallas. Keep in mind that the name should be intuitive and easy to understand. The Company name will be used throughout the software on shipping documents, sales orders and reports. Next enter the Contact for the specific warehouse. This would normally be the warehouse manager or supervisor, or in the event of a single warehouse implementation, the system manger. The system requires that all fields with the exception of Alt Phone and Fax be filled out completely. Once you ve filled in the blanks, click on Save. If you made a mistake or wish to change the data, click on Modify, pull down the Whse-ID drop down list, and select the appropriate Warehouse ID. Save changes accordingly. Keep in mind that you must also create User ID login and passwords for the new warehouse you just created. Page 122

123 CHAPTER 10: HELP MODULE Page 123

124 10.1 THE HELP MODULE The Inventory Manager Help module can be accessed by using either using the menus at the top of the tool bar or by selecting the icons. From here, you can navigate your way to through to any of the functions available in this module and authorized by your login. Below is a summary list of menus available in this module. The About function displays information about your specific version of software. This is helpful when calling or sending to technical support. The Manual function displays an electronic version of this manual. It contains indexes to easily find the section needed. The Register function is used to register your software or view you software license information. Page 124

125 10.2 ABOUT FUNCTION The Inventory Manager About function can be accessed by using either using the menus at the top of the tool bar or by selecting the icons. The About function displays the following information about your specific version of software: Product Name Software Version Number Software Serial Number Below is a sample if this menu. The Close button returns you to the Help Menu. The Website button will connect you with the Quick Warehouse website. Here you can review the latest releases and update your software where applicable. Page 125

126 10.3 MANUAL FUNCTION The Inventory Manager manual function can be accessed by using either using the menus at the top of the tool bar or by selecting the icons. The Manual function opens an online version of this manual. This allows the user to get answers to their questions at the PC. This manual is organized by module and then by function. This will help the user quickly find answers to his/her questions. Page 126

127 10.4 REGISTER FUNCTION The Inventory Manager Register function can be accessed by using either using the menus at the top of the tool bar or by selecting the icons. The Register function displays the following information about your specific version of software: Product Name Software Version Number Software Serial Number Software Registration Key Below is a sample if this function. The Cancel button returns you to the Help Menu. If you still need to register your software, please see section 2.2 of this manual for instructions. Page 127

128 CHAPTER 11: IM MOBILE Page 128

129 11.1 WHAT IS IM MOBILE? IM Mobile is an advanced Inventory Management System solution specifically designed for use with the AML 5500 Series portable batch data collection terminal. This package is easy to use and works in conjunction with the AML Inventory Manager program. It features all the functionality needed to track your inventory accurately. IM Mobile is a batch data collection application consisting of three modules: 1. Inventory Module- The mobile Inventory module consists of two functions: a. Move - The move function is used to perform put-away tasks or any type of replenished processes required by the system. b. Count- This function is used for the cycle/physical count process. The system provides the means to scan locations, items and enter quantities. The results are downloaded to the PC for reconciliation. The reconciliation process involves the comparison of actual inventory value versus the physical count. This comparison is done at the location level. The reconciliation process does not alter inventory. A discrepancy report is triggers as a result of the reconciliation process. All required changes to the inventory levels a must be made at the PC workstation level by authorized personnel. 2. Shipping Module- The mobile Shipping module consists of two functions: a. Picking- This function is used to pick orders using a portable bar code scanning terminal. The system prompts for all the required fields involved in the picking application. Warehouse personnel can also use the printed bar coded pick slip to guide them through the available locations for picking. In the batch module, data validation and error handling is performed at the PC level once the file is transferred from the handheld unit to the PC. b. Shipping- The shipping function is used to provide final confirmation that an order has been picked and has left the facility. 3. Receiving Module- The mobile Receiving module consists of two functions: a. Vendors- This function supports both blind receipts and receipt by purchase order. b. Transfers- This function is used to receive inventory transferred from another warehouse. Page 129

130 11.2 AML 5500 SERIES PORTABLE HANDHELD SCANNER Rugged but lightweight, the AML 5500 Series portable batch data collection terminal supports one-handed, portable scanning across a wide range of applications including inventory control, shipping and receiving. The AML 5500 Series is versatile, easy to use and allows you to select the most suitable input device for your application, whether it s a wand, CCD, or laser scanner. Additionally, the 5500 Series functions as either a portable terminal or an in-line keyboard wedge (nonportable) for dual functionality. Once your data has been collected, you can send the data to the PC via the serial port (see Section 11.11). With a suite of functions written specifically for the 5500 Series terminal, Inventory Manager has created seamless integration which allows you to collect data anywhere in your warehouse or stock room and download it to a PC in seconds. For more information about the 5500 SERIES terminal or other AML hardware, visit The 5500 Series features a four-line by twenty character LCD (5 X 7 dot matrix) display and a thirty-nine-key keypad. It is fitted with a customized keypad and built-in configuration memory for optimum use. Parts of the 5500 SERIES PDT include: LCD Display Keypad Serial Port RJ45 10-pin Connector Hand Strap Battery Compartment Scanner Triggers (right and left-hand Accessibility) Page 130

131 11.3 GETTING STARTED Inventory Manager Mobile comes preloaded with all of the Inventory Manager applications. These applications allow you to count, move, receive, pick, and ship inventory as you move through your facility. Main Menu When you first power on the 5500 Series, the Main Menu prompts you to select from the following options. Function Hot Key Description Input I Initiates data collection. Communications C Allows transfer of files between the 5500 Series & the PC Setup S Configures all system-wide parameters: Date/Time, Bar Codes, Comm. Setup Laser/CCD options Other Setup, and Reset Setups Status? Displays the following information: ROM version ROM Checksum Flash Version Total Memory Number of bytes available Percentage of memory available Total number of Programs stored Total number of Lookup files stored Total number of Data files stored AA Battery status Lithium battery status Recall Data Calculator A Provides access to a 4-function calculator. Erase E Erases stored data, lookup and program files Copy program P Loads a built-in program into RAM that enables you to collect data. Non-port mode N Places 5500 Series in either M5100 Keyboard Wedge mode or RS-232 non-portable mode Time T Displays setting for the year, month, day, hour, minute, second, a.m. or p.m. LC Contrast L Adjusts display contrast with left and right arrows Upgrade Flash U Updates the 5500 Series using the communications interface cable, PC, and 5500 Series Programmer software. To start collecting data, press the I key or select the Input function from the main menu. Page 131

132 11.4 INPUT MENU Choosing the Input function from the main menu will open a new screen with a new menu of functions you can use. Inventory Manager has 6 functions for the 5500 Series, and they are: Function IMCOUNT IMMOVE IMPICK IMPORCV IMSHIP IMXFRRCV Description Allows you to perform cycle/physical inventory counts. Allows you to move inventory from one location to another in the warehouse. Allows you to pick inventory for a sales order. Allows you to receive inventory from a purchase order. Allows you to confirm shipment of inventory previously picked. Allows you to receive inventory from a warehouse transfer. Navigation When you using any of the applications listed above, you want to be able to move from one record to another, delete a mistake you may have made, exit the application, or simply change a value on the record you are on at that point. Here s how you would do these things. During data collection mode (Input), you can press the Func key, and the Select Function menu prompts you to choose one of the following functions: Function Key Description Find F Allows you to search during input mode for a string of characters that match the find text. Up arrow searches for a match previous to the current field. Down arrow searches for a match following the current field. Enter searches for the first match from the beginning of the file. (Search method used for scanning within this field.) Go to G G Moves to a specified record Status? Displays the following information: ROM version, ROM Checksum, Flash version Total memory, number of bytes available, percentage of memory available Current record, current program stored, current file stored Number of program files stored, number of lookup files stored, total number of data files stored AA Battery status, Lithium battery status Recall data Insert I Inserts records into Input and Program modes. While collecting data, press Func, then press I (Insert) to insert an empty data record before the one being viewed. Clear C Clears an entire input field Calculator Q Provides access to a 4-function calculator Erase E Erases a record or an entire data file Recall R Inserts data that has been stored with the Store function. Press Func, then R (Recall); the information is inserted in place of existing data in the current input field. Store S Stores the current input field to be used with the Recall function. Press Func, then press S (Store); the information is stored in memory and can be recalled using Func R. First Record M Moves to the first record of the current program Last Record N Moves to the last record of the current program Prev. Record J Moves to the previous record of the current program Next Record K Moves to the record after the current record LCD Contrast L Adjusts display contrast with left and right arrows Page 132

133 Starting and Exiting an Inventory Manager Application When starting an Inventory Manager application, you will be asked to select a file or create a new file to for your data. Inventory Manager on the PC does not require a specific file name. You may choose any file name you want. When exiting an Inventory Manager Application, the 5500 Series unit will ask you the following question: Exit Data Entry. Are you sure? (N). Press Y to exit to the Input menu, press N or just Enter to cancel and remain in the current application. If you choose to exit from an Inventory Manager Application and you have entered some data, you will be asked the following question: Save DataFile? (Y). Press N to discard your changes and just exit, press Y or just press the Return key to save your changes and exit the application. Page 133

134 11.5 COUNTING FUNCTION IMCOUNT is the Inventory Manager Cycle/Physical Count function. This function allows you to scan or enter inventory counts and then reconcile with data on your PC. To use this function, select IMCOUNT from the Input Menu. Below is the sequence of prompts you will see on the handheld terminal. IMCOUNT Screen 1a Line Description Warehouse: ^ Location: The first screen in the Inventory Manager Count program asks you to enter or scan a warehouse. This is the warehouse number or ID of the warehouse you are performing a cycle/physical count in. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous record Return to the Input Menu IMCOUNT Screen 1b Line Description Warehouse: 001 Location: ^ Once you have entered the warehouse number, you are asked to enter or scan the bin location you are performing a count on. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (1a) Return to the Input Menu IMCOUNT Screen 2a Line Description Item: ^ Quantity: Once you have entered the bin location you are counting, you will be asked to enter or scan the item number you are counting. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (1b) Return to the Input Menu IMCOUNT Screen 2b Line Description Item: Quantity: ^ After selecting the item you want to count, you are asked to enter the quantity of that item you are counting. This is a required field and can be up to 20 numeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (2a) Return to the Input Menu Page 134

135 11.6 MOVING FUNCTION IMMOVE is the Inventory Manager function which allows you to move inventory from one location to another within the warehouse. To use this function, select IMMOVE from the Input Menu. Below is the sequence of prompts you will see on the handheld terminal. IMMOVE Screen 1a Line Description Warehouse: ^ Item: The first screen in the Inventory Manager Move program asks you to enter or scan a warehouse. This is the warehouse number or ID of the warehouse you are moving inventory in. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous record Return to the Input Menu IMMOVE Screen 1b Line Description Warehouse: 001 Item: ^ Once you have entered the warehouse number, you will be asked to enter or scan the item number you wish to move. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (1a) Return to the Input Menu IMMOVE Screen 2a Line Description Qty : ^ From: To : Once you have entered the item you wish to move, you are asked to enter the quantity of that item you are going to move. This is a required field and can be up to 15 numeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (1b) Return to the Input Menu IMMOVE Screen 2b Line Description Qty : 10 From: ^ To : After you enter the quantity to move, you are asked to enter or scan the location you will moving the inventory FROM. This is a required field and can be up to 15 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (2a) Return to the Input Menu Page 135

136 IMMOVE Screen 2c Line Description Qty : 10 From: 001-1A To : ^ After you enter the location you are moving the item from, you will be asked to enter the location you are moving the item TO. This is a required field and can be up to 15 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (2b) Return to the Input Menu Page 136

137 11.7 PICKING FUNCTION IMPICK is the Inventory Manager picking function. This function allows you to scan or enter items being picked for a sales order. To use this function, select IMPICK from the Input Menu. Below is the sequence of prompts you will see on the handheld terminal. IMPICK Screen 1a Line Description Warehouse: ^ SO Number: The first screen in the Inventory Manager Pick program asks you to enter or scan a warehouse. This is the warehouse number or ID of the warehouse you are picking inventory from. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous record Return to the Input Menu IMPICK Screen 1b Line Description Warehouse: 001 SO Number: ^ Once you have entered the warehouse number, you are asked to enter or scan the Sales Order number you are picking for. This is a required field and can be up to 20 numeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (1a) Return to the Input Menu IMPICK Screen 2a Line Description Item: ^ Loc: Qty: Once you have entered the Sales Order Number, you will be asked to enter or scan the item number you are picking. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (1b) Return to the Input Menu IMPICK Screen 2b Line Description Item: Loc: ^ Qty: After selecting the item you want to pick, you are asked to enter the Bin Location you are picking from. This is a required field and can be up to 15 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (2a) Return to the Input Menu Page 137

138 IMPICK Screen 2c Line Description Item: Loc: 001-1A Qty: ^ After selecting the bin location you picked from, you are asked to enter the quantity of the item you are picking. This is a required field and can be up to 15 numeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (2b) Return to the Input Menu Page 138

139 11.8 ISSUE FUNCTION IMISSUE is the Inventory Manager picking/shipping application. This application allows you to scan or enter items being picked without having a sales order. This is perfect for companies who allow users to shop for their product or companies that do not wish to generate a sales order but want to track outbound product. To use this application, select IMISSUE from the Input Menu. Below is the sequence of prompts you will see on the handheld terminal. IMISSUE Screen 1a Line Description Warehouse: ^ Reference Number: The first screen in the Inventory Manager Issue program asks you to enter or scan a warehouse. This is the warehouse number or ID of the warehouse you are picking inventory from. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Go to the previous record Exit Return to the Input Menu IMISSUE Screen 1b Line Description Warehouse: 001 Reference Number: ^ Once you have entered the warehouse number, you are asked to enter or scan a reference number you are picking for. This can be anything. This field corresponds to custom1 in the sales order module of the Inventory Manager PC software. It s mainly for tracking purposes. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Go to the previous prompt (1a) Exit Return to the Input Menu IMISSUE Screen 2a Line Description Item: ^ Loc: Qty: Once you have entered the Reference Number, you will be asked to enter or scan the item number you are picking. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Go to the previous prompt (1b) Exit Return to the Input Menu IMISSUE Screen 2b Line Description Item: Loc: ^ Qty: After selecting the item you want to pick, you are asked to enter the Bin Location you are picking from. This is a required field and can be up to 15 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Go to the previous prompt (2a) Exit Return to the Input Menu Page 139

140 IMISSUE Screen 2c Line Description Item: Loc: ^ Qty: After selecting the bin location you picked from, you are asked to enter the quantity of the item you are picking. This is a required field and can be up to 15 numeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Go to the previous prompt (2b) Exit Return to the Input Menu * NOTE, once records are downloaded to the PC from this function (IMISSUE), a sales order will be automatically created, the customer for this order will be ISSUE (You can modify this later). The inventory you have picked is not put in the staging area, it is considered shipped. Page 140

141 11.9 RECEIVING FUNCTION IMPORCV is the Inventory Manager Receiving function. This function allows you to scan or enter inventory being received against a PO or without a PO. To use this function, select IMPORCV from the Input Menu. Below is the sequence of prompts you will see on the handheld terminal. IMPORCV Screen 1a Line Description Warehouse: ^ Location: The first screen in the Inventory Manager Receiving program asks you to enter or scan a warehouse. This is the warehouse number or ID of the warehouse you are receiving inventory in. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous record Return to the Input Menu IMPORCV Screen 1b Line Description Warehouse: 001 PO Number (Opt.): ^ Once you have entered the warehouse number, you are asked to enter or scan the PO Number you are receiving against. This is an optional field, which means you can leave it blank for a blind PO receipt. This is an optional field and can be up to 20 numeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (1a) Return to the Input Menu IMPORCV Screen 2a Line Description Item: ^ Quantity: Once you have entered PO Number you are receiving against, you will be asked to enter or scan the item number you are receiving. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (1b) Return to the Input Menu IMPORCV Screen 2b Line Description Item: Quantity: ^ After selecting the item you want to receive, you are asked to enter the quantity of that item you are receiving. This is a required field and can be up to 20 numeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (2a) Return to the Input Menu Page 141

142 11.10 SHIPPING FUNCTION IMSHIP is the Inventory Manager Shipping function. This function allows you to scan or enter sales order numbers and comments or tracking numbers for orders that are ready to be shipped. To use this function, select IMSHIP from the Input Menu. Although this function is available, you may not need to use it. If you have chosen not to confirm shipping from the preferences function in Inventory Manager, then the data from this function will not be used and will result in an exception. Below is the sequence of prompts you will see on the handheld terminal. IMSHIP Screen 1a Line Description SO Number: ^ Comments: The first screen in the Inventory Manager Shipping program asks you to enter or scan a sales order number. This is the sales order number you have confirmed and ready to ship. This is a required field and can be up to 10 numeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous record Return to the Input Menu IMSHIP Screen 1b Line Description SO Number: ^ Comments: ^ Once you have entered the sales order number, you may enter up to 40 characters of comments or tracking numbers in the comments field. This is an optional field and can be up to 40 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (1a) Return to the Input Menu Page 142

143 11.11 TRANSFER RECEIVING FUNCTION IMXFRRCV is the Inventory Manager transfer receiving function. This function allows you to scan or enter inventory being received from another warehouse. To use this function, select IMXFRRCV from the Input Menu. Below is the sequence of prompts you will see on the handheld terminal. IMXFRRCV Screen 1a Line Description RECEIVE FROM TRANSFER Warehouse: ^ The first screen in the Inventory Manager Transfer receiving program asks you to enter or scan a warehouse. This is the warehouse number or ID of the warehouse you are performing the receipt in. NOT THE WAREHOUSE THAT DID THE TRANSFER. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous record Return to the Input Menu IMXFRRCV Screen 2a Line Description Item: ^ Quantity: Once you have entered the Warehouse ID you are in, you will be asked to enter or scan the item number you are receiving. This is a required field and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (1a) Return to the Input Menu IMXFRRCV Screen 2b Line Description Item: Quantity: ^ After selecting the item you want to receive, you are asked to enter the quantity of that item you are receiving. This is a required field and can be up to 20 numeric characters long. Options Up-Arrow Exit Go to the previous prompt (2a) Return to the Input Menu Page 143

144 11.12 DOWNLOADING DATA Trough a COM (RS-323) connection, you are able to download information scanned or entered on the 5500 Series to Inventory Manager. Before you can send data you will need to setup the communications port on the handheld an on the Inventory Manager program. You will also need to connect the handheld to your computer s COM port. Here are the steps you will need to take to download information. 1. Connect the handheld computer to your PC. Using the RS-323 Cable that came with you 5500 Series handheld terminal, connect the handheld terminal to your PC. 2. From the Setup option on the Main Menu of the 5500 Series terminal, choose Comm. Setup 3. Use the arrow keys on the handheld terminal, (UP to move up to the previous option, Down to move down to the next option, LEFT/RIGHT to select or change an option) set your options to the following: Option Value Protocol None Flow Ctrl None Baud Rate 9600 Parity None Data Bits 8 Stop Bits 1 Char Delay 1 ms Data Menu Mode RS232 PORT SOT Text BLANK SOT Delay 0 ms EOT Text BLANK EOT Delay 0 ms 4. Once you setup your comm. settings, return to the main menu and choose Communications 5. Choose Send from the Communications Menu 6. Choose Data Files from the Send Menu 7. On the PC running the Inventory Manager Program, choose Handheld from the Sync. Menu. 8. Ensure that the settings on the PC match the settings you established in step Press the Receive button on the PC 10. Select the file or files you wish to send on the handheld terminal. Once the download is complete, the Inventory Manager program will tell you how many records have been received, and ask you if you want to see a report of the data downloaded. Page 144

145 CHAPTER 12: BAR CODING TECHNOLOGY Page 145