Overview: Automated Location Warehouse Movement

You may buy some items in large containers, use a small quantity for each order, and either use the remainder for the next order or return it to your stockroom. With the Automated Location Warehouse Movement (ALWM) feature, the system tracks the location of the container at all times along with the quantity in use and the quantity remaining to be used.

Consider this household analogy. You take a 20-pound bag of all-purpose fertilizer from your garage and move it to your lawn. You apply 12 pounds to the lawn. Suppose you also need to fertilize your vegetable garden. You probably would move the remaining 8 pounds in the bag from the lawn to the garden. But if it is late in the day, you may move bag back to the shelf in your garage. You are unlikely to move another 20-pound bag to the second job, knowing that you need only 5 pounds for it.

Since this example has one bag and one worker, you know where the bag is and how much you have used. But if you are working on many orders that use the same item in varying quantities, the ALWM feature can help you track both the location and the on-hand quantity of your bulk item.

This topic has these subtopics:

System Set Up
Moving Bulk Items to the Shop Floor
Tracking Movement

System Set Up

You should run these programs to set up the item, bill of material, system options, batch numbering scheme, and document management system.

  • Enterprise Item Maintenance (IM) to create the item's record and select the Whse/Bin control? field and select the appropriate Stocking UOM. If you are going to move a 55-gallon drum, you should stock in gallons.

  • Branch Item Maintenance (IMB) to create the item's branch record. Enter the item's stocking location in the Primary whse and Primary bin loc fields. Select the Bulk move item? field and enter quantity to move based on the normal container size in the BMI movement qty field. For example, if you stock in gallons and move 55-gallon drum, the move quantity would be 55.

  • Bill of Material Maintenance (MPS) to add the bulk item to the bill of material for the parent item that uses it.

  • System Options Maintenance (XM) program (Inventory Control Options) to enter the Default warehouse for LWM transactions and Default bin location for LWM transactions options for your manufacturing branch. These are the default locations for your shop floor.

  • System Options Maintenance (XM) program (Inventory Control Options) to select a reason code for the Default reason for ALWM transaction option for the enterprise. This option is required by the Material Issues and Adjustments (IMI) program. You can set up an ALWM code in the Inventory Adjustment Codes Maintenance (TIAC) program and select it for this option.

  • Batch Number Setup (XBC) to set up a global numbering scheme for the IMI program. Be sure to select G for Global or local so that the Material Issues and Adjustments (IMI) program creates a single issue single issue number rather than one for each transaction.

  • Document Output Parameters Maintenance (TDOC) program to select LWM PICKING if you want to print a Location Movement Ticket. Select whether you want to queue or print the ticket immediately after you obligate the bulk component or return it to its original stocking location.

Moving Bulk Items to the Shop Floor

You can create a manufacturing order for the parent item that uses a bulk item by any means: release a planned order or requisition, create a manufacturing order as supply for a sales order, or enter the order in the Manufacturing Order Maintenance (MIM) program.

Regardless of the method you use to create the order, you must obligate the bulk item with Manufacturing Order Maintenance (MIM) program. If other components are controlled, you can have the system obligate them. However, for the bulk item, you must do it yourself to specify that you either want to use the ALWM feature to issue a new container to the order or that you want to use a remaining quantity that is already on the floor, either at the same location or to move it from another location.

Returning Unused Quantities to their Original Stocking Location

Use your usual method to pick components for a manufacturing order with a bulk-item component. Likewise, you use the same methods to complete the manufacturing order that you use for other orders.

After you pick components, you have the option of returning the unused quantity to its original stocking location. The Location Return Selection (ILMR) program displays a list of quantities that can be returned. You select those you want to return.

Tracking Movement

You can print a Location Movement Ticket to accompany the bulk item as it moves from the stockroom to a location on the shop floor. You can set up the document management system to print the ticket when you obligate the bulk item. A ticket also prints when you return the unused quantity to its original stocking location.

When you use the Automated Location Warehouse Movement (ALWM) function to issue a bulk container to a manufacturing order, the system creates an issue number in the Material Issues and Adjustments (IMI) program or adds it to an existing issue number. When you return an unused quantity, the system adds that transaction to the issue number.

You can display an ALWM issue on your screen with the Material Issues and Adjustments program or use the Material Issues and Adjustments Inquiry (IMIQ) program to display it. You can print the list by printing Inventory Adjustments Register. Typically ALWM has no impact on the general ledger. However, you could associate an expense with the transaction if you want. When you print the register, the program closes that issue number. The next ALWM transaction creates a new number.

The Inventory Status Inquiry (ISQ) shows the location of your bulk movement item. You can click Branch and then Ctrl info to see the quantities on-hand, obligated, and available in your stockroom warehouse/bin locations and shop floor location. You can also click Mfg and then Mfg usage to display orders that have not been picked or Mfg WIP to display orders that have been picked.